Roberto Dias

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Roberto Dias Branco or simply Roberto Dias (born in 7th January 1943 in Sao Paulo, died in 26th September 2007) is former soccer player for Sao Paulo FC in Brazil. He was considered by Pelé to be the greatest Brazilian central defenders of the 1960s and 1970s. He was known for his finesse on defense--a player who didn't need to show a rough side. He just knew how to cover and always seemed one step ahead of the forwards he covered--including Pele. In fact, Pele admitted that Roberto Dias was the only central defender who could truly mark him. In one memorable game between Pele's Santos FC and Sao Paulo FC in the 1967 edition of the Campeonato Paulista, which would ultimately end in a 3-3 draw, Dias, kept Pele scoreless while scoring 2 goals in the process.

Roberto Dias was on the 1960 Olympic football team in Rome. Despite his stellar career, Dias was not given a spot on the 1966 FIFA World Cup team, when Coach Feola opted to call up an ageing Zito to the squad instead of one of the most dominating defenders in Brazil. Furthermore, in 1973, at the age of 30, he suffered a heart attack, which robbed him of the best years of his career. He was never quite the same.

Despite these hiccups, there was no doubt that Dias is a phenomenal player. The Sao Paulo teams he played for were never really contenders--the board opted to spend their money in the construction of Estádio do Morumbi instead of on players. It should come as no surprise then when Pele was passed his prime...and the construction of Morumbi completed in 1970, Sao Paulo FC promptly won two Paulistas. He earned 27 caps for Brazil.

After many years training and working as coach for the Sao Paulo FC youth team, Roberto Dias suffered a fatal heart attack and died in Sao Paulo. In honor to the its greatest defender the SPFC team played with a black arm band in the 2nd game against Boca Juniors for the 2007 Sudamerica Cup.