Brazil Football Star : Zico

Brazil Football Star : Zico

                                                                

Arthur Antunes Coimbra, better known as Zico, is a Brazilian Coach and former professional footballer who used to play in attacking midfield, acting as the playmaker.

 

He is often referred to as "the white Pele", as he is considered to be one of the greatest playmakers that ever played the game, on top of being a free-kick specialist with the ability to bend the ball in any direction.

Zico was named on Pele's list as one of the 125 greatest living footballers. Pele also said about Zico: “throughout the years, the one player that came closest to me was Zico”.

Beginnings

Born on the March 3, 1953, in Rio de Janeiro, Zico grew up in a middle class family, with the same dream as many young Brazilians to become a professional footballer.

In 1967 he was offered a trial by America, a club where his two brothers Antunes and Edu were playing at the time. But since his father was a big Flamengo fan, he opted to join them instead and began his path to become one of the greatest players this sport has ever seen.

Zico was physically not very strong, so he had to undergo a tough muscle and development program in order to get his body into the right athletic shape, which proved to essential in his later years.

Flamengo

Zico made his debut for the senior team of Flamengo in 1971 but wasn’t officially promoted until after he had played 116 matches for the youth side, finding the net 81 times. During his time at Flamengo, he became one of the key players, leading the team to many titles, including four national titles, the Libertadores Cup as well as the Intercontinental Cup. He became well known for his goals, assists, his vision of the field and most notably his expertise for free kicks.

Udinese

After 12 successful years at Flamengo, Zico had received several offers from European heavyweights such as AS Roma and AC Milan, but opted instead for a multimillion dollar switch to Udinese Calcio.

Despite the team and its fans believing better days were here, due to the newly created partnership of Zico and Franco Causio striking fear into even Juventus and Roma, Udinese was not able to win any titles during Zico's time there.

However, individually he took the league in a storm in in the 1983/84 campaign, scoring 19 goals, only one less than top goal scorer, French footballer Michel Platini of Juventus, who had played six more games.

The following season, which marked his last in Italy, Zico was plagued by injury problems, which would let him see the field only 15 times.

Return to Brazil

Zico then returned to Flamengo in 1985, but was seriously injured by a violent tackle from Bangu defender Marcio Nunes.

The last four years of his career were not as successful as his first stint as a Flamengo player. This was mostly due to the injury problems he was facing.

Nevertheless he was always a fan favorite, orchestrating and organizing his side. He played his last official game for Flamengo, in December of 1989, in a 5-0 victory over Fluminese.

With 731 appearances for the club in total, he is the player with the second-most appearances for Flamengo. His 508 goals, however, make him the highest goal-scorer in the history of the club!

International Career

Zico played for the National team from 1976-1988. He is often called the best Brazilian footballer never to lift the World Cup trophy.

In the World Cup of 1982 Zico was part of what many call the best Brazil squad of all time, boasting all time greats such as Falcao, Socrates and Junior.

Zico played in three World Cups and also managed an impressive 52 goals in 72 appearances during his time as a national player.

Personal information
Full name	Arthur Antunes Coimbra
Date of birth	(1953-03-03) 3 March 1953 (age 60)
Place of birth	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Al-Gharafa (manager)
Youth career
1967–1972	Flamengo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1971–1983	Flamengo	212	(123)
1983–1985	Udinese	39	(22)
1985–1989	Flamengo	37	(12)
1991–1994	Kashima Antlers	46	(35)
Total		334	(192)
National team
1976–1986	Brazil	71	(48)
Teams managed
1999	Kashima Antlers
2000–2002	CFZ
2002–2006	Japan
2006–2008	Fenerbahçe
2008	Bunyodkor
2009	CSKA Moscow
2009–2010	Olympiacos
2011–2012	Iraq
2013–	Al-Gharafa