Sócrates, Brazilian Soccer Star and Activist, Dies at 57
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The cause was septic shock from an intestinal infection, according to a statement from Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, where he was admitted on Saturday.
Sócrates, the captain of Brazil
“This country drinks more cachaça than any other in the world, and it seems like I myself drink it all,” he once told an interviewer, referring to the popular Brazilian spirit made from fermented sugar cane. “They don’t want me to drink, smoke or think?”
“Well,” he said, “I drink, smoke and think.”
His exuberant style reflected an expansive and multifaceted career. In addition to playing soccer, he practiced medicine and dabbled in coaching and painting. He also wrote newspaper columns, delving into subjects as varied as politics and economics, and made forays into writing fiction and acting on the stage.
Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira was born on Feb. 19, 1954, in the Amazonian city of Belém do Pará, Brazil. His upbringing was more privileged than that of many Brazilian professional soccer players, who often rise from abject poverty.
Emerging in the 1970s as a promising young player in Ribeirão Preto , in the interior of São Paulo State São Paulo club with a big following among Brazil
Known to his fans as Doctor and Big Skinny, a reference to his spindly 6-foot-4-inch frame, Sócrates arrived at Corinthians at a time of intense political activity in São Paulo , a period when anger and resistance were coalescing against the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil
Sócrates, in addition to organizing a movement advocating greater rights for Corinthians players, spoke at street protests in the 1980s calling for an end to authoritarian rule. That movement helped usher in a transition to democracy.
“Dr. Sócrates was a star on the field and a great friend,” said Mr. da Silva, a Corinthians fan who is being treated for throat cancer at the hospital where Sócrates died. “He was an example of citizenship, intelligence and political consciousness.”
On the field, Sócrates was known as a wily strategist who could elegantly employ his signature move, a back-heel pass. At a time when many players maintained a clean-cut appearance, Sócrates had a beard and sometimes appeared with his long hair held back in a headband, like the tennis star Bjorn Borg.
Fans of Sócrates mention his name in the same breath as Brazilian soccer greats like Pelé, Ronaldo and Romário. But unlike those players, he was never part of a World Cup championship team.
The team he captained in 1982 was considered among the best to play the game, but it lost to Italy, 3-2, in the second round. In the 1986 World Cup, Sócrates missed a penalty kick in a quarterfinal loss to France
Revered for his rebellious irreverence and his “heel of gold,” he deplored the way Brazilian soccer had evolved in recent years, criticizing the new playing styles as “bureaucratic” and “conservative.”
“Being sensible isn’t always the best thing,” Sócrates told The Guardian in 2010.
While Sócrates often defended his nonconformist style, he struggled publicly with his demons, too.
In televised comments this year, he described his struggle with alcoholism, leading to a broader debate in Brazil
He is survived by his wife and six children, The Associated Press reported.
Source: New York Times
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