Ademir de Menezes
This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. (March 2009) |
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ademir Marques de Menezes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 8 November 1922 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Recife, Brazil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of death | 11 May 1996 | (aged 73)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of death | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport Recife | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1939–1942 | Sport Recife | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1942–1945 | Vasco da Gama | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1946–1947 | Fluminense | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1948–1956 | Vasco da Gama | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1957 | Sport Recife | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1945–1953 | Brazil | 39 | (32) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Teams managed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1967 | Vasco da Gama | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Honours
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
Ademir Marques de Menezes (8 November 1921 – 11 May 1996), best known as Ademir de Menezes (Portuguese pronunciation: [adeˈmiʁ]), was a Brazilian footballer, regarded as one of the best forwards in football history.[1] His prominent underbite earned him the nickname "Queixada", which means "jaw". He was also the top goalscorer in the 1950 FIFA World Cup.
International career[]
He is best known for his exploits in the 1950 World Cup held in his native Brazil. Playing in an outstanding forward trio involving Zizinho and Jair he won the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the competition with 9 goals, and he also helped the team with 6 assists in the tournament. He was the scorer of the first competitive goal at the Maracanã stadium.[2] Despite this feat, he could not bring victory to Brazil in the decisive match against Uruguay – a national tragedy which was later dubbed the Maracanazo.
Ademir also enjoyed success in the Copa América. He played in the 1945, 1946, 1949, and 1953 editions of the tournament, with 13 goals and 3 assists in 18 appearances in the competition, including a tournament-winning hat-trick in the final play-off against Paraguay in 1949. He also won the Panamerican Championship with Brazil in 1952 scoring two goals on the title match against Chile. In total, Ademir played 39 times for his country, scoring 32 goals (according to RSSSF) between 1945 and 1953.
Club career[]
He began his club career with Sport Recife before moving to Vasco da Gama. He played for Vasco for two spells, 1942–1945 and 1948–56, broken by a spell at Fluminense. In total, Ademir won five Rio State League championships (1945, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1956). He won another with Fluminense (1946). He was the league's top scorer in 1949 with 30 goals and again in 1950 with 25 goals. Ademir finally retired from playing in 1956, going on to work as a commentator, coach and businessman.
Playing style[]
A fast and powerful striker, with a strong shot in both feet,[1] Ademir began his career as a left winger before moving to the centre, causing havoc in opposing defences with his skill and sublime finishing. People at the time considered him an unequalled ball juggler who knew every trick in the book. He used to wreak havoc among defences with his quick changes in tempo, fooling his opponents with deceptions carried out almost at lightning speed, his mastering of the ball in all situations and the ability to accelerate rapidly.
Career statistics[]
International[]
Brazil national team | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Apps | Goals |
1945 | 9 | 7 |
1946 | 6 | 1 |
1947 | 2 | 0 |
1948 | 0 | 0 |
1949 | 5 | 7 |
1950 | 9 | 14 |
1951 | 0 | 0 |
1952 | 5 | 2 |
1953 | 3 | 1 |
Total | 39 | 32 |
1950 World Cup statistics[]
The scores contain links to the article on the 1950 FIFA World Cup and the round in question. When there is a special article on the match in question, the link is in the column for round.
Game no. | Round | Date | Opponent | Score | Ademir's goals | Times | Ademir's playing time | Venue | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Group 1 | 24 June 1950 | Mexico | 4–0 (1–0) | 2 | 30' 79' | 90 min. | Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro | [1] |
2 | Group 1 | 28 June 1950 | Switzerland | 2–2 (2–1) | 0 | 90 min. | Estádio do Pacaembu, São Paulo | [2] | |
3 | Group 1 | 1 July 1950 | Yugoslavia | 2–0 (1–0) | 1 | 3' | 90 min. | Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro | [3] |
4 | Final R. | 9 July 1950 | Sweden | 7–1 (3–0) | 4 | 17' 37' 51' 59' | 90 min. | Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro | [4] |
5 | Final R. | 13 July 1950 | Spain | 6–1 (3–0) | 2 | 15' 57' | 90 min. | Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro | [5] |
6 | Final R. | 16 July 1950 | Uruguay | 1–2 (0–0) | 0 | 90 min. | Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro | [6] |
Honours[]
Club[]
- Sport Recife
- Campeonato Pernambucano: 1941, 1942
- Vasco da Gama
- Campeonato Carioca: 1945, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1956
- South American Championship of Champions: 1948
- Fluminense
- Campeonato Carioca: 1947
International[]
- Brazil
- South American Championship: 1949
- Panamerican Championship: 1952
- FIFA World Cup Runner-up: 1950
- South American Championship Runner-up: 1945, 1946, 1953
Individual[]
- Copa América Best Player: 1949
- FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: 1950
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1950
- IFFHS Brazilian Player of the 20th Century (18th place)[5]
- IFFHS South American Player of the 20th Century (44th place)[5]
- Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame
References[]
- ^ a b Tim Vickery (26 March 2007). "Tim Vickery column". BBC. Archived from the original on 30 March 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
- ^ "Maracanã, the largest stadium of the world". Sambafoot.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
- ^ Ademir de Menezes at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b IFFHS' Century Elections
- 1922 births
- 1996 deaths
- Sportspeople from Recife
- Brazilian footballers
- Association football forwards
- Fluminense FC players
- CR Vasco da Gama players
- Sport Club do Recife players
- Brazil international footballers
- 1949 South American Championship players
- 1950 FIFA World Cup players
- Copa América-winning players