Ademir de Menezes

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Ademir de Menezes
Ademir de Menezes.jpg
Ademir in 1947
Personal information
Full name Ademir Marques de Menezes
Date of birth (1922-11-08)8 November 1922
Place of birth Recife, Brazil
Date of death 11 May 1996(1996-05-11) (aged 73)
Place of death Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9+12 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
Men's Football
Representing  Brazil
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 1950 Brazil
Copa América
Winner 1949 Brazil
Runner-up 1945 Chile
Runner-up 1946 Argentina
Runner-up 1953 Peru
Panamerican Championship
Winner 1952 Chile
* 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[]

[3] [4]

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
Vasco da Gama
  • Campeonato Carioca: 1945, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1956
  • South American Championship of Champions: 1948
Fluminense
  • Campeonato Carioca: 1947

International[]

Brazil

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[]

  1. ^ a b Tim Vickery (26 March 2007). "Tim Vickery column". BBC. Archived from the original on 30 March 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
  2. ^ "Maracanã, the largest stadium of the world". Sambafoot.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
  3. ^ Ademir de Menezes at National-Football-Teams.com
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ a b IFFHS' Century Elections
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