Sócrates

Brazilian footballer and intellectual known as 'Doctor Socrates', captained Brazil in two World Cups and was a key figure in Corinthians Democracy movement.

Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira was born in Belém, Pará in 1954 and became the most intellectually remarkable figure in football history — a practising physician who graduated from medicine while playing professional football at the highest level, a committed Marxist, philosopher and writer who ran Corinthians on a workers' cooperative model during the early 1980s. On the pitch he was a player of exceptional vision, passing range and the ability to control and redirect the ball with both feet while standing virtually stationary — a languid style that belied extraordinary technical quality. He won four São Paulo State Championships with Corinthians and captained Brazil at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, participating in arguably the finest Brazilian side never to win the tournament — the 1982 team of Zico, Falcão, Junior and Sócrates that played perhaps the most attacking football in World Cup history. He scored 22 goals in 60 international appearances. He played in the Italian Serie A for Fiorentina in 1984-85. Beyond football, he wrote a regular column in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo and was active in politics. He died of complications from septic shock in December 2011 at 57. His name remains synonymous with the concept of footballer-as-intellectual.

Elegant playmaker with exceptional vision, passing ability, and trademark backheel

Remembered as one of Brazil's most intelligent players and a symbol of football artistry

• Campeonato Brasileiro (Corinthians)
• 60 Brazil caps, 22 goals
• Campeonato Paulista 1982
• Campeonato Paulista 1983

Club Career

Club	Period	Apps	Goals	Shirt
Botafogo	1974–1978	—	127	#10
Corinthians	1978–1984	297	172	—
Fiorentina	1984–1985	20	4	—
Flamengo	1986–1987	25	8	—
Santos	1988–1989	35	10	—
Brazil	—	60	22	—