Zico Biography

Arthur Antunes Coimbra (born in March 3, 1953), better known as Zico, was a famous Brazilian football sensation and one of the best midfielders the world has ever seen. He is currently the coach of the Japanese National Team.

He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004 and is often considered to have been the best Brazilian player after Pelé. Zico represented his country in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups, and scored 52 goals in 72 matches for Brazil. He was chosen 1983 Player of the Year and is considered one of the best players in football history to have never won the World Cup. He was Brazil's top scorer in their 1982 World Cup campaign, in a team considered one of the best Brazilian national squads ever. Zico is also particularly famous for his propensity to score beautiful, sometimes seemingly impossible, goals.
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Zico came from a lower-middle-class family, in the suburbs of Quintino, Rio de Janeiro. In common with many Brazilians, he spent his youth playing football for fun all day and dreaming of playing professionally at night. While still a teenager, he caught the attention of the radio reporter Celso Garcia who took him to a trial at Flamengo, beginning his path towards being one of the most admired players in history of football.

Physically, he was not strong and his history of determination and discipline began with a hard muscle and body development program. A combination of hard work and also a special diet sponsored by his team enabled him to develop a strong body and become an athlete. This later proved to be essential for his success.

"Zico The Movie" was shown in Japan.While at Flamengo, Zico was a key player during the most glorious period of the team's history. Along with many other titles, in his first period at Flamengo he led the team to victory in the 1981 Copa Libertadores, the 1981 Intercontinental Cup, and three national titles (1980/82/83). On the field, Zico made goals in all imaginable ways, was also a great assister and team organizer, and was known for his excellent vision of the field. He was a two-footed player and an expert at free kicks.

In a multi-million dollar transaction, he was hired to play for Udinese, in Italy, from 1983 to 1985. Though leaving some Brazilian fans in sadness, he led Udinese to be among the best Italian teams. In Italy, Zico had personal disputes against Juventus's Michel Platini and Napoli's Diego Maradona. In the 1983-84 Italian League season, Zico scored 19 goals - one less than the championship top scorer Platini, having played 6 matches less than the French player.

Unfortunately - from Zico's point of view - Udinese had not won any relevant competition and Zico eventually went back to Brazil and Flamengo, sponsored by a group of companies.

On his return, he suffered a knee injury after a violent tackle from Bangu's defender Marcio Nunes, which interrupted his career for several months. He played in the 1986 World Cup while still injured, and missed a penalty during regular time in the quarter-final match against France. The match ended in a tie which led to a shootout. Zico, then, scored his goal but after penalties missed by Sócrates and Júlio César, Brazil was knocked out. Recovered from injuries, things improved for Zico in 1987 when he led Flamengo to their fourth national title.

With 731 matches for Flamengo, Zico is the 2nd player with most appearances for the club. His 508 goals make him the club's top scorer ever.

Many consider Zico to be the best player in Flamengo's history, and his achievements there inspired the Brazilian singer Jorge Benjor to write a song in his honour - Camisa 10 da Gávea - helping create the mystique of the club's number 10.

After Brazil's first presidential election in many years, the new president Fernando Collor de Mello appointed Zico as his Minister of Sports. Zico stayed at this political assignment for about a year and his most important contribution was a piece of legislation dealing with the business side of sport teams, as most of the teams in Brazil were (and still are in 2005) administered more like amateur associations than professional companies.

Zico interrupted his political assignment to accept a much more rewarding job, both financially and in happiness; in 1991 he was asked to join the Sumitomo Metal Industries Soccer Club in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture to help the club secure a place in Japan's first professional soccer league that was set to launch in 1993. Zico played for Sumitomo in 1992, the last season before the old Japan Soccer League was disbanded and reformed as the fully professional J. League. When the new league launched, the small town club, renamed Kashima Antlers, was not expected to compete with richer, more glamorous clubs like Yokohama Marinos and Verdy Kawasaki. However, Zico helped the Antlers to a runners-up finish in its inaugural season and the club cemented its place among the league's elite.

Zico’s discipline, talent and professionalism meshed very well with Japanese culture, and his influence earned him the nickname, "God of Soccer" from Japanese soccer fans. He retired as a professional football player during the 1994 season but received an invitation to play Beach Soccer. He returned to Kashima to become the the Antlers' technical adviser in 1995, splitting his time between Japan and Brazil, where he founded CFZ (Zico Football Centre) and still managed to find time to play Beach Soccer. By this time, he was a local legend in Japan for having built a contender from almost nothing and putting the city of Kashima on the map. A statue in his honor stands outside Kashima Stadium.

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ZICO BIOGRAPHY