Player Profile - Ademir

Discussion in 'Brazil' started by Gregoriak, Feb 21, 2006.

  1. Gregoriak

    Gregoriak BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 27, 2002
    Munich
    ADEMIR

    [​IMG]

    Born: 8 November 1922.

    Died: 11 May 1996.

    Full name: Ademir Marques de Menezes.

    Nick name: Queixada.

    Position: Inside and center forward.

    Caps:
    39 (1945-1953) / 32 goals

    League Games:
    409 (1939-1956) / 301 goals

    Trophies & Tournaments:
    World Cup runner-up: 1950
    South American Champion: 1949
    South American Championship runner-up: 1953
    Rio de Janeiro State Champion: 1945, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1956
    Pernambuco State Champion: 1941, 1942
    Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo runner-up: 1950, 1952, 1953
    Top Scorer World Cup: 1950
    Top Scorer Rio de Janeiro State Championship: 1949, 1950
    Top Scorer Pernambuco State Championship: 1941
    Top Scorer Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo: 1951


    Brazilian legend Ademir was one of the most dominant figures in world football of the 1940s and early 1950s, people at the time considered him an unequalled ball juggler who knew every trick in the book. He used to wreak havoc among defenses with his quick changes in tempo, fooling his opponents with deceptions carried out almost at lightning speed (ok I’m exaggerating a bit here), his mastering of the ball in all situations and the possibility to accelerate very fast. At the same time, his style of play seemed feeble, almost as feebly as his shots, which mostly came out of his knee joint. Shots unleashed with brute force were not his forte, but in spite of that, he instilled fear among defenders whenever he entered the penalty box. The reason for that was that his shots were hard to be calculated, as he always found a way to give the ball a wily twist either with the inside or the outside of his foot. This way he churned out goal after goal.

    Ademir’s career began where he was born on November 8, 1922, in the city of Recife. He played for the club of the same name (Sport Recife, Pernambuco), until his football-crazy father decided that his son needed to play in worthier surroundings, hence his move to Rio de Janeiro in 1942, where Ademir joined the big Vasco da Gama club. He would remain faithful to this club for the rest of his career, except for a 1-year stint at Fluminense in 1946-7. Regardless in which competition, Ademir would score goal after goal, in 409 league games for Vasco he bagged 301 goals, winning a nice amount of trophies, like the Pernambuco championship with Sport Recife (1941, 1942), the State Championship of Rio with Vasco (1945, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1956) and Fluminense (1946). He finished runners-up in the prestigious Rio-Sao Paulo-Tournament three times with Vasco (1950, 1952, 1953). As indispensable as Ademir’s cunning goal scoring ways became for the clubs he played for, as indispensable they became for the Selecao, for who he scored 32 times in only 39 games between 1945 and 1953. One of his greatest accomplishments while playing for the Selecao were his three goals in the final of the 1949 South American Championship vs. Paraguay in Rio de Janeiro, but it was the 1950 World Cup that firmly established Ademir as one of the most salient center forwards of his era. Being part of arguably the greatest inside forward trio up to that date (Zizinho-Ademir-Jair), for three weeks, Ademir became the celebrated darling of the nation by scoring nine goals for Brazil in six games which made him top scorer of the competition. Even sober European observers like Dr. Friedebert Becker could hardly hide their enthusiasm for this exceptional player, the German football expert depicted a typical Ademir-goal from the 6-1 mauling of Spain by Brazil as follows: “….Parra, the young Spanish stopper, had hoaxed Ademir with a dribbling, … there came Ademir’s cruel revenge. After a wonderful attack from the left – no Spaniard being able to touch the ball for seconds – Ademir got the ball at the edge of the penalty box, flirting with the ball, fooling Parra, running towards the Spanish goal backwards (!), suddenly turning around and shooting with high precision, and the ball was in the net!” Hardly anyone doubted that Brazil would be crowned World Champions after a series of dazzling displays versus various opponents, just as long as Ademir would keep on producing goals like that. But when the final game vs. Uruguay was played, Ademir and his comrades failed to score against a tactically aware and astute Uruguayan side that slowed down the pace on which the Brazilians used to thrive with their fast combinations. With time running out, the Brazilians in their desperation tried all possible tricks, but nothing would work, even Ademir withdrawing to a midfield position trying to create more space for his teammates as well as trying to set up goal scoring opportunities for them did not help in the end. Uruguay’s 2-1 lead during the last 11 minutes was not to be equalized, no matter how hard the Selecao tried.

    But even without a World Cup trophy connected to his name, the name ‘Ademir’ would not be forgotten among Brazilians. Partly due to his outstanding football abilities, partly due to his career as a manager, businessman and most notably as a popular radio- and TV-commentator.

    League Statistics

    -- not available --
     
    Lucas... repped this.
  2. Gregoriak

    Gregoriak BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 27, 2002
    Munich
  3. tpmazembe

    tpmazembe Member

    Jun 13, 2002
    The Midfield (S.Fla)

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