Offside News

Sports

Brazilian football legend Socrates dies

Comment: 0 December 5th, 2011 by: admin

Known to many as one of the greatest playmakers of his time, Brazilian footballer Socrates passed away this Sunday in a Sao Paolo hospital.  He was 57.

The Brazilian was said to have died from an intestinal infection after a bad case of food poisoning.

According to a statement from the Albert Einstein Hospital, Socrates had been on life support since he was admitted last Thursday.  He died three days after from what was said to have been septic shock.

The midfielder was best known for his captaincy of the Brazilian team, reputed to be the best national squad to have failed to secure a World Cup win.

Socrates was also famous for dabbling in the medical field as a doctor, and a political activist who worked to help end the military government’s 20-year regime in Brazil from 1964-1984.

On a more dismal note, however, he was also known as a heavy smoker and drinker, and had reportedly been admitted to the hospital a number of times since August.  He was said to have suffered from digestive haemorrhage caused by excessive alcohol consumption.

According to Yahoo! News, before Socrates was admitted to the hospital last week, he also spent almost 20 days in hospital care after undergoing a liver transplant.

Socrates was famously referred to as ‘Magrao’, which translates to ‘big, skinny one’, a reference to his tall, thin frame and thick beard.  He was also known as the ‘Golden Heel’.

‘He was a genius on the field,’ said Socrates’ former Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.  ‘He was the most intellectual of the players I worked with, intelligent, objective and he had opinions that were his own and firm about anything and mainly politics.

‘He was a genius in the field,’ Parreira continued.  ‘He marked a generation with the technical quality and intelligence of his football…He was one of the great icons of that team that marvelled the world.’

Socrates was one in a generation of a number of greats, including Junior, Zico, Falcao and Eder.

‘Socrates was a buddy, a great friend, one of those figures football’s going to miss for everything he represented,’ said Junior.

‘Whoever shared life with him enjoyed the special person he was: intelligent, cultured, fun, a ball ace,’ he continued.  ‘He’s the kind of figure hard to find in football.’

His football career was highlighted by his six years with the Corinthians, where he scored a total of 172 goals and made 297 appearances.

‘Today…started sadly for Brazilian football, mainly for Corinthian [fans],’ said a statement from the club.

‘[We] say goodbye to “Magrao” with sadness but we also remain grateful for the honour of having seen one of the greatest players in football wearing the white and black shirt in so many games.

‘Thank you for the beautiful goals, touches of genius, majestic football only Socrates played.’

More