Carlos Alberto "Capita" Torres (17 July 1944 – 25 October 2016), also known as "O Capitão do Tri", was a Brazilian football player and manager who played as an attacking right-sided full-back or wing-back. A technically gifted defender with good ball skills and defensive capabilities, he is widely regarded as one of the best defenders of all time. He also stood out for his leadership, and was an excellent penalty taker. Nicknamed ''O Capitão'', he captained the Brazil national team to victory in the 1970 World Cup, scoring the fourth goal in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, considered one of the greatest goals in the history of the tournament. Carlos Alberto was a member of the World Team of the 20th Century, and in 2004 was named by Pelé in the

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fou ...

list of the world's greatest living players. He was an inductee to the Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame, and was a member of the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame. In January 2013, Carlos Alberto was named one of the six Ambassadors of 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, others being Ronaldo,

Bebeto José Roberto Gama de Oliveira (born 16 February 1964), known as Bebeto (), is a Brazilian former professional football player who played as a forward. He entered politics in the 2010 Brazilian General Elections and was elected to the Le ...

Mário Zagallo Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo (; born 9 August 1931) is a Brazilian former professional football player, coordinator and manager, who played as a forward. Zagallo holds the record for World Cup titles in general with four titles in total. He was ...

, Amarildo and Marta.

Personal life

Carlos Alberto was born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

in 1944. He had a twin brother, Carlos Roberto, who died one month before him in 2016. His son is fellow player

Carlos Alexandre Torres Carlos Alexandre Torres (born 22 August 1966), known as Alexandre Torres, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played as a defender. His father is former footballer Carlos Alberto Torres. Career Club career Torres played professio ...

and his daughter Andrea Torres.

Club career

Brazil

Carlos Alberto joined

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

at the age of 19. He made a name for himself in his first season, not only because of his great

tackling Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...

and reading of the game, but also for his outstanding ball control,

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

and playmaking abilities, which were quite rare at the time for a defender. In 1966, he moved to Santos, where he became Pelé's teammate. In 1974, he returned to Fluminense and helped the team capture two consecutive Campeonato Carioca championships. In 1977, he moved to Fluminense's arch-rivals

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

NASL

In 1977, despite his success in Brazil, Carlos Alberto Torres decided to move to the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

. He arrived on the day of the New York City blackout where he was reunited with his friend and partner Pelé and helped the Cosmos capture two consecutive NASL titles in 1977 and 1978. After spending one year with the

California Surf The California Surf were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1981. The team was based in Anaheim, California and played their home games at Anaheim Convention Center and the Long Beach ...

, he returned to the Cosmos in 1982 where he won his third NASL title. He played his farewell game on 28 September 1982 in an exhibition match between the Cosmos and his former club

. In 119 regular season games and 26 playoff games, Carlos scored a total of 8 goals and was an NASL All-Star five times.

International career

From 1964 to 1977, Carlos Alberto was capped 53 times and scored 8 goals. He was included in the 44-man training squad for the 1966 FIFA World Cup but did not make the final 22. As it turned out, Brazil were knocked out at the Group stage in England, and when João Saldanha was tasked with restoring pride and passion to the ''seleção'', he recognised the leadership ability that Carlos Alberto was consistently demonstrating at Santos, and made him national captain. Thus, Carlos Alberto is remembered holding aloft the Jules Rimet trophy after Brazil secured the cup for good after an impressive victory over Italy in the 1970 FIFA World Cup Final in Mexico City. That squad also included

Clodoaldo Clodoaldo Tavares de Santana, better known as Clodoaldo (; born 25 September 1949 in Aracaju), is a Brazilian former footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Clodoaldo usually played as a defensive midfielder for both Santos Futebol ...

Gérson Gérson de Oliveira Nunes, generally known as Gérson (; born 11 January 1941 in Niterói), nicknamed ''Canhotinha de ouro'' (literally: Golden left foot), is a Brazilian former association footballer who played as a midfielder. He won numerous ...

Jairzinho Jair Ventura Filho (born 25 December 1944), better known as Jairzinho (), is a Brazilian former footballer. A quick, skillful, and powerful right winger known for his finishing ability and eye for goal, he was a key member and top scorer of th ...

, Roberto Rivelino,

Tostão Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade (born 25 January 1947), generally known as Tostão, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward or attacking midfielder. Tostão was an intelligent, hardworking and prolific left-footed f ...

and Pelé. Carlos Alberto's goal against Italy in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

is considered one of the best goals ever scored in the tournament. In 2002 the UK public voted the goal No. 36 in the list of the

100 Greatest Sporting Moments ''100 Greatest'' is a long-running TV strand on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom that has been broadcasting from 11 September 1999 to 10 October 2015, originating in Tyne Tees Television’s Factual Features department under Executive Producer Ma ...

. 1970 would prove to be the only time he would play at that level. He was unable to participate in the

1974 World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...

due to a persistent knee injury. When he eventually regained match fitness, his speed had been compromised. However, his ability to read the game compensated for his loss of pace and when he moved to centre back, he found the form to warrant a recall to the national team. In 1977, he was selected by

Claudio Coutinho Claudio is an Italian and Spanish first name. In Portuguese it is accented Cláudio. In Catalan and Occitan it is Claudi, while in Romanian it is Claudiu. Origin and history Claudius was the name of an eminent Roman gens, the most important ...

to captain the national team for the first three qualifiers for the

1978 World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by t ...

. He acquitted himself well despite those being the first competitive internationals he had played for almost seven years. He was approaching 33 years of age and retired from international football, immediately prior to joining New York Cosmos in the NASL. Today he is widely considered one of the finest Brazilian footballers of all time.

Coaching career

His career as a football manager started in 1983, when he managed Flamengo. He also managed several other clubs, like

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

in 1985 and 1986; Náutico in 1986, 1987 and 1988;

Once Caldas Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Palogrande stadium. They were the surprise winne ...

on 1989, 1990; Monterrey in 1991, 1992;

Club Tijuana Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente, commonly known as Tijuana, or simply as ''Xoloitzcuintle, Xolos'', is a Mexican professional Football team, football club based in Tijuana. The club's badge is the founder's (Jorge Hank) hairless xoloit ...

in 1992; Fluminense in 1994 and 1995;

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood ('' bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of ...

in 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003; Querétaro F.C. in 1999;

Unión Magdalena Unión Magdalena () commonly known as El Unión, and nicknamed as El Ciclón Bananero (The Banana Cyclone) and also Los Samarios (The Samarios), is a Colombian football club from the city of Santa Marta, capital of the department of Magdalena, ...

in 2000, 2001; and Paysandu in 2005. He was also an assistant manager for national teams such as the

Nigeria national football team The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in men's international football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners, with their most recent title in 2013. In April 1994, ...

and the Oman national football team. On 14 February 2004, he was appointed manager of the

Azerbaijan national football team The Azerbaijan national football team ( az, Azərbaycan milli futbol komandası) is the national football team of Azerbaijan and is controlled by Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan. It represents Azerbaijan in international foot ...

. He resigned on 4 June 2005 after losing a match against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, during which he assaulted the technical referee and ran on the pitch suggesting the referee was bribed.

Death

Carlos Alberto died in Rio de Janeiro on 25 October 2016 due to a sudden

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

. He was a sports commentator at a Brazilian channel

SporTV SporTV is a Brazilian pay television sports network owned by Canais Globo, part of Grupo Globo, launched in 1991. It is the most watched sports network in Brazil. On January 18, 2013, were launched High-definition simulcasts of SporTV and ...

, having appeared live on studio only two days before his death, which occurred exactly one month after his twin died.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Player

Fluminense * Campeonato Carioca: 1964, 1975, 1976 *

Taça Guanabara The Taça Guanabara, or Guanabara Cup, is a football tournament organized annually since 1965 by the Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation. In its first four editions (1965, 1966, 1967 and 1968), the Taça Guanabara was a tournament in its o ...

: 1966 Santos * Recopa Sul-Americana: 1968 * Taça de Prata: 1968 *

Paulista Championship The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the FPF, the league is contested between 16 clubs and ty ...

: 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973 New York Cosmos *NASL Soccer Bowl Championships: 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982 Brazil * Pan American Games champion: 1963. *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

: 1970 Individual *

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game. Awards *There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...

: 1970 * World Team of the 20th Century: 1998 * National Soccer Hall of Fame: 2003 *

: 2004 *The Best of The Best – Player of the Century: Top 50 * Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame *

Ballon d'Or Dream Team The Ballon d'Or Dream Team is an all-time all-star team published by ''France Football'' on 14 December 2020 after conducting an internet poll of fans to select a football dream team starting from October 2020. The final team was selected by 140 ...

(Silver): 2020 * IFFHS All-time Men's B Dream Team: 2021

Notes

External links

, colspan="3" style="text-align:center;", World Cup-winners status , - , style="width:28%; text-align:center;", Preceded by
Bobby Moore
1941 , style="width:44%; text-align:center;", Latest Born Captain to Die
1944
25 October 2016 – 25 November 2020 , style="width:28%; text-align:center;", Succeeded by

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...

1960
Sambafoot
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torres, Carlos Alberto 1944 births 2016 deaths 1970 FIFA World Cup players Brazil international footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Brazilian football managers Brazilian footballers FIFA 100 FIFA World Cup-winning players FIFA World Cup-winning captains Association football fullbacks Association football wingers National Soccer Hall of Fame members North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Fluminense FC players Santos FC players CR Flamengo footballers New York Cosmos players California Surf players CR Flamengo managers Sport Club Corinthians Paulista managers Once Caldas managers C.F. Monterrey managers Club Tijuana managers Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas managers Fluminense FC managers Clube Atlético Mineiro managers Querétaro F.C. managers Unión Magdalena managers Oman national football team managers Paysandu Sport Club managers Azerbaijan national football team managers Expatriate football managers in Azerbaijan Association football commentators Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Oman Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate soccer managers in the United States Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Expatriate football managers in Colombia Expatriate football managers in Oman Expatriate football managers in Mexico Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Pan American Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1963 Pan American Games Deaths from heart disease