João Batista de Sales (born January 19, 1945 in

Conselheiro Pena Conselheiro Pena, formerly known as "Lajao", is located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

), better known as Fio Maravilha, is a former

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. In Brazil he played for

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 t ...

Paysandu Sport Club Paysandu Sport Club, commonly referred to as Paysandu, is a Brazilian professional club based in Belém, Pará founded on 2 February 1914. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, the third tier of Brazilian football, as well as in th ...

, CEUB, Desportiva and

São Cristóvão São Cristóvão (, ''Saint Christopher'') is a Brazilian municipality in the Northeastern state of Sergipe. Founded at the mouth of the Vaza-Barris River on January 1, 1590, the municipality is the fourth oldest settlement in Brazil. São Crist� ...

. Later he moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he played for the

New York Eagles The New York Eagles were a professional soccer franchise that played in the American Soccer League from 1978 to 1981, with a one-year hiatus in 1980. The franchise played its first season in Mount Vernon, New York, then moved to Albany, New York ...

, the Montebello Panthers, and the San Francisco Mercury. He is perhaps most famous for the hit single "Fio Maravilha" that was written about him in 1972 by

Jorge Ben Jorge Duílio Lima Menezes (born March 22, 1939) is a Brazilian popular musician, performing under the stage name Jorge Ben Jor since the 1980s, though commonly known by his former stage name Jorge Ben (). His characteristic style fuses samba, ...

(later known as Jorge Ben Jor). The musician attended a friendly game between Flamengo and Benfica at Maracanã. Fio was left out of Flamengo's starting lineup by coach

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 ...

, but after a chorus of fans demanded that he play, he was brought in as a substitute. After 33 minutes in the second half he scored the goal ("the goal of an angel") that was immortalized in the song: :''...driblou o goleiro'' :''Só não entrou com bola e tudo porque teve humildade.'' :("...he dribbled past the goalkeeper but did not enter the goal with the ball because he was humble.") As the result of a legal dispute between Jorge Ben and Fio, the title of the song was later changed to "Filho Maravilha". In 2007, Fio gave the musician permission to use his name (Fio) in the song. Fio Maravilha lives in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, where he worked as a pizza deliverer. He now coaches youth soccer.

References

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Fio Maravilha, nós gostamos de você
Living people 1945 births Brazilian footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers CR Flamengo footballers New York Eagles players Expatriate soccer players in the United States American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Association football forwards {{Brazil-footy-forward-1940s-stub