José Leandro de Souza Ferreira (born 17 March 1959), known as Leandro, is a Brazilian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a defender. 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 ...

during his whole professional career, first as a right-sided full-back and, from 1983 on, as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He also played for the Brazil national team in the 1980s, including at the

1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national foo ...

Club career

Leandro spent his entire club career Flamengo, where he won four Brazilian national leagues, five Rio State championships, one Libertadores da América, and one Intercontinental Cup against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. In total, he played 417 matches and scored 14 goals for Flamengo.

International career

Leandro was capped 27 times for Brazil between September 1981 and May 1986, scoring two goals. He took part at the

, where he was part of a star-studded Brazilian team, along with Zico, Júnior, Falcão,

Sócrates Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira (19 February 1954 – 4 December 2011), simply known as Sócrates, was a Brazilian footballer who played as a midfielder. His medical degree and his political awareness, combined with styl ...

, and many others, including Éder and

Toninho Cerezo Antônio Carlos Cerezo (born 21 April 1955), known as Toninho Cerezo (), is a Brazilian former footballer. Cerezo is commonly regarded as one of the finest Brazilian defensive midfielders of all time, most notably having played for his hometo ...

. Despite the plethora of creative midfield talent in the team, and the exciting brand of attacking football that they displayed throughout the tournament, Brazil were eliminated in the second round, after placing second in the so-called "Group of Death" with

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

and defending champions

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, as well as the eventual champions

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Leandro also took part at the

1983 Copa América The 1983 Copa América football tournament was played between 10 August and 4 November, with all ten CONMEBOL members participating. Defending champions Paraguay received a bye into the semi-finals. Squads Group stage The teams were dra ...

, where Brazil finished in second place. A principled man, he refused to go to

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...

in Mexico, however, after a disagreement with the coach

Telê Santana Telê Santana da Silva, also known as Telê Santana (July 26, 1931 – April 21, 2006) was a Brazilian football manager and former player (right winger). He was born in Itabirito, Minas Gerais. Telê was the manager responsible for putting tog ...

over the exclusion of his teammate

Renato Renatus is a first name of Latin origin which means " born again" (natus = born). In Italian, Portuguese and Spanish it exists in masculine and feminine forms: Renato and Renata. In French they have been translated to René and Renée. Renata is ...

from the squad.

After retirement

Leandro prematurely retired in 1990 at 31 years of age. He currently owns and manages a restaurant and hotel in his hometown

Cabo Frio Cabo Frio (, ''Cold Cape'') is a tourist destination located in the state of Rio de Janeiro state. It was founded by the Portuguese on November 13, 1615. The Brazilian coast runs east from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio where it turns sharply north ...

Style of play

Considered one of the greatest Brazilian defenders of all-time, Leandro started his career as an offensive-minded right-sided full-back or wing-back. In this role, he was capable of delivering decisive

crosses Crosses may refer to: * Cross, the symbol Geography * Crosses, Cher, a French municipality * Crosses, Arkansas, a small community located in the Ozarks of north west Arkansas Language * Crosses, a truce term used in East Anglia and Lincolnshire ...

to the forwards, or indeed taking a shot at goal himself. He also had an ability to

dribble 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 ...

past opposing players and get forward. Leandro was also able to cover the flank both offensively and defensively: he could often be found in the outside right position, yet would get back to defence when needed. After several knee injuries and some surgeries in 1985, Leandro started to play as a centre-back, also achieving much success in this role, and was still called up to the Brazil national squad to play in this new position.

Honours

Club

;FlamengoLeandro – Trophies
*

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Port., Rio de Janeiro State Championship), was started in 1906 and is the annual football championship in the state of Rio de Janeiro, B ...

: 1978, 1979, 1979, 1981, 1986 *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

: 1980, 1982, 1983 *

Copa União The Copa União (Union Cup) had two modules: The Green and The Yellow. The Green was won by Flamengo. The Yellow was won by Sport Recife. According to the championship rules, the winners of both modules should play with the runner-up of the oppos ...

: 1987 * Intercontinental Cup: 1981 *

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

: 1981 *

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de ...

: 1990

Individual

* Bola de Prata: 1982, 1985

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leandro 1959 births Living people Brazilian footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players CR Flamengo footballers Copa Libertadores-winning players 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1983 Copa América players Brazil international footballers Association football defenders People from Cabo Frio Sportspeople from Rio de Janeiro (state)