Paulo Roberto Falcão (; born 16 October 1953), usually known as simply Falcão, 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 lea ...

and football manager. He is universally considered one of the greatest Brazilian players of all time and one of the greatest defensive midfielders in football history, and one of the best players in the world in his position at his peak in the 1980s. Falcão is widely considered one of the best players in Internacional and Roma history, playing also for

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. At one stage, he was the world's highest paid footballer. Due to his success and performances with Roma, Falcão earned the nickname "the eighth King of Rome" from the fans, like Amedeo Amadei before him, and was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in 2013. For the Brazil national team, Falcão was capped 34 times between February 1976 and June 1986. He appeared 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 from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national footbal ...

, playing in midfield alongside Zico,

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 s ...

and Éder, considered one of the greatest Brazilian national teams ever. He was named by

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

Awards ceremony in 2004. Colombian forward

Radamel Falcao Radamel Falcao García Zárate (born 10 February 1986) is a Colombian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Categoría Primera A club Millonarios F.C., Millonarios. Nicknamed "El ...

's father was a footballer and football fan and named him after Falcão.

Club career

Internacional

Falcão began his professional career at Internacional of Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul, where he played from 1972 to 1980, winning three Brazilian National Championships (1975, 1976, 1979) and reaching the finals of the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

, eventually losing to Nacional. During his time at Internacional, he was surprisingly left out of the Brazil squad for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, though he made the shortlisted pre-tournament 40. Falcão won Golden Ball magazine's

Placar ''Placar'' (; stylized in all caps) is a monthly Brazilian sports magazine. Its first edition was issued by Editora Abril. on March 20, 1970, and since then it has become the most successful sports publication in Brazil, even though it focuses ...

twice as the best player in the Brazilian championships of 1978 and 1979. In 1979, Falcão achieved the highest score in the history of the Golden Ball.

Roma

In 1980, Falcão transferred to

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club Roma for £650,000. In his first season in Italy (1980–81), he was able to master the

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

and had his mother and sister living with him to help settle him in. He played well, scoring three goals in his 25 games as Roma finished second in Serie A to

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

. This was a controversial championship, as Roma had a goal ruled out for an unclear offside against Juventus during a defining draw in Turin. Consolation came with a

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

win for Roma, beating

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

on penalties – Falcão himself scored the decisive spot kick. Although Roma slipped to third in his second season (1981–82), personally for Falcão it was better than the first, with six goals in 24 games, becoming one of the foreign stars in Serie A. At the end of this season, he was called up for the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain. After the World Cup, Falcão inspired Roma to win their second league title ever during the 1982–83 season, scoring seven times in 27 games, and creating numerous others. Although Juventus's

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (; born 21 June 1955) is a French association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'O ...

finished as top scorer in the league, and despite Juventus beating Roma in both league games, he was acknowledged as the star man in Serie A that season, also performing well as Roma reached the quarter-finals of the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. At the end of this season, Falcão had earned the nickname "the eighth King of Rome". In 1983–84, Juventus won the title from Roma, who finished second, but it was only won on the final day of the season. Falcão scored five goals in his 27 games. Roma's main goal that season, however, was the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

, especially as the

was to be played at Roma's own

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

. He played every game, as Roma swept past IFK Gothenburg,

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...

and Dynamo Berlin to reach the semi-finals against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

. In a previous Serie A game, Falcão injured his

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

, so he missed the first leg of the semi-final, as Roma lost 2–0 in Dundee. He returned for the second leg as Roma won 3–0 to reach the final, but again injured his knee in the process. He was fit enough for the final against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, but played poorly as Roma were eventually defeated on penalties after a 1–1 draw, with Falcão declining to even take a spot kick. This was a marked turning point in his relationship with the club, and the beginning of the end of his time in Rome. Roma again won the Coppa Italia, but despite nearly winning the treble, the mood around the city was not a happy one. In the 1984–85 season, Falcão was more famous for his off field antics than his on field ones. Due to his knee troubles, he only managed four games and one goal in the league as Roma slumped to eighth place in the championship. Falcão then flew off to New York City for an operation on his knee that was unauthorized by the club's doctors, and Roma subsequently terminated his contract. He went back to Brazil after five years in Rome.

São Paulo

Falcão then signed a contract with

. While playing for São Paulo, Falcão won two titles. The first was a

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

in 1985 beating Portuguesa in the final with an aggregate score of 5–2, and the second one a Taça dos Campeões Rio-São, also in 1985, where he scored his one and only goal for the club in the second leg against Fluminense. Falcão retired from professional football after the 1986 World Cup. He is one of eleven members to have been inducted into the Roma Hall of Fame.

International career

Falcão made 34 appearances for the Brazil national team between 1976 and 1986, scoring six goals. He was a member of the side that finished third at the

1979 Copa América The 1979 edition of the Copa América association football tournament was played between 18 July and 12 December. It was not held in a particular country, all matches were played on a home and away basis. Defending champions Peru were given a bye ...

, scoring his only goal of the tournament in the second leg of the semi-finals, a 2–2 draw against eventual champions

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, although the latter nation advanced to the

4–3 on aggregate. He was surprisingly left out of Brazil's 1978 World Cup squad, despite being included on the 40–player shortlist before the tournament. Falcão starred in the midfield of the Brazil 1982 World Cup team, along with Toninho Cerezo, Zico, Eder and

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

in a 4–2–2–2 formation; the side is generally seen by pundits as one of the best teams not to win the World Cup. Although initially he was only intended to be a substitute, due to a suspension to Cerezo, Falcão started in Brazil's opening match, as they beat

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

2–1; he went on to start in each match of the tournament, scoring the last goal as Brazil then beat

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

4–1, and adding another goal in the 4–0 win against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. In the second phase of the World Cup, in the so-called "Group of Death," his team obtained a 3–1 win against the reigning World Champions and

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, 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 ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, meaning that the Brazilians needed only a draw in their next game against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

to advance to the semi-finals. In this game, despite twice equalising, Brazil were beaten by a

Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He led Italy national football team, Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup t ...

hat trick as Italy won 3–2, advancing in their place. Falcão got the second equalising goal for Brazil against his adopted country with a drive from the edge of the area, which was deflected by opposing defender Giuseppe Bergomi. The defeat and resulting elimination affected Falcão and several of his teammates heavily; after the match, he was said to be so distressed that he wanted to give up football. Falcao was chosen as the tournament's second best player. After muddling through a nondescript season for his club (although he helped the team win the São Paulo State Championship in 1985), he managed to get a call up to the Brazil 1986 World Cup squad, mainly on reputation. During this

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

, he only managed to play in two games (coming on as substitute against both

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

). Brazil exited in the quarter-finals against the French team of his old rival

. After this World Cup, Falcão retired from football.

Coaching career

From 1990 to 1991, Falcão was the manager of the Brazil national team; he led the team to a second place finish at the 1991 Copa América, behind rivals Argentina. His second and longest coaching experience was with América from 1991 to 1993. He also coached Internacional in 1993. After a brief hiatus, in 1994, he was the manager of the Japan national team. In April 2011, after 16 years without managing a club, he was signed by Internacional, replacing Celso Roth. He was then sacked in July, following three consecutive defeats in the Brazilian league. In February 2012, Falcão returned into management, signing an eleven-month deal as head coach of

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

. He only returned to coaching duties in September 2015, being appointed manager at

Sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

. Falcão returned to Internacional in July 2016, but was sacked after three losses and two draws, only one month later. On 17 November 2022, he joined Santos as a sporting coordinator. On 4 August 2023, Falcão left his role at Santos.

Style of play

An elegant and technically gifted player, with an eye for goal from midfield, and an ability to orchestrate his team's attacking moves, Falcão usually functioned in a holding role as a

deep-lying playmaker In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

(''regista''), although he was capable of aiding his team defensively, as well as creatively and offensively, due to his physique, work-rate, and tenacity. He was known in particular for his flair, control, vision, passing and long-range shooting ability, as well as his tactical intelligence, organisational ability and leadership. His role has also been likened to that of a '' metodista'' ("centre-half," in Italian football jargon), due to his ability to dictate play in midfield as well as assist his team defensively.

Personal life

Falcão was born in Abelardo Luz, in the Southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. His father is Portuguese-Brazilian and his mother Azize has Italian origins, from

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

. In her 1991 autobiography, ''La filosofia di Moana'' ("Moana's philosophy," in Italian),

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

adult film Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings ...

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Moana Pozzi Anna Moana Rosa Pozzi (; 27 April 1961 – 15 September 1994), also known mononymously as Moana, was an Italian pornographic actress, television personality and politician. Early life Pozzi was born in Genoa, Italy, the daughter of Alfredo Po ...

claimed to have had an affair with Falcão. Falcão married his first wife, attorney Rosane Leal Damazio, in 1993, with whom he had a son Paulo Roberto Falcão Filho, born on July 21, 1993. Since the end of 2003, Falcão is married to the journalist Cristina Ranzolin, with whom he has a daughter, the actress Antônia Ranzolin Falcão, born in the following year (2004). He also worked for many years as a football commentator for

Rede Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965 ...

and for its sports oriented branch SporTV. On 4 August 2023, Falcão was accused of

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

by an employee of the

apartment hotel An apartment hotel or aparthotel (also residential hotel or extended-stay hotel) is a serviced apartment complex that uses a hotel-style booking system. It is similar to renting an apartment, but with no fixed contracts and occupants can "check ...

he lived in Santos.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Falcão goal.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

Internacional *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978 *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

runner-up:

Roma *

: 1980–81, 1983–84 *

: 1982–83 *

: runner-up 1983–84 São Paulo *

: 1985 *Taça dos Campeões Estaduais Rio-São Paulo: 1985 Individual * Bola de Prata: 1975, 1978, 1979 *

Bola de Ouro The ''Bola de Ouro'' (Golden Ball) is an annual award given each year, since 1973, by Brazilian sports magazine '' Placar'' to the best player in the Campeonato Brasileiro. A group of sports journalists watch every match of the competition and ra ...

: 1978, 1979 * Bronze ball South American Player of the Year: 1979 * FIFA World Cup Silver Ball:

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1982 * FIFA XI: 1982 * Silver ball South American Player of the Year: 1982 * Onze de Bronze: 1982 * World XI: 1982, 1983 * Guerin Sportivo All-Star Team: 1982, 1983 *Serie A Team of The Year: 1982, 1983, 1984 * Onze d'Argent: 1983 * Guerin Sportivo World Player of the Year: 1983 * World Soccer's 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time: 1999 *

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list compiled by Brazilian professional footballer Pelé featuring his choices of the "greatest living footballers" at the time of its release. The list was unveiled on 4 March 2004 during a gala ceremony at the Natural Histor ...

: 2004 * A.S. Roma Hall of Fame: 2012 *

Italian Football Hall of Fame The Italian Football Hall of Fame () is the hall of fame for association football players that have had a significant impact on Italian football. It is housed at the '' Museo del Calcio'' in Coverciano, Italy. History and regulations The Hall o ...

: 2016 * Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame * Golden Foot: 2019, as football legend

References

Bibliography

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Falcao, Paulo Roberto 1953 births Living people Footballers from Santa Catarina (state) Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian football managers FIFA 100 Men's association football midfielders Olympic footballers for Brazil Expatriate football managers in Mexico Expatriate football managers in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Sportspeople of Portuguese descent Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Japan People of Calabrian descent 1979 Copa América players 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1991 Copa América managers Footballers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Serie A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers SC Internacional players AS Roma players São Paulo FC players Brazil national football team managers Sport Club Internacional managers Japan national football team managers Esporte Clube Bahia managers Sport Club do Recife managers Santos FC managers Santos FC non-playing staff 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen