Antonio "Toninho" Gonzaga Almeida (born 22 August 1950 in Teófilo Otoni,

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 ...

), was a

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 from

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 ...

. He played as a midfielder for

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube Cruzeiro Esporte Clube (), known simply as Cruzeiro, is a Brazilian sports club based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Cruzeiro is mostly known for its association football team. It plays ...

Vila Nova Futebol Clube Vila Nova Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Vila Nova, is a Brazilian professional club based in Goiânia, Goiás founded on 29 July 1943. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, the second tier of Brazilian football, as well as ...

, and

Sport Club do Recife Sport Club do Recife, (; known as Sport Recife or Sport, is a Brazilian sports club, located in the city of Recife, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Founded in 1905, the club currently plays in Série B. In football, the club has w ...

. He received the Belfort Duarte Trophy ("fair play award") from the

Brazilian Football Confederation The Brazilian Football Confederation ( pt, Confederação Brasileira de Futebol; CBF) is the governing body of football in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country ...

(CBF). The award is given to the players who have never received a red card. Almeida is credited for playing the "jogo bonito" (beautiful game) by the vast majority of the Brazilian press. He was known as one of the most elegant players of the game and is still popular amongst Cruzeiro's fans mainly. He preferred to out-play his immediate opponent rather than knock him down. With Cruzeiro E.C. he won four times the

Campeonato Mineiro Campeonato Mineiro is the state football league of the state of Minas Gerais and is controlled by the Minas Gerais Football Federation FMF (Federação Mineira de Futebol). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: befor ...

(Minas Gerais State championship) in 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, as well as the

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 ...

(1976), and the Goiás State Championship with Vila Nova Futebol Clube in 1977. He was in the squad that reached the finals of the

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 ...

(Brazilian championship) in 1974 and 1975 with Cruzeiro E.C.

Clubs

*Cruzeiro-MG (1967–1976) *Vila Nova Futebol Clube (1977) *Sport Recife (1978)

References

1950 births Living people Brazilian footballers Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Vila Nova Futebol Clube players Sport Club do Recife players {{Brazil-footy-midfielder-1950s-stub Association football midfielders