Antônio Carlos Cerezo (born 21 April 1955), known as Toninho Cerezo (), 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 ...

. Cerezo is commonly regarded as one of the finest Brazilian

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

s of all time, most notably having played for his hometown's team

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

;Toninho Cerezo
/ref> he also played for several other clubs in both Brazil and Italy throughout his career. At international level, Cerezo took part at the 1978 and

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 ...

s – winning a bronze medal in the former edition of the tournament – and the 1979 Copa América, where Brazil finished in third place.

Club career

Throughout his career, Cerezo played as a defensive midfielder with

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, Cruzeiro,

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

and the Brazilian national team. While playing in Brazil, he won the

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 ...

in 1977 and 1980 and the Bola de Prata in 1976. During his time in Italy, Cerezo won the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

four times; in 1991 he won the

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

with

, but lost the

final to

A.S. Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...

. With

he was a two-time winner of the Intercontinental Cup, and also won 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 ...

once. Cerezo was named the best player of the 1993 Intercontinental Cup final.(He scored the second goal and assisted Müller's game-winning goal in a 3–2 victory against

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

.) In 1997, he retired as a player, and, after doing some studies and probations in Italy, he returned to Brazil, and start a career as a manager at Vitória, reaching the semifinals of the Brasileirão Série A. He also led Japanese powerhouse

Kashima Antlers are a football club in Kashima, Ibaraki, currently playing in the J1 League, top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The name ''Antlers'' is derived from the city name, Kashima, which literally means "deer island". The club has fi ...

in the J.League for six years. He won five major titles in Japan, two league championships, one

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...

, and two league cups. After his time in Japan, he coached Brazilian clubs

, and Guarani, as well as some Asian clubs, such as Al-Hilal, Al-Shabab,

Al Ain Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tawam (region), Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al-Ain Region, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ...

; he later returned to Brazil once again as head manager of

Sport 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 ...

, leaving the club just one month later.

International career

Cerezo won 57 caps (full international games), between March 1977 and June 1985, with the Brazilian national team, scoring five goals. He played in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, where they finished in third place, and in the

, where they were eliminated in the second round in a group which contained defending champions and continental rivals

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 ...

. He was also due to go to the 1986 tournament, but a hamstring injury in May ruled him out of the upcoming World Cup. He was a member of the Brazilian team that finished in third place at the 1979 Copa América. At the

one of his back passes was intercepted by Italian striker

Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a forward. He led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, and the Golden ...

, who went on to score; the match ended in a 2–3 loss to Italy, which also saw Rossi score a hat-trick, and as a result, Brazil were knocked out of the tournament in a dramatic upset. For many years after the event, he was widely criticized for this error by many Brazilian fans and members of the press.

Style of play

A tall and strong

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, with a slender frame, Cerezo is regarded as one of the greatest Brazilian

s of all time, and was well known for his tireless work-rate, stamina, and tactical awareness, as well as his dynamic, physical, and energetic style of play. Although he was usually deployed in a holding role, Cerezo was also an elegant and highly creative player, who was highly regarded in the media for his technique, vision, ability to understand the game, and passing range, which enabled him to orchestrate attacking moves for his team, get forward, and create chances for teammates after winning back possession; as such, he often functioned as a

deep-lying playmaker A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

in midfield throughout his career. Although he was mainly a team player, who preferred to assist other players over scoring himself, he also possessed an accurate shot.

Personal life

Cerezo is Roman Catholic and is father of four children, including fashion model Lea T.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Club

;Nacional *

Campeonato Amazonense The Campeonato Amazonense, officially Campeonato Amazonense de Futebol Profissional, is the football championship for professional clubs of the state of Amazonas, Brazil. Format The 2021 Campeonato Amazonense is divided into two stages: First S ...

: 1974 ;Atlético Mineiro * Campeonato Mineiro: 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 *

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 ...

: 1977 runner-up, 1980 runner-up ;Roma *

: 1984,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

* European Cup: 1984 runner-up ;Sampdoria *

: 1990–91 *

: 1988, 1989, 1991 runner-up *

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

: 1989 runner-up,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

* European Cup:

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

runner-up * Supercoppa Italiana: 1991 ;São Paulo *

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional association football, football league in the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. Run b ...

: 1992 * Intercontinental Cup:

, 1993 *

, 1993 * Supercopa Sudamericana: 1993 * Recopa Sudamericana: 1993,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Individual

South American U-20 Championship The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American a ...

Top Scorer: 1977 *

: 1977, 1980 * Bola de Prata: 1976, 1977, 1980 *

FIFA XI FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

(Reserve): 1979 * World XI Soccer: 1983 * Intercontinental Cup Most Valuable Player of the Match Award: 1993 *

A.S. Roma Hall of Fame This is a list of List of A.S. Roma players, A.S. Roma players who have been inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. A.S. Roma's Hall of Fame has been launched in 2012 as part of the initiatives for the club's 85th anniversary. Exceptionally for t ...

: 2016

Manager

Club

;Kashima Antlers * J.League:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, 2001 *

J.League Cup The is a Japanese football (soccer) competition organized by J.League. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is also known as the or (Levain is one of Y ...

: 2000, 2002 *

: 2000 *

Suruga Bank Championship The J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship was an annual intercontinental football match held in Japan, contested by the reigning champions of the J.League Cup and the Copa Sudamericana. The tournament was previously officially called the ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

;Al-Shabab *

UAE Football League The UAE Pro League ( ar, دوري المحترفين الإماراتي), known for sponsorship reasons as the ADNOC Pro League, is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first team to win the title was Al O ...

: 2008

References

*''Enciclopédia do Futebol Brasileiro'', Volume 1 – Lance, Rio de Janeiro: Aretê Editorial S/A, 2001.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cerezo, Toninho 1955 births Living people Footballers from Belo Horizonte Brazilian people of Spanish descent Brazilian footballers 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1982 FIFA World Cup players Brazil international footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Serie A players Brazilian football managers Expatriate football managers in Japan Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Clube Atlético Mineiro players Nacional Futebol Clube players A.S. Roma players U.C. Sampdoria players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Paulista Futebol Clube players São Paulo FC players América Futebol Clube (MG) players Esporte Clube Vitória managers J1 League managers Kashima Antlers managers Guarani FC managers Clube Atlético Mineiro managers Al Hilal SFC managers Al Shabab Al Arabi Club managers Al Ain FC managers Sport Club do Recife managers Association football midfielders Brazilian Roman Catholics