Jair Arantes do Nascimento (22 July 1942 – 25 March 2020), known as Zoca, was a Brazilian

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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He was the brother of

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...

Footballing career

Zoca was born in

Três Corações Três Corações () is a municipality in the south of Minas Gerais state in Brazil. As of 2020, the city population was estimated at 80,032, making it one of the largest cities in the south of Minas Gerais. The city is geographically located close ...

, Minas Gerais, two years after his older brother, legendary Brazilian footballer

. He grew up in the Bauru municipality in São Paulo state as a child, joining the youth academy of Noroeste in the 1950s. He moved to

Santos, São Paulo Santos (, ''Saints'') is a municipality in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, founded in 1546 by the Portuguese nobleman Brás Cubas. It is located mostly on the island of São Vicente, which harbors both the city of Santos and the city of São ...

, joining

Portuguesa Santista Portuguesa is a Portuguese, Catalan, and Spanish feminine adjective meaning "Portuguese". It may also refer to: Places *Portuguesa (state), one of the 23 states of Venezuela * Portuguesa (Rio de Janeiro), a neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ...

, where he played briefly before following in his brother's footsteps and signing for Santos in 1960. He made his debut for Santos on 10 April 1961, coming on as a substitute for

Coutinho Coutinho is a Nobility, noble Portuguese language surname. It is a diminutive of Couto (Couto means 'enclosed pasture'). It is from Late Latin ''cautum'', from the past participle of ''cavere'' ‘to make safe.' It may refer to: Artists *Afrânio ...

in a 6–1 win over America-RJ. In the last minute of the game, Santos won a penalty, and though he stepped up to take it, Zoca failed to convert from the spot. Between April and June 1962, with seven members of the Santos squad at the

1962 FIFA World Cup The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the seventh edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place bet ...

, Zoca was given a run in the squad for the Copa São Paulo. His first official goal for Santos came in this competition, scoring in a 2–1 loss to Corinthians de Presidente Prudente. In total, he scored four goals in fifteen games for Santos, before retiring in 1966 to focus on supporting his brother's career.

Later life and death

Zoca received degrees in marketing and law from the

Catholic University of Santos The Catholic University of Santos ( pt, Universidade Católica de Santos, UniSantos or Católica de Santos) is a Brazilian private and non-profit Catholic university, located in Santos, São Paulo, the first university in the region of the city. ...

and University of São Paulo, respectively. He worked as his brother's business manager during his time with the New York Cosmos. In 1979, with Zoca looking to study English at the Manhattanville College in

Purchase, New York Purchase is a hamlet in the town and village of Harrison, in Westchester County, New York, United States. One myth explains that its name is derived from Harrison's purchase, where John Harrison was to be granted as much land as he could ride in ...

, the athletic director of the college, Joe Daunic, reached out and offered him the chance to coach the college women's soccer team while he studied, in an attempt to improve his English by immersing himself. Initially reluctant, Zoca eventually agreed, going on to manage the side for three seasons. In 1982, he was the assistant of the

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...

women's soccer team. Zoca died on 25 March 2020, after suffering with prostate cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoca 1942 births 2020 deaths University of São Paulo alumni Manhattanville College alumni People from Três Corações Footballers from Minas Gerais Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Esporte Clube Noroeste players Associação Atlética Portuguesa (Santos) players Santos FC players Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States