Éder Aleixo de Assis, also known as Éder or Éder Aleixo (; born 25 May 1957), 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 ...

. He played as a

left winger 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 ...

, and 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 ...

, most notably with

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 ...

in the Campeonato Brasileiro and with the Brazil national team. He also played for

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

and Grêmio, among other teams. A few years later, he transferred to Turkey, where he played for

Malatyaspor Malatya Spor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club based in Malatya, mainly concentrated on football. Previously their colors were yellow and black (prior to 1984). They played in First League for 11 seasons. They are the first team located in Eas ...

during 1988–89 season, along with

Carlos Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

and Serginho.

International career

Éder Aleixo gained 52 caps with the Brazil national team between May 1979 and April 1986, and came to international prominence during 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 ...

while playing 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 styl ...

and Falcão in what's considered one of the greatest international football teams ever. In Brazil's first match of the tournament Eder scored a wonderful winning goal against the Soviet Union, flicking the ball up and volleying it into the net with blistering power and precision from 25 yards out. He followed that up with another outstanding goal in the 4–1 win over Scotland when, after feigning to shoot, he lofted the ball over Scotland's frozen goalie

Alan Rough Alan Roderick Rough (; born 25 November 1951) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He won 53 caps for Scotland and played in two FIFA World Cups. He also had a long club career, principally with Partick Thistle and Hibe ...

and into the far corner from the edge of the area. He smashed a bending

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence ...

against the crossbar vs Argentina in the 2nd round group game from 30 yards out, and this shot resulted in the first goal of the match scored by Zico. Éder Aleixo didn't make the Brazilian squad for the 1986 World Cup, after losing form and fitness during the preceding season, and also because he apparently pushed a ball boy during a warm-up game for Brazil. He was sent off in his final international match, against Peru, in April 1986. Off the field he was occasionally a controversial figure; rumours abounded that he preferred partying to training and often fell out with coaches and team mates.

Style of play

A predominantly left-footed player, Éder Aleixo usually played as a wide midfielder on the left flank, although he was also capable of playing as a forward or in a free role as a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

; in his prime, he was considered to be one of the best players in the world in his position. Although he wasn't the quickest winger, he was highly creative, athletically built, and had dazzling technical skills and close control, as well as an extremely accurate and powerful

bending In applied mechanics, bending (also known as flexure) characterizes the behavior of a slender structural element subjected to an external load applied perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the element. The structural element is assumed to ...

shot with his left foot (one of his strikes reportedly reached a speed of 174.5 km/h) that earned him the nickname ''O Canhão'' ("The Cannon") from his fans; he was capable of bending the ball in any direction by striking it with either the inside or the outside of the

instep The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

of his left foot, while he was not particularly adept with his weaker right foot. In addition to his ball striking abilities from outside the area or from volleys in open play, he was also known for his accuracy from free kicks, as well as his excellent ball delivery from set-pieces and corners, and his accurate long passing and crossing ability. Despite his ability as a footballer, he was also notorious for his poor work-rate, difficult and temperamental character, and lack of discipline both on and off the pitch, which led him to have difficulties with several of his managers.

Honours

Club

;

Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense (), commonly known as Grêmio, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre, capital city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The club plays in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série ...

Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...

: 1977 *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho Série A1 (Gaúcho Championship A1 Series or Série A1), officially named as Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF - Divisão Especial - Série A1 and commonly known as Campeonato Gaúcho or Gauchã ...

: 1979 *

Hexa Numeral or number prefixes are prefixes derived from numerals or occasionally other numbers. In English and many other languages, they are used to coin numerous series of words. For example: * unicycle, bicycle, tricycle (1-cycle, 2-cycle, 3-cyc ...

: 1978, 1979 * Torneo Ciudad de Rosario: 1979 ;

Clube Atlético Mineiro Clube Atlético Mineiro (), commonly known as Atlético Mineiro or Atlético, and colloquially as Galo (, "Rooster"), is the largest professional football club based in the city of Belo Horizonte, the capital city of the Brazilian state of Mi ...

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 ...

: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1995 *

Tournoi de Paris The Tournoi de Paris, also known as Trophée de Paris, was a pre-season association football invitational competition hosted by French club Paris Saint-Germain at their home ground Parc des Princes in Paris, France. The competition was founded in ...

: 1982 * Trofeo Ramón de Carranza: 1990 ;

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 ...

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 ...

: 1993

Individual

* Brazilian Silver Ball: 1983 *

South American Player of the Year The Rey del Fútbol de América ("King of Football of America"), often referred to as the South American Footballer of the Year, is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar ...

Bronze award: 1983

References

{{Brazil Squad 1983 Copa América 1957 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football forwards América Futebol Clube (MG) players Clube Atlético Mineiro players Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Santos FC players Sport Club do Recife players Club Athletico Paranaense players Associação Atlética Internacional (Limeira) players Malatyaspor footballers Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Sociedade Esportiva do Gama players União São João Esporte Clube players Cerro Porteño players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Süper Lig players 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1983 Copa América players Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Paraguay Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Footballers from Minas Gerais