Gérson de Oliveira Nunes, generally known as Gérson (; born 11 January 1941 in

Niterói Niterói (, ) is a municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro in the southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay facing the city of Rio de Janeiro and forms part of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area. It was the state capital, ...

), nicknamed ''Canhotinha de ouro'' (literally: Golden left foot), is a Brazilian former association footballer who played as a

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 ...

. He won numerous national trophies with the club sides of

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills o ...

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 GaW ...

and

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

. He is widely known as being "the brain" behind the Brazilian Football Team that won the

1970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May to 21 June in Mexico, it was the first World Cup tournament held outside ...

in Mexico.Kraba, Millie (2002), The Story Has Been Told. p.85. Xlibris Publishers. Retrieved 27 July 2012

Career

Gérson was born and spent his childhood in the city of

, just to the eastern side of

Guanabara Bay Guanabara Bay ( pt, Baía de Guanabara, ) is an oceanic bay located in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói a ...

from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, then the capital of the former Rio de Janeiro State. In school he was nicknamed ''papagaio'' (parrot), a nickname he kept throughout his life and which many of his fellow footballers used when addressing him. Both his father and uncle were professional footballers in Rio. His father was a close friend of the legendary Zizinho, widely held as the best Brazilian footballer before

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 ...

, a superstar with

and a forward in the 1950 national team, along with

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

's Ademir Menezes and

Jair da Rosa Pinto Jair da Rosa Pinto (21 March 1921 – 28 July 2005), or simply Jair, was an association footballer who played offensive midfielder – one of the leading Brazilian footballers of the 1940s and 1950s, who is best remembered for his performan ...

. So when Gérson announced he intended to become a footballer himself, he found little opposition at home.The Beautiful Team, In Search of Pele and the 1970 Brazilians by Garry Jenkins, Simon & Schuster, London, 1998. As a boy his heroes had been the aforementioned midfielders Zizinho and

Jair In the Biblical Book of Judges, Jair or Yair ( he, יָאִיר ''Yā’īr'', "he enlightens") was a man from Gilead of the Tribe of Manasseh, east of the River Jordan, who judged Israel for 22 years, after the death of Tola, who had ruled ...

and

Danilo Alvim Danilo Alvim Faria (3 December 1920 – 16 May 1996) was a Brazilian footballer. He was a member of the ill-fated Brazilian 1950 World Cup team. One of the greatest center-halves in the World during his prime, he was renowned as a very so ...

. However, in his first club,

, he was eventually cast in the same mold as the most influential midfield player of that era,

Didi Didi may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Didi" (song), a song by Khaled * Didi, the principal character in ''Didi's Comedy Show'', a German comedy television show * Didi Pickles, mother of Tommy and Dil in the cartoons ''Rugrats'' and ''All ...

. The young Gérson combined technique and an extremely potent left foot shot with intelligence and an uncanny ability to control the game from the midfield. One of his greatest assets was his ability to switch defence into attack with one long, laser-like pass from deep inside his own half. Soon he was being talked of as a successor to Didi. Within a year of making his professional debut for

in 1959, he was called to the Brazilian 'amateur' team in the Pan-American Games in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. A year later he was a lynchpin of the side at the Rome Olympics where he scored four goals, but Brazil did not make it beyond the group phase. By 1961, he was the playmaker in

. He had also been recruited into the full national squad to defend the World Cup in Chile by the new national coach Aymore Moreira. Yet his dreams of combining with the bandy-legged 'Little Bird'

Garrincha Manuel Francisco dos Santos (28 October 1933 – 20 January 1983), nicknamed Mané Garrincha, best known as simply Garrincha (, "little bird"), was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a right winger. He is widely regarded as one o ...

, along with

and

in Chile were dashed when he suffered a serious knee injury. Forced to undergo surgery, he couldn't get himself back into Moreira's squad. It would be one of many injuries to blight his career. In 1963 he chose not to sign another contract with

after being assigned the impossible task of man-marking

in the 1962 Rio de Janeiro Championship final, which

won 3–0. He packed his bags and moved to

, which by then had the most celebrated squad in Rio and arguably in Brazil, alongside

's Santos, featuring superstars

, Nilton Santos, Zagallo and

Quarentinha Waldir Cardoso Lebrêgo, best known as ''Quarentinha'' (; born in Belém, Pará State, 15 September 1933 – died in Rio de Janeiro, 11 February 1996) was a Brazilian football (soccer) player who played as a forward and was notable for his ...

. In Botafogo he became one of the most celebrated Brazilian players of his generation, winning the Torneio Rio-São Paulo in 1964 and 1965, the Rio de Janeiro Championship in 1967 and 1968 and with the

Brazilian Cup 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 ...

in 1968 in two finals against

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...

the first national honour in the history of Botafogo. Later on, he also played for

and

, his favourite team. Gérson is considered one of the best passers in World Cup history. Although he didn't play well in 1966, he was the mastermind behind the whole Brazilian national team in the 1970 tournament. He is regarded as the best passer and midfielder in that edition of that World Cup, in that Brazilian squad, and the best player in the 4–1 victory against

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 ...

in the final. Overall, he played 70 times for Brazil, scoring 14 goals for his country, including one in that 1970 World Cup final. Outside the soccer pitch, Gérson's name became nationally infamous after he starred in a

Vila Rica Ouro Preto (, ''Black Gold''), formerly Vila Rica (, ''Rich Village''), is a city in and former capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Herit ...

cigarettes' advertising campaign for television in 1976, which had him read the tagline "''I like to take advantage of everything, right? You too take advantage!''". The line became instantly associated with the traditional Brazilian disregard for laws and social rules as well as

bribery Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Cor ...

and

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

maneuvers, informally named "''jeitinho brasileiro''" ("the Brazilian way"), and the expression is largely used to these days. He later publicly regretted having starred in the ad, claiming his association with such acts did not reflect his true personality.

Style of play

Although Gérson played as a

holding 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 ...

, Jonathan Wilson noted in a 2013 article for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' that he was an early example of a more

creative Creative may refer to: *Creativity, phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is created * "Creative" (song), a 2008 song by Leon Jackson * Creative class, a proposed socioeconomic class * Creative destruction, an economic term * Creative dir ...

interpreter of this role, who focussed more on ball retention and passing rather than solely looking to win back possession. A tactically intelligent, efficient, and technically gifted midfield

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativi ...

, he was considered the "brain" behind the Brazilian squad that won the 1970 World Cup. He was known for his ability to retain possession and dictate the tempo of his team's play in midfield with his precise passing, and was also capable of switching from defence to attack by playing sudden, accurate long balls to meet his teammates' runs; he is regarded as one of the best passers in the history of the sport, and as one of Brazil's greatest ever players. He also possessed an excellent positional sense, and a powerful shot with his left foot, which earned him the nickname ''Canhotinha de Ouro'' ("Golden left foot," in Portuguese).

Controversy

Gérson displayed anger towards Pelé's list of the 125 greatest living footballer. He was adamant with the ruling and thought that he and a few of his teammates deserved a spot on the list. He symbolically ripped up a piece of paper, a clear representation of Pelé's list, on a local broadcasting station saying that "''I respect his opinion, but I don't agree. Apart from

Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...

Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, a ...

, and Fontaine, I'm behind 11 Frenchmen? It's a joke to hear this.''"

Career statistics

* Brazil national team (87 matches / 19 goals) *

(153 matches / 80 goals) *

(248 matches / 96 goals) *

(75 matches / 12 goals) *

(57 matches / 5 goals)

Honours

Club

Flamengo * Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1961 *

Rio de Janeiro State Championship The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Port., Rio de Janeiro State Championship), was started in 1906 and is the annual football championship in the state of Rio de Janeiro, B ...

: 1963 Botafogo * Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1964, 1966 *

Taça Brasil The Taça Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) was the Brazilian national football championship contested from 1959 to 1968. Bahia, Cruzeiro and Botafogo were the only champions to have played all phases of the tournament, because until the 1968 edition tea ...

: 1968 *

: 1967, 1968 São Paulo *

São Paulo State Championship The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the FPF, the league is contested between 16 clubs and typ ...

: 1970, 1971 Fluminense *

: 1973

International

Brazil *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

Individual

FIFA World Cup Silver Ball At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game. Awards *There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...

: 1970 * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1970 * World Soccer: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All TimeWorld Soccer: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time
Retrieved 20 November 2015 *

Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame The history of the Brazil national football team began with the team's first international match in 1914. Brazil played in the first FIFA World Cup in 1930. The Brazil national team has been successful throughout its history, winning the FIFA World ...

References and notes

External links

*
Sambafoot
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerson 1941 births Sportspeople from Niterói Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Brazil 1966 FIFA World Cup players 1970 FIFA World Cup players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Brazil international footballers Brazilian footballers CR Flamengo footballers FIFA World Cup-winning players Fluminense FC players Association football midfielders Living people São Paulo FC players Canto do Rio Football Club players Pan American Games medalists in football Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Footballers at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games