Émerson Leão (; born 11 July 1949) is a Brazilian former football

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

and manager. He is regarded by pundits as one of best Brazilian goalkeepers of all time. A documentary video produced by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

, ''FIFA Fever'', called him the third-most impressive defense player of all time. He was born in

Ribeirão Preto Ribeirão Preto (Portuguese pronunciation: Help:IPA/Portuguese, �ibejˈɾɐ̃w ˈpɾetu is a city and a metropolitan area located in the northeastern region of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state, Brazil. Ribeirão Preto is the eighth-la ...

, São Paulo.

Playing career

He was a

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

champion in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

as a reserve player, at age 20. He then played the two following World Cups as first team player. He was the first Brazilian

in history to be team captain (during the 1978 World Cup). Dida repeated the feat in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

in a group stage match against

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. In the 1986 World Cup, Leão was a reserve player. He played 80 times for the

Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team (), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' ("Canary Squad", after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international Association football, football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Co ...

. At club level, he played for several clubs, his longest term being at Palmeiras, where he won several titles, like Campeonato Brasileiro and

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

Managerial career

Leão has been a manager since 1987. He was

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

manager in 2005, winning the

of that year. He then moved to

Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. They are currently the J1 League champions. The club's home stadium is Noevir Stad ...

of Japan, where he stayed for only four matches. On 18 July 2005, he became the manager of Palmeiras, a position he held until March 2006. His peak as a manager was his second stint with Santos, between 2002 and 2004, when he won the Campeonato Brasileiro in 2002, and was runner-up in both

Copa Libertadores de América The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tourname ...

and Campeonato Brasileiro in 2003. Leão is often seen as a hardliner, since he demands perfect physical shape of his players, along with discipline and mutual respect. He is not fond of having well-known players on his teams, since he believes that this might cause relationship problems within the squad. He was the manager of the Brazil nation team from 15 November 2000 until 9 June 2001. From 11 matches, his Brazil side won 4, drew 4 and lost 3. Like his predecessor Vanderlei Luxemburgo, he struggled having top players available for qualifying matches. He tried to centre the squad around

Romário Romário de Souza Faria (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário (), is a Brazilian politician and former professional association football, footballer who is currently a Senator for Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro and the presi ...

and younger players with little international experience. He also became the first sitting coach to travel to Europe to assess his players' activities there, where he was asked by the Europeans to not release

Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (; born 19 April 1972), known simply as Rivaldo, is a Brazilian former footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a second striker, and on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as ...

and Roberto Carlos for matches that were not crucial. Leão was dismissed by Atlético Mineiro on 4 May 2009 following a defeat to arch-rivals Cruzeiro in the final of a regional championship. This ended his third stint as Atlético head coach. On 3 June 2009, Sport Recife's have signed the coach for the up-coming 2009 Brasileirão championship. On 26 April 2010, Leão was named as the new manager of

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

. On 24 October 2011, São Paulo announced it had hired Leão for a second managerial spell in charge of the club. On 30 August 2012, after two months unattached, Leão was hired by São Caetano, then participating in Série B.

Controversies

Leão is known for his controversial attitudes and declarations. In 1997, after a game between his Atlético Mineiro and Argentine side

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, metropolitan area. The List of cities in Argentina, city has a populati ...

in the Conmebol Cup final, Leão was involved in a massive fight with adversaries. Leão had to rebuild his face after the incident. In 2002, when he coached Santos, and ''Peixe'' faced Paysandu, Leão was involved again in a fight. This time, when his players faced policemen, the coach received an aggression in his eyes by a

pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, mace, or capsicum spray is a Tear gas, lachrymator (tear gas) product containing as its active ingredient the chemical compound capsaicin, which irritates the eyes with burning ...

. In 2006, then coaching Palmeiras, Leão had problems with television pundit Milton Neves, that had kicked another television pundit, Sílvio Luiz, according to Leão. Leão said to Neves: "When you kicked Silvio Luiz's ass, a 70-year-old man, you boasted. Come to kick mine!" In 2010, training Goiás, Leão discussed again with two another television pundits, Renata Fan and Neto. According to Leão, Neto "would not have psychological conditions to speak in a television channel". But the problems between them would happen since 1989, when Leão coached Neto in Palmeiras. In 2013, in a research made by sports site UOL Esporte, Leão was elected the worst coach from

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. He had 16 votes. Celso Roth was chosen the second one. Again in 2013, Leão said that Juvenal Juvêncio, president of

, club that he coached for two times (between 2004 and 2005 and, after, between 2011 and 2012), should abdicate, for his age, of his position, making like pope

Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...

. Juvêncio answered to Leão, saying that the coach "needs to find another job soon".

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial

Honours

Player

;Club ;Palmeiras * Campeonato Brasileiro: 1969,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

; Runner-up:

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

; Runner-up: 1969,

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, 1986 *

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

Semi-Final:

;Vasco * Campeonato Brasileiro Runner-up:

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

Runner-up:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

;Grêmio *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

; Runner-up:

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

* Campeonato Brasileiro:

; Runner-up:

;Corinthians *

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

;Brazil *

* Independence Cup:

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

runner-up:

Individual

* Bola de Prata Best Goalkeeper: 1972 * FIFA XI: 1979 *

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

Brazil All Times Dream Team (Team C): 2021

Manager

;Sport *1987 – Copa União Yellow Module *2000 – Campeonato Pernambucano ;Shimizu S Pulse *1992 – Kanagawa Cup ;Verdy Kawasaki *1996 –

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...

;Atlético Mineiro *1997 – Copa Conmebol ;Santos *1998 – Copa Conmebol *2002 – Campeonato Brasileiro ;São Paulo *2005 – Campeonato Paulista

References

*''Enciclopédia do Futebol Brasileiro'', Volume 2 – Lance, Rio de Janeiro: Aretê Editorial S/A, 2001. *''Seleção Brasileira – 90 Anos'' – Rio de Janeiro: MAUAD, 2004.

External links

*
Sambafoot – Leão's career as a manager
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leao, Emerson Footballers from Ribeirão Preto Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers 1970 FIFA World Cup players 1974 FIFA World Cup players 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1979 Copa América players 1983 Copa América players FIFA World Cup–winning players Brazil men's international footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players 1949 births Living people Brazilian football managers Expatriate football managers in Qatar Expatriate football managers in Japan Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série B managers J1 League managers 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup managers Comercial Futebol Clube (Ribeirão Preto) players SE Palmeiras players CR Vasco da Gama players Grêmio FBPA players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players São Paulo state football team players Sport Club do Recife players Sport Club do Recife managers Coritiba Foot Ball Club managers SE Palmeiras managers Associação Portuguesa de Desportos managers São José Esporte Clube managers Esporte Clube XV de Novembro (Piracicaba) managers Shimizu S-Pulse managers Esporte Clube Juventude managers Club Athletico Paranaense managers Tokyo Verdy managers Clube Atlético Mineiro managers Santos FC managers Sport Club Internacional managers Grêmio FBPA managers Brazil national football team managers Cruzeiro Esporte Clube managers São Paulo FC managers Vissel Kobe managers Associação Desportiva São Caetano managers Sport Club Corinthians Paulista managers Al Sadd SC managers Goiás Esporte Clube managers 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen

Playing career

Managerial career

Controversies

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial

Honours

Player

Individual

Manager

See also

References

External links