José Ferreira Neto (born 9 September 1966), commonly known as Craque Neto or simply Neto, is a Brazilian former professional

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 lea ...

and current

sports broadcaster In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present tense. There are two main types of sports broadcast ...

. After retiring from the game he has been active in the media. He's been working for

Bandeirantes ''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate Indigenous peoples in Brazil, indigenous peoples during the early modern period. T ...

since 1999, and currently presents Os Donos da Bola. An

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, he played 470 games and scored 184 goals in his entire career.

Biography

Neto was born in

Santo Antônio de Posse Santo Antônio de Posse is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Campinas. The population is 23,529 (2020 est.) in an area of 154.13 km2. The elevation is 695 m. Nearby cities are Jaguar ...

, a small town near

Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in São Paulo (state), São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's popul ...

, in the

State of São Paulo State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Club career

Neto began his football career very early in life, playing for Campinas-based team Guarani at youth level, before being promoted to the senior side. In the mid-1980s he also played for Bangu (in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

) and

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 ...

, before returning to Guarani once again. In 1988, he brought more attention upon himself by scoring a goal from a bicycle-kick in the

São Paulo State Championship 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), t ...

finals against

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...

. In 1989 Neto played for

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

and was subsequently transferred to Corinthians, where he remained for a good part of his career, wearing club's the number 10 shirt, and becoming an idol with the club's fans in the beginning of the nineties. With his precise passing game and strong personality, he was the key player during the 1990

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in Brazil, when Corinthians won the finals against São Paulo. After almost five years and 114 goals for Corinthians, his time with the club came to a close. However, even today ''Neto'' is remembered as one of the most iconic players in the club's history. After his spell with Corinthians, he played for many other clubs, in Brazil (

Araçatuba Araçatuba is a city located in the northwest of São Paulo state, Brazil. The city has 198,129 inhabitants (IBGE/2020) and spans . The city name comes from the Tupi language and means "abundance of araçá" (a fruit, Psidium cattleianum). Araç ...

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 ...

Matsubara is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,811 in 57351 households and a population density of 7100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Matsubara is located in the center ...

, Santos) and abroad (

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club, known simply as Millonarios, is a Colombian professional football club based in Bogotá, that competes in the Categoría Primera A, top flight of football in Colombia. It is one of the most successful and iconic clubs i ...

of Colombia). He is one of the few players to have played for all four major teams in the state of São Paulo. Neto's career was always plagued by weight problems and disagreements with referees and club managers, due to his strong character. His most famous episode was when he spat in referee José Aparecido de Oliveira's face, earning himself a 4-month suspension from the games. Neto says this is the only regrettable thing he did in his career. Neto retired from professional football at the end of the nineties.

International career

Neto was a member of the Brazilian under-23 team that won a bronze medal at the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games, officially known as the IX Pan American Games () and commonly known as Caracas 1983, were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to inclu ...

. Following his performances in the São Paulo State Championship throughout the season, in 1988, Neto was named to the Brazil national team that went to

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

to play in the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

. In the final against the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, Neto helped set up

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 ...

's opening goal of the match from a corner-kick, however, the Soviets came from behind to defeat Brazil 2–1 in extra-time to capture the gold medal. Neto was later also included in the Brazilian squad that finished second in the

1991 Copa América The 1991 Copa América association football, football tournament was hosted by Chile, from 6 to 21 July. It was organized by CONMEBOL and all ten member nations participated. Until the 2021 edition, this was the last time that the tournament con ...

in Chile; under manager Falcão, he was named the team's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, and wore the number 10 shirt throughout the tournament. He scored his only goal of the competition from a penalty in a 2–1 win over

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

on 9 July, in the first round group stage. In total, he made 26 appearances for Brazil at international level between 1988 and 1993, scoring 7 goals; 9 of his appearances came with the Olympic youth side, and 16 with the senior team, including one appearance and one goal in an unofficial friendly.

Style of play

A set-piece specialist, in Brazil Neto is commonly considered to be one of the greatest

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 offe ...

takers ever, and one of the best Brazilian players of the early 1990s. A versatile

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, he was capable of playing in several offensive midfield positions, but was usually deployed as an attacking midfielder behind the forwards, due to his technique, range of passing, and excellent playmaking skills; he was also occasionally used as a

second striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

or as a winger. In addition to being known for his accuracy from dead ball situations, he was also noted for his precise long passing, and his ability to act as a leader for his teammates on the field.

After football

After the conclusion of his footballing career, Neto briefly served as the manager of Guarani. He later became a commentator and sports pundit for

TV Bandeirantes Rede Bandeirantes (, ''Bandeirantes Network''), or simply known as Band (), is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It began broadcasting on May 13, 1967 on VHF channel 13 in São Paulo. Its founder was businessman João Saad with t ...

. Neto's simple way of speaking, and his blunt, "ogre-like" behavior have made him a famous broadcaster in Brazil. Working alongside names such as José Luiz Datena and Milton Neves, Neto has, however, clashed against fellow sports journalists such as

Tiago Leifert Tiago Rodrigues de Leifert (born 22 May 1980) is a Brazilian journalist and television presenter. Biography Tiago was born in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. He is the son of Gilberto Leifert, director of market relations for Rede Globo netw ...

and various footballers.

Personal life

The son of a former military policeman, Neto is a father of two children. After his retirement from professional football, Neto underwent a

gastric bypass Gastric bypass surgery refers to a technique in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch, where the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both. Surgeons have developed several differen ...

surgery to help with his excess weight. The surgery was a success, and the footballer, who was once plagued by weight problems, has since ran in marathons.

References

External links

*
Corinthians All Time Best XI Placar Magazine

Video – Goals

Free Kicks

youtube.com

noticias.uol.com.br

Interview – in Portuguese

Neto's official site (in Portuguese)
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neto 1966 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Expatriate men's footballers in Venezuela Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Venezuela Brazil men's international footballers São Paulo state football team players Clube Atlético Mineiro players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Guarani FC players SE Palmeiras players São Paulo FC players Sociedade Esportiva Matsubara players Bangu Atlético Clube players Santos FC players Men's association football midfielders Olympic footballers for Brazil Olympic silver medalists for Brazil Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Pan American Games footballers for Brazil Pan American Games silver medalists in football Footballers at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Paulista Futebol Clube players 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen