João Batista Nunes de Oliveira (born May 20, 1954 in Cedro de São João, SE), known as Nunes, is a former

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 ...

ian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

striker. He became a football player in 1969, at 14 years old, playing for

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

's youth team. Reject by the club in 1974, at 19, he left

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 ...

towards

Aracaju Aracaju () is the capital of the state of Sergipe, Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country on the coast, about 350 km (217 mi) north of Salvador, Bahia, Salvador. According to the 2020 estimate, the city has 664,908 inha ...

( SE) to start his professional career at Confiança. His good performances granted him the 1976 Sergipe State Championship and a transference to

Santa Cruz FC Santa Cruz Futebol Clube is a Brazilian professional Association football, football club based in Recife, Pernambuco, that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série D, Série D, the fourth tier of Brazilian football league system, Brazilia ...

in the same year. There he won twice the Pernambuco State Championship (1976, 1978). In 1977, he had his first cap for

and became a regular in the National Team. Due to an injury, he was not selected to play the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It wa ...

which made him miserable. Just after the World Cup, recovered from the injury, he returned to Rio de Janeiro to sign with

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club () is a Brazilian sports club based in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest football club in the state since its foundation in 1902. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, th ...

but he stayed there only for a few months before signing with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

CF Monterrey Club de Fútbol Monterrey Rayados, A.C., simply known as Monterrey or by its nickname Rayados, is a Mexican professional association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León, that plays in Liga MX, the top d ...

. Finally, in 1980, he transferred back to Flamengo to take part in a sensational team and make history as one of the most important forwards in the club's history. Once there he won two Brazilian National Championships (1980, 1982), the 1981 Libertadores Cup and the 1981 Intercontinental Cup. In 1983 we went on a one-year-loan to

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 of M ...

and in the following year he transferred from Flamengo to Náutico, where he won another Pernambuco State Championship (1985). He would briefly return to Flamengo once again in 1987 and, although not a regular starter, he was a member of the squad that won the Brazilian league again that year. Nunes also played for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

's Boavista,

Santos FC Santos Futebol Clube () is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a ''bairro'' in the city of Santos, São Paulo, Santos. It plays in the Campeonato Paulista, the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo's premier State football lea ...

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 ...

Volta Redonda FC Volta Redonda Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Volta Redonda, is a Brazilian professional club based in Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro founded on 9 February 1976. It will compete in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, the second tier of Bra ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

's Tiburones. Nunes retired in 1993 after winning his 4th Pernambuco State Championship - the 3rd one playing for Santa Cruz.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunes 1954 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Primeira Liga players Clube Atlético Mineiro players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players CR Flamengo footballers Copa Libertadores–winning players Fluminense FC players Santos FC players Santa Cruz Futebol Clube players Clube Náutico Capibaribe players Boavista F.C. players C.F. Monterrey players Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in El Salvador Men's association football forwards 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal