Wilson Francisco Alves - also known as Wilson only - (21 December 1927 – 12 July 1998) was a Brazilian

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 ...

player and manager. The defender had his greatest successes with

CR Vasco da Gama Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama (; English: Vasco da Gama Club of Rowing), commonly referred to as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, is a sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although originally a rowing club and then a multi-sport club, Va ...

in the 1940s and 1950s, a club then known as ''Expresso da Vitória''. With the Brazil national team he won a South American Championship. A highlight of his coaching years was the winning of a State Championship of Paraná. He was a great Brazilian footballer.

Career

Born

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 ...

, Wilson started to play at the age of 16 with the local club EC São José in

. From 1943 to 1952 he was part of

, where he won five State Championships of Rio de Janeiro. The highlight of this period was the victory in the

South American Championship of Champions The South American Championship of Champions (, ) was a association football, football competition played in Santiago, Chile in 1948 and the first continental-wide clubs football tournament in South America. Hosted and organized by Chilean club Col ...

1948 in Chile, the predecessor of today's

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 ...

. From the decisive match of the tournament against Argentina's Champions CA River Plate it is reported that he marked the young

Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé (; 4 July 1926 – 7 July 2014) was an Argentine professional footballer and coach who played as a forward, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. Nicknamed "Saeta Rubia" ("Blond A ...

"to perfection". Other notable players of Vasco in this era, remembered as ''o Expresso da Vitória'' ("the Victory Express") and managed initially by Ondino Viera and from 1947 by

Flávio Costa Flávio Rodrigues da Costa (14 September 1906 – 22 November 1999) was a Brazilian football player and manager. He managed the Rio de Janeiro clubs Vasco da Gama and Flamengo, as well as Colo Colo of Chile, and FC Porto of Portugal. Costa coac ...

, were amongst others the captain Augusto, goalkeeper Moacyr Barbosa and the attackers

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 men's footballers of the 1940s and 1950s, who is best remembered for his per ...

, Ademir Menezes and Chico. Wilson was a core player of the Brazilian team that won the South American Football Championship of 1949. Altogether he played five times for his country, all matches in the successful tournament. Wilson finished his career as player until 1957 with Portuguesa and

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 ...

where he won twice the São Paulo State Championship, generally known as ''Campeonato Paulista''. Wilson, frequently called ''Capão'' after ''Morro do Capão'' in Rio where he was born, then started a career as coach. In 1966 and 1967 he led Portuguesa through the matches of the

Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa The Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, also known as Taça de Prata, or nicknamed Robertão, was an association football competition contested in Brazil between 1967 and 1970 among soccer teams from São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Minas ...

, precursor to the national championship competition. Between 1977 and 1982 he managed the campaigns of Grêmio Maringá, EC Comercial from

Campo Grande Campo Grande (, ) is a city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, central and western Regions of Brazil, region of Brazil, Capital city, capital of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Historically a Fortification, stronghold of Separatism, separatists ...

(MS) and América FC from

São José do Rio Preto São José do Rio Preto () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is located in the northwestern region of the state, approximately from the city of São Paulo and from Brasília ...

(SP) in the national championships. But on most occasions he coached small to midsize teams in small to midsize towns. in 1961 he took A. Prudentina EA from Presidente Prudente for the first time to the first division of the São Paulo state league. With Grêmio Maringá he won in 1977 the State Championship of Paraná, prevailing against the

Coritiba Foot Ball Club Coritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba and colloquially referred to as heCoxa, is a List of football clubs in Brazil, Brazilian football club from Curitiba, capital city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Paraná s ...

in the finals with results of 1-0 and 1-1. With EC São Bento from

Sorocaba Sorocaba () is a municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. With over 723,000 inhabitants, it is the seventh-largest city in the state and the second-largest outside the Greater São Paulo region, ranking behind only Cam ...

(SP) he won the championships of the interior of the years 1964 and 1965 and in 1981 he defeated the national team of Saudi Arabia 1-0.
Jogo Histórico: EC São Bento 1 X 0 Arábia Saudita
', História do Futebol-Final Beyond this he coached numerous other clubs of the interior. Football-magazine

Placar ''Placar'' (; stylized in all caps) is a monthly Brazilian sports magazine. Its first edition was issued by Editora Abril. on March 20, 1970, and since then it has become the most successful sports publication in Brazil, even though it focuses ...

named him in 1975 in an article devoted to him the "best paid coach of the interior" and described him as rather focussing on friendship amongst the players, rather than "complicated tactics". Wilson Francisco Alves, the ''Capão'', died in

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 ...

on 12 July 1998 at the age of 70 - the same day, when Brazil lost the final of the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

in France.

Honours

As player

Brazil * South American Football Championship:

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

Clubs *

: 1948 * State Championship of Rio de Janeiro: 1945, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952 * State Championship of São Paulo: 1955, 1956

As coach

Clubs * State Championship of Paraná: 1977

References

External links

*
Perfil de atletas que disputaram a Copa América, Wilson
',

Confederação Brasileira de Futebol The Brazilian Football Confederation (, CBF) is the governing body of football in Brazil. It was founded on Monday, 8 June 1914, as , and renamed Confederação Brasileira de Desportos in 1916. The football confederation, as known today, separ ...

*
Wilson - Wilson Francisco Alves
', Sambafoot *
Wilson Francisco Alves
', GloboEsporte, Futpédia *

',

Marília Atlético Clube Marília Atlético Clube, commonly referred to as Marília, is a Brazilian professional association football club based in Marília, São Paulo. The team competes in the Campeonato Paulista Série A3, the third tier of the São Paulo state foot ...

{{Portal bar, Biography, Brazil, Association football 1927 births 1998 deaths Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Men's association football defenders Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian football managers Brazil men's international footballers CR Vasco da Gama players Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players Santos FC players Esporte Clube São Bento managers Associação Portuguesa de Desportos managers Guarani FC managers América Futebol Clube (SP) managers Paulista Futebol Clube managers Esporte Clube Noroeste managers Marília Atlético Clube managers Grêmio de Esportes Maringá managers Esporte Clube Taubaté managers Volta Redonda FC managers 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen