Zico

Playername	Zico
Fullname	Arthur Antunes Coimbra
Dateofbirth	March 03, 1953
Cityofbirth	Rio de Janeiro
Countryofbirth	Brazil
Height
Position	Attacking midfielder
Youthyears1	1967–1971
Youthclubs1	Flamengo
Years1	1971–1983
Years2	1983–1985
Years3	1985–1989
Years4	1991–1992
Years5	1992–1994
Clubs1	Flamengo
Clubs2	Udinese
Clubs3	Flamengo
Clubs4	Sumitomo Metals
Clubs5	Kashima Antlers
Caps1	212 | goals1 = 123
Caps2	39 | goals2 = 22
Caps3	37 | goals3 = 12
Caps4	22 | goals4 = 21
Caps5	24 | goals5 = 15
Totalcaps	334 | totalgoals = 193
Nationalyears1	1976–1988
Nationalteam1	Brazil
Nationalcaps1	72 | nationalgoals1 = 52
Manageryears1	2002–2006
Manageryears2	2006–2008
Manageryears3	2008
Manageryears4	2009
Manageryears5	2009–2010
Managerclubs1	Japan
Managerclubs2	Fenerbahçe
Managerclubs3	Bunyodkor
Managerclubs4	CSKA Moscow
Managerclubs5	Olympiacos

Arthur Antunes Coimbra (, born 3 March 1953 in Rio de Janeiro), better known as Zico (), is a Brazilian coach and former footballer. Often called the "White Pelé", he is commonly considered one of the most skilled dribblers and finishers ever and possibly the world's best player of the early 80's. He was also known as one of history's greatest free kick specialists, able to bend the ball with pace and accuracy as well as having an extremely powerful shot. The gifted midfielder was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Also according to Pelé, generally considered the best footballer ever, "throughout the years, the one player that came closest to me was Zico".

Zico scored 52 goals in 72 international matches for Brazil, and represented them in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups. They did not win any of those tournaments, even though the 1982 squad is considered one of the greatest Brazilian national squads ever. Zico is often considered one of the best players in football history not to have been on a World Cup winning squad. He was chosen 1983 Player of the Year.

Zico has coached the Japanese national team, appearing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and winning the Asian Cup 2004, and Fenerbahce, who were a quarter-finalist in 2007–08 in the Champions League under his command. He was announced as the head coach of CSKA Moscow in January 2009. On September 16, 2009, Zico was signed by Greek side Olympiacos F.C. for a two-year contract after the club's previous coach, Temuri Ketsbaia, was sacked. He was fired four months later, on January 19, 2010. On May 30 of 2010, Zico announced that he would become the new Soccer Executive/Director for Flamengo, coming back to the team where he won his most important honors after 25 years. One of his demands is that his salary won't be paid by the club. Instead, it will be paid by Flamengo's sponsors such as Olympikus and BMG. His contract is for four years.

Playing career

Zico came from a lower-middle-class family, in the neighborhood of Quintino, Rio de Janeiro. In common with many Brazilians, he spent much of his youth dreaming of playing professional football. In 1967, while still a teenager, he had a scheduled trial at América, where his brothers Antunes and Edu were playing at the time. But he caught the attention of the radio reporter and friend, Celso Garcia, who asked Zico's father to take him to a trial at Flamengo instead. Being a fan of Flamengo, Zico had his father's approval, beginning his path towards becoming one of the most admired players in the history of the sport.

Flamengo

Physically Zico was not strong, and his history of determination and discipline began with a hard muscle and body development program conducted by the Physical Education teacher José Roberto Francalacci. A combination of hard work and also a special diet sponsored by his team enabled him to develop a strong body and become an athlete. This later proved to be essential for his success.

In 1971, he had some appearances in the professional team but only one year later, after 116 matches and 81 goals in the youth team, Zico was promoted to Flamengo's professional squad.

While at Flamengo, Zico was a key player during the most glorious period of the team's history. Along with many other titles, in his first period at Flamengo he led the team to victory in the 1981 Copa Libertadores, the 1981 Intercontinental Cup, and four national titles (1980/82/83/87). On the field, Zico made goals in all imaginable ways, was also a great assister and team organizer, and was known for his excellent vision of the field. He was a two-footed player and an expert at free kicks.

1982 World Cup would see Zico as part of a fantastic squad, side by side with Falcão, Sócrates, Cerezo and Júnior. In spite of his 4 goals and great skills by that squad, the team was defeated by Paolo Rossi and Italy in the second round.

Italy

After receiving offers from AS Roma and AC Milan, it seemed right to move to Italy, and in a multi-million dollar transaction he was hired to play for Udinese Calcio. Though leaving Flamengo fans in sadness, he caused a commotion in Udine by making fans to dream about better days for the city's club. In the 1983–84 Serie A, his first in Italy, his partnership with Franco Causio took Udinese to a higher level, gaining respect from giants Juventus and Roma. His personal top scorer dispute against Juventus's Michel Platini was exciting — Zico scored 19 goals, one fewer than top scorer Platini, having played 6 fewer matches than the French footballer. His following season would be punctuated by injuries, suspensions due to openly attacking referees, and a great match against Napoli's Diego Maradona – his last one as a bianconero.

Ultimately Udinese failed to win any relevant competition and Zico returned to Brazil and Flamengo, sponsored by a group of companies.

Back to Brazil

On his return, he suffered a knee injury after a violent tackle from Bangu's defender Marcio Nunes, which interrupted his career for several months. He played in the 1986 FIFA World Cup while still injured, and missed a penalty during regular time in the quarter-final match against France. The match ended in a tie which led to a shootout. Zico then scored his goal but after penalties missed by Sócrates and Júlio César, Brazil were knocked out. Recovered from injuries, things improved for Zico in 1987 when he led Flamengo to their fourth national title.

In December 1989 Zico made his last official appearance for Flamengo in a Brazilian National Championship match against rivals Fluminense. Zico made the first goal and Flamengo won the match 5–0.

Two months later, he would play his last match as a Flamengo player facing a World Cup Masters team composed of names like Eric Gerets, Claudio Gentile, Franco Causio, Alberto Tarantini, Jorge Valdano, Mario Kempes, Paul Breitner, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Falcão.

With 731 matches for Flamengo, Zico is the player with the 2nd most appearances for the club. His 508 goals make him the club's top scorer ever.

The achievements of the greatest idol in Flamengo's history inspired the Brazilian singer Jorge Benjor to write a song in his honour – Camisa 10 da Gávea – helping create the mystique of the club's number 10.

Zico also represented Brazil in the World Cup of Masters, scoring in the final of the 1990 and 1991 editions.

Brief retirement

After Brazil's first presidential election in many years, the new president Fernando Collor de Mello appointed Zico as his Minister of Sports. Zico stayed at this political assignment for about a year and his most important contribution was a piece of legislation dealing with the business side of sport teams.

Japan

In 1991, Zico interrupted his political assignment when he accepted an offer to join the Sumitomo Metal Industries Soccer Club in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, to help the club secure a place in Japan's first fully professional soccer league that was set to officially launch in 1993 — J. League. Zico played for Sumitomo in 1992, the last season before the old Japan Soccer League was disbanded, and finished as the league's top scorer. When the new league launched, the small town club, renamed Kashima Antlers, was not expected to compete with richer, more glamorous clubs like Yokohama Marinos and Verdy Kawasaki. Zico, however, helped the Antlers to win the J.League Suntory Series and a runners-up finish in its inaugural season, leading the club to cement its place among the league's elite.

His discipline, talent and professionalism meshed very well with Japanese culture, and his influence earned him the nickname, from Japanese soccer fans.

Retirement, Beach Soccer and CFZ

Zico retired from professional football during the 1994 season but received an invitation to play Beach Soccer. He returned to Kashima to become the Antlers' technical adviser in 1995, splitting his time between Japan and Brazil – where he still managed to find time to play Beach Soccer. One year later, in 1996, he founded CFZ (Zico Football Centre) in Rio de Janeiro. Zico founded another club, named CFZ de Brasília, in 1999. By this time, he was a local legend in Japan for having built a contender from almost nothing and putting the city of Kashima on the map. A statue in his honor stands outside Kashima Soccer Stadium.

Statistics

This information includes Zico's official, friendly, and exhibition games.

This information is based on Zico's senior career totals.

¹Domestic Cups include Copa do Brasil, Coppa Italia, J. League Cup and Emperor's Cup ²Continental competitions include Copa Libertadores and Supercopa Sudamericana ³Include Intercontinental Cup

|- |1976||9||6 |- |1977||7||6 |- |1978||11||3 |- |1979||5||5 |- |1980||5||4 |- |1981||13||14 |- |1982||11||8 |- |1983||1||0 |- |1984||0||0 |- |1985||5||3 |- |1986||5||3 |- !Total||72||52 |}

Major achievements

Club honours

Rio State Championship 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1979 (special), 1981, 1986

Brazilian Championship 1980, 1982, 1983, 1987

Copa Libertadores 1981

Intercontinental Cup 1981

J.League Suntory Series 1993

International honours

1978 FIFA World Cup: Third place

1982 FIFA World Cup: Round 2

1986 FIFA World Cup: Quarter-finals

Individual honours

1974

*Bola de Ouro Brazilian Footballer of the Year

*Bola de Prata Brazilian Championship All-Star Team

*Set a goal record in a single season as a Flamengo player – 49 goals

1975

*Rio State Championship Top Scorer – 30 goals

*Bola de Prata Brazilian Championship All-Star Team

1976

*Set a goal record in a single season as a Flamengo player – 56 goals

*Silver ball South American Footballer of the Year

1977

*Rio State Championship Top Scorer – 27 goals

*Bola de Prata Brazilian Championship All-Star Team

*South American Footballer of the Year

1978

*Rio State Championship Top Scorer – 19 goals

1979

*Rio State Championship Top Scorer – 26 goals

*Extra Rio State Championship Top Scorer – 34 goals

*Selected in FIFA XI to play against Argentina – Scored 1 goal

1980

*Brazilian Championship Top Scorer – 21 goals

*Silver ball South American Footballer of the Year

1981

*Copa Libertadores Best Player

*Copa Libertadores Top Scorer – 11 goals

*Intercontinental Cup Man of the Match

*South American Footballer of the Year

*World Footballer of the Year – Guerin Esportivo (Italy), El Mundo (Venezuela), El Balón (Spain), Placar Magazine (Brazil)

1982

*Rio State Championship Top Scorer – 21 goals

*Bola de Ouro Brazilian Footballer of the Year

*Bola de Prata Brazilian Championship All-Star Team

*Brazilian Championship Top Scorer – 21 goals

*Brazilian Top Scorer of the year – 59 goals

*World Cup Bronze Boot

*World Cup All-Star Team player

*South American Footballer of the Year

*Selected in FIFA XI to play against Europe Team – Scored 1 goal

1983

*World Player of the Year – World Soccer Magazine (England)

1984

*Second highest scorer of the Italian League – 19 goals

*Chevron Award (best goal per game ratio in Italian league)

*3rd Best Player of the Year – World Soccer Magazine (England)

1987

*Bola de Prata Brazilian Championship All-Star Team

1992

*Japan Soccer League record for goals scored in consecutive matches – 11 goals in 10 straight matches

1999

*3rd best Brazilian player of the 20th century – IFFHS

*IFFHS Players of the 20th century

*9rd Best Players of the 20th century – France Football (France)

*Greatest Players of the 20th century World Soccer (England)

2004

*FIFA 100

*Hall of the Fame FIFA

2010

*10Th Greatest Footballers of All-Time World Soccer Magazine (England)

All-Time

*Top Scorer in Flamengo's history – 508 goals

*Top Scorer in Maracanã Stadium's history – 333 goals

Beach Soccer

Beach Soccer World Championship 1995, 1996

American cup Beach Soccer 1995, 1996

1995 Beach Soccer World Championship Top Scorer – 12 goals

1995 Beach Soccer World Championship Best Player

Coaching career

Japan

After the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Japan Football Association looked for a replacement for the outgoing Philippe Troussier, and chose Zico as his successor. Despite his lack of coaching experience besides his stint as Brazil's technical coordinator during the 1998 World Cup, Zico had great understanding of Japanese soccer from his playing days and his role as Kashima's technical director. In addition, JFA had grown tired of Troussier's clashes with the media while the players were frustrated with his micromanagement. In contrast, Zico commanded respect from reporters and urged players to express themselves on the pitch.

Although Zico attempted to instill a free-flowing, attacking mentality to the team, his regime got off to an uneven start, which included a 4–1 loss to Argentina in 2003. Japan had a respectable showing at that year's Confederations Cup but struggled again in the beginning of 2004, only narrowly beating Oman in the first stage of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and several players were suspended after a drinking incident. Although Japan had not lost in its nine previous matches, he was rumored to be on the verge of resigning and a small group of fans marched in the streets of Tokyo demanding his firing.

He stayed on, however, and won the 2004 Asian Cup despite intimidation from Chinese fans and a team that featured just one European-based player, Shunsuke Nakamura. He then helped Japan qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup with just one loss.

Despite the rocky start, injuries to key players and even a bizarre offer from Garforth Town, Zico has led Japan to its third World Cup finals appearance and the third Asian Cup title in four tries. His Japanese team is heavily influenced by Brazil's short passing style, but he has been flexible enough to switch between 4-4-2 and 3–5–2 formations. In addition, he has had a respectable record on European soil, beating Czech Republic and Greece and drawing with England, Brazil and most recently Germany.

However, Japan failed to win a single match at the Finals, losing twice (to Australia and Brazil) and drawing once (to Croatia), and scoring just two goals while conceding seven. He resigned from Japan at the end of the World Cup campaign.

Fenerbahçe

In July 2006, signed a two-year deal with Fenerbahçe. He won the league title in 2007 and won Turkish Super Cup on the first year of his job. Under his command Fenerbahce has qualified from UEFA Champions League 2007–08 groups stage for the first time of club's history and beat Sevilla FC to become a quarter-finalist in 2007–08 season. So far, he also is the team's most successful manager in the history of the European arena.

Zico was given a new nickname by Fenerbahçe fans: Kral Arthur (meaning "King Arthur" in Turkish). For the team's nickname King Arthur and his Knights. In a chat hosted by uefa.com he pointed out that it is unlikely he will sign a contract extension with Fenerbahçe. This was confirmed on 10 June 2008 when he resigned as Fenerbahce manager.

On 8 September 2008, Zico revealed that he would be interested taking over the vacant managers position at Newcastle United following the resignation of Kevin Keegan. He is quoted saying "The Newcastle job is one that I would be very interested in taking. It would be a privilege and an honour, I've always wanted to experience the Premier League as I believe I could enjoy much success coaching in England." He also commented that he isn't bothered about the structure of the board at Newcastle United, "I am used to working alongside technical directors so this isn't an issue for me. It's normal for me to work in those conditions."

Bunyodkor, CSKA Moscow and Olympiakos C.F.P

In 2008, he coached FC Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan, where he won the Uzbekistani Cup and the Uzbek League. He subsequently took over at Russian side CSKA Moscow but was fired on 10 September 2009.

Less than a week later Zico signed a 2-year contract with Olympiacos F.C.. Despite the absence of numerous first-team players due to injuries, he led the Greek club to a comfortable 2nd place in Group H of the Champions League, earning the qualification to the knockout stage. In the Greek Superleague his first results were also impressive, but the success lasted only till early winter and the fans started to complain about both the results and the playing style of the team. And they were ready to use violence against him (or his team) in order to achieve their ends. Finally on January 19, 2010, after a negative series of 4 matches with just one win, though his team lost only two times (twelve wins and four draws) in the Greek Superleague, Zico was sacked.

Back to Flamengo

On May 30 of 2010, Zico announced that he would become the new Soccer Executive/Director for Flamengo, coming back to the team where he won his most important honors after 25 years. One of his demands is that his salary won't be paid by the club. Instead, it will be paid by Flamengo's sponsors such as Olympikus and BMG. His contract is for four years.

Honours as a manager

Japan

* Asian Cup: 2004

Fenerbahçe

* Turkcell Super League: 2006–07

* Turkish Super Cup: 2007

Bunyodkor

* Uzbekistani Cup: 2008

* Uzbek League: 2008

CSKA Moscow

* Russian Super Cup: 2009

* Russian Cup: 2008–09

Trivia

The youngest of six children, five of which were boys, Arthur Antunes Coimbra was first known at home as 'Arthurzinho' and then 'Arthurzico'. It was not until later that one of his cousins decided to shorten the latter nickname to one which is now known around the globe: Zico.

Zico has a Super Famicom game named after him called Zico Soccer.

Zico has appeared on the cover of the Japanese releases of Winning Eleven video games between 2003 and 2006 (Winning Eleven 7 – Winning Eleven 10).

Kiatisuk Senamuang, the most capped player in Thailand national football team, has been named "Zico" adapted from his since-born nickname, "Ko".

He was featured in the FIFA 06, FIFA 07, FIFA 08, FIFA 09, FIFA 10, and FIFA 11 Classic XI teams.

He has assembled a veteran team in Turkey which has as members Roberto Carlos's father Oscar Silva, Zico's brother and Fenerbahçe Assistant Manager Edu and Fenerbahçe Conditioner Moraci Vasconcelos Sant'anna (who has won 3 world cups as coach of Brazil).

He lists 1981 Copa Libertadores final vs Cobreloa, and winning the 2004 AFC Asian Cup as his most memorable moments as a player and as a coach, respectively. When he was still a kid in the youth team of Flamengo, he was chosen to receive the shoes from the famous Flamengo midfield player Carlinhos in his farewell match. Some years later, Carlinhos would become Zico's coach in the campaign of his fourth Brazilian Championship title, in 1987.

He, his brother Edu and his son Thiago Coimbra all played for Rio de Janeiro club Flamengo.

His father was a big fan of Sporting CP.

His son, Thiago Coimbra is also a professional football player.

References

External links

Zico’s official website

zico in the goals totality

Russia fan’s club Zico

Zico: Goals First Division

''Prolific Scorers Data

Zico goals of the Brazilian team

Zico: The Movie

Zico na rede: The Movie

Profil on TFF.org

Brazilian 20th century in sports

Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame

''Brazilian footballer of the year Bola de ouro / Bola de prata

Brazilian gunners

Best Brazilian player in Italy

South American Player of the Year

3rd Best player in the world " World Soccer"

Greatest Brazilian player of century

South America best Player of the Century

The World's best Player of the Century " France Football"

The Greatest Footballers of All-Time " World soccer"

The World's best Player of the Century " IFFHS"

" The Best of The Best"

Team of the century " World soccer"

Hall of the fame FIFA

Zico statistics " FIFA World Cup

Golden foot Legends

official website Udinese tribute to Zico " Pour sa maestà Zico"

Zico matter, at the height of his career magazine Veja

Tribute to 50 years of Zico, with interviews and testimonials

Tribute Site Globo.com by 25 years of winning the World Interclubes

Zico Legends

Youtube, Zico goals

Zico’s Profile

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