Toninho Cerezo, real name Antônio Carlos Cerezo, (born 21 April 1955 in Belo Horizonte) is a former football (soccer) player from Brazil. He is currently unemployed.

Career[link]

He played as a defensive midfielder with Atlético Mineiro, A.S. Roma, Sampdoria, São Paulo Futebol Clube and the Brazilian national team. He was known for his tireless style of play.

He won the Brazilian Golden Ball trophy in 1977 and again in 1980 and the Brazilian Silver Ball trophy in 1976.

Cerezo won five times the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup). In 1991 he won both the Italian Serie A championship and the Coppa Italia with U.C. Sampdoria.^[1]

With São Paulo FC he was the two-times winner of the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Libertadores.

Cerezo was the best player of the Intercontinental Cup final in 1993.^[2]

In 1998, he retired as a player, and, after doing some studies and probations in Italy, he returned to Brazil, and start a career as a manager at Vitória, reaching the semifinals of the Brazilian Série A. He also led Japanese powerhouse Kashima Antlers in J. League for six years. He won five major titles in Japan, two league championships, one Emperor's Cup and two league cups.

After that, he coached Atlético Mineiro, Guarani, and some Asian clubs such like Al-Hilal, Al-Shabab, Al Ain and returned to Brazil to led Sport, leaving just one month later.

National team[link]

Cerezo won 57 caps (full international games), between March 1977 and June 1985, with the Brazilian national team, scoring seven goals.

He played the FIFA World Cup 1978 and FIFA World Cup 1982. He was also due to go to the 1986 tournament, but a hamstring injury in May ruled him out.

At FIFA World Cup 1982 his back pass was intercepted by Paolo Rossi who went on to score in a 2–3 loss to Italy which saw a hat trick for Rossi and Brazil knocked out of the tournament in a dramatic upset. For many years after the event, he was widely criticized for this awful pass by many Brazilians.

Honours as a player[link]

Nacional

• Campeonato Amazonense: 1974

Atlético Mineiro

• Campeonato Mineiro: 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983

Roma

• Coppa Italia: 1984, 1986

Sampdoria

• Serie A: 1990–91
• Coppa Italia: 1988, 1989
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1989 runner-up, 1990
• European Cup: 1992 runner-up

São Paulo

• Campeonato Paulista: 1992
• Intercontinental Cup: 1992, 1993
• Copa Libertadores: 1993
• Supercopa Sudamericana: 1993
• Recopa Sudamericana: 1993, 1994

Honours as a manager[link]

Kashima Antlers

• J. League: 2000, 2001
• J. League Cup: 2000, 2002
• Emperor's Cup: 2000

Al-Shabab

• UAE Football League: 2008

Career statistics[link]

Personal life[link]

Cerezo is the father of fashion model and Givenchy muse Lea T.

References[link]

• Enciclopédia do Futebol Brasileiro, Volume 1 – Lance, Rio de Janeiro: Aretê Editorial S/A, 2001.

External links[link]

• FIFA.com Profile
• Toninho Cerezo at National-Football-Teams.com

v t e Brazil squad – 1978 FIFA World Cup Third Place 1 Leão 2 Toninho 3 Oscar 4 Amaral 5 Toninho Cerezo 6 Edinho 7 Zé Sérgio 8 Zico 9 Reinaldo 10 Rivelino 11 Dirceu 12 Carlos 13 Nelinho 14 Abel 15 Polozzi 16 Rodrigues Neto 17 Batista 18 Gil 19 Jorge Mendonça 20 Roberto Dinamite 21 Chicão 22 Waldir Peres Coach: Coutinho

v t e Brazil squad – 1982 FIFA World Cup 1 Waldir Peres 2 Leandro 3 Oscar 4 Luizinho 5 Toninho Cerezo 6 Júnior 7 Paulo Isidoro 8 Sócrates 9 Serginho 10 Zico 11 Éder 12 Paulo Sérgio 13 Edevaldo 14 Juninho 15 Falcão 16 Edinho 17 Pedrinho 18 Batista 19 Renato 20 Roberto Dinamite 21 Dirceu 22 Carlos Coach: Telê Santana