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Waldemar de Brito (, 17 May 1913 – 21 February 1979) was a Brazilian
Waldemar, a native of
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 ...
who played as a forward for several clubs in Brazil and Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, as well as for the Brazil national team. He is acknowledged to have discovered Pelé during the latter's early footballing days. His brother, Petronilho de Brito, was also a footballer.
Club career
Waldemar, a native of São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
, played as an inside forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
or as centre forward. At the beginning of his career, he played for the local clubs ''Syrio'', ''Independência'', and ''São Paulo da Floresta'', today's São Paulo FC; he was top goalscorer of the Rio-São Paulo Tournament with 21 goals. The following year, he moved 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 ...
, where he spent a short time, before transferring to San Lorenzo de Almagro
Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, commonly known as San Lorenzo de Almagro or simply San Lorenzo (in English: ''Saint Lawrence''), is a sports club of Argentina in the Boedo district of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football team ...
in the Argentine first division
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish language, Spanish (Grammatical gender, masculine) or (Grammatical gender, feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be resident ...
. In 1936, he returned to Brazil, this time to play for Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...
. He went back to São Paulo in 1943, to play for Portuguesa de Desportos
Portuguesa is a Portuguese, Catalan, and Spanish feminine adjective meaning "Portuguese". It may also refer to:
Places
*Portuguesa (state), one of the 23 states of Venezuela
* Portuguesa (Rio de Janeiro), a neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ...
. He finished his playing career in 1945 with Portuguesa Santista
Portuguesa is a Portuguese, Catalan, and Spanish feminine adjective meaning "Portuguese". It may also refer to:
Places
*Portuguesa (state), one of the 23 states of Venezuela
* Portuguesa (Rio de Janeiro), a neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ...
.
International career
Waldemar wascapped
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
18 times for the Brazilian national team, scoring 18 goals. He played at the 1934 World Cup
The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934.
The 1934 World Cup was the first in ...
, where Brazil was eliminated by Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
in the first round. In that match, Waldemar took a penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
for Brazil, but Spain goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora
Ricardo Zamora Martínez (; 14 February 1901 – 8 September 1978) was a Spanish footballer and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for, among others, RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. As an international he played for both the Cata ...
saved his shot.
Post-playing career
After he retired, Waldemar de Brito was part of a project to scout young talents at Bauru Atlético Clube. In 1954, he spotted a kid namedEdson Arantes do Nascimento Edson may refer to:
Places Canada
* Edson, Alberta
United States
* Edson, Kansas, an unincorporated community
* Edson, South Dakota, a ghost town
* Edson, Wisconsin, a town
** Edson (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community
People ...
, whom he took to Santos FC
Santos Futebol Clube (), commonly known simply as Santos or Santos FC and nicknamed the ''Peixe'' (; "fish"), is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a '' bairro'' in the city of Santos. It is also the team with the most goals i ...
, predicting that he would become the greatest footballer in the world. Although Waldemar is recognized for his own talent while he was a player, it is perhaps his scouting of Pelé that makes him most notable in the history of football in Brazil.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brito, Waldemar De 1913 births 1979 deaths Footballers from São Paulo Brazilian footballers Brazil international footballers 1934 FIFA World Cup players São Paulo FC players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers Argentine Primera División players Brazilian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Argentina CR Flamengo footballers Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players Association football forwards Association football scouts