Ademir da Guia (born 3 April 1942) is a retired professional footballer who played during the 1960s and 1970s for Palmeiras, a leading association football team in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, where he is still regarded as one of the club's all-time best players. Usually a playmaker, he was known for his fantastic close control and passing ability. He was nicknamed O Divino, which means The Divine One, the same nickname given to his father, Domingos da Guia.

Personal life

Da Guia was born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

. His father, Domingos da Guia was a former national team member who played at the 1938 FIFA World Cup. His uncle, Ladislau da Guia, had pursued the same career path at an earlier stage, playing for Bangu Atlético Clube, and becoming their all-time best scorer with 215 goals.

Career

In the 16 years Ademir da Guia spent playing for Palmeiras, he holds the record for the most appearances for the club and is the third best goalscorer ever, and won, amongst other titles, both the

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the FPF, the league is contested between 16 clubs and ty ...

and the

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

five times. Unlike many distinguished football players in his country, Ademir did not have a prolonged and constant participation with the Brazilian national team; playing in nine matches for Brazil in the total, the first six in 1965 and the other three in 1974, including at the

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...

when he got the chance to play in the match for third place against Poland (in which Brazil was defeated by 1–0). His lack of playing time was the result of being contemporary of such players as Pelé, Rivelino, Gérson, Tostão,

Dirceu Lopes Dirceu Lopes, full name Dirceu Lopes Mendes (born 3 September 1946 in Pedro Leopoldo) is a retired Brazilian footballer. He was attacking midfielder and forward who played mainly with Cruzeiro. He had seven caps with the Brazil national team ...

and Paulo César. Da Guia played his farewell match on 18 September 1977 at Estádio do Morumbi,

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 ...

in a

match between his club Palmeiras and Corinthians, which the latter won 2–0.

Political career

He was elected in 2004 for the legislative period of 2005–2008 as councilman for the city of São Paulo as a member of the Communist Party of Brazil, joining the Liberal Party later.

Honours

* Brazilian Championship: 1967 ( Taça Brasil), 1967 ( Taça Roberto Gomes Pedrosa), 1969, 1972 and 1973 *

São Paulo State Championship The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the FPF, the league is contested between 16 clubs and t ...

: 1963, 1966, 1972, 1974 and 1976. * Rio-São Paulo Tournament: 1965 * IV Centenary of the City of Rio de Janeiro Tournament: 1965 * Ramón de Carranza Trophy (Spain): 1969, 1974 and 1975. * Laudo Natel Tournament: 1972 * Mar del Plata Tournament (

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, t ...

): 1972

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guia, Ademir da 1942 births Living people Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian footballers 1974 FIFA World Cup players Brazil international footballers Bangu Atlético Clube players Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Brazilian sportsperson-politicians Association football midfielders Communist Party of Brazil politicians Liberal Party (Brazil, 2006) politicians Progressive Republican Party (Brazil) politicians Afro-Brazilian sportspeople Afro-Brazilian people Brazilian people of German descent