Ademir da Guia (born 3 April 1942) is a retired professional

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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

during the 1960s and 1970s for

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

, a leading association football team in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, where he is still regarded as one of the club's all-time best players. Usually a

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

, 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, 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 ...

. His father,

Domingos da Guia Domingos Antônio da Guia (born in Rio de Janeiro, November 19, 1912 – died in Rio, May 18, 2000) was a Brazilian footballer. He played in four matches for Brazil in the 1938 FIFA World Cup finals. He is regarded as one of the best Brazilian ...

was a former

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

member who played at the

1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the 3rd edition of the FIFA World Cup, World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in France from 4 to 19 June 1938. Italy national ...

. His uncle, Ladislau da Guia, had pursued the same career path at an earlier stage, playing for

Bangu Atlético Clube Bangu Atlético Clube, commonly known as Bangu, is a Brazilian professional association football club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the western neighbourhood of Bangu, Rio de Janeiro, Bangu. The team plays in Campeonato Brasileiro Série D, S ...

, and becoming their all-time best scorer with 215 goals.

Career

In the 16 years Ademir da Guia spent playing for

, 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 state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

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" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

five times. Unlike many distinguished football players in his country, Ademir did not have a prolonged and constant participation with the Brazil 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 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, 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 ...

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 Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

, Rivellino, Gérson, Tostão, Dirceu Lopes and Paulo César. Da Guia played his farewell match on 18 September 1977 at

Estádio do Morumbi The Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo, popularly known as Estádio do Morumbi (Morumbi Stadium), and currently known as MorumBIS for sponsorship reasons, is a multipurpose 72,039-seater football stadium located in the eponymous district in São ...

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 ...

in a

match between his club

and

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...

, 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 The Communist Party of Brazil (, PCdoB) is a List of political parties in Brazil, political party in Brazil. The PCdoB officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist theory. It has national reach and deep penetration in the trade union and Student ...

, joining the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

later.

Honours

; Bangu *

International Soccer League The International Soccer League was a U.S.-based soccer league which was formed in 1960 and collapsed in 1965. The League, affiliated with the American Soccer League, featured guest teams primarily from Europe and some from South America, Canada ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

; Palmeiras *

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

* Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1965 *

: 1967 (TB), 1967 (TRGP),

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

* Laudo Natel Tournament: 1972 *

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 ...

runner-up:

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

; Individual *

Best Player: 1966 * Bola de Prata: 1972 * Troféu Arthur Friedenreich Best Midfilder: 1970, 1972, 1974

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guia, Ademir da 1942 births Living people Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian men's footballers 1974 FIFA World Cup players Brazil men's international footballers Bangu Atlético Clube players SE Palmeiras players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players São Paulo state football team players Brazilian sportsperson-politicians Men's 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 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen Municipal Chamber of São Paulo councillors