Aldair Nascimento dos Santos (; born 30 November 1965), known simply as Aldair, is a Brazilian retired

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

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, and who was part of the Brazil national team that won the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

. Considered as one of Brazil's greatest defenders ever, he spent most of his professional career at Italian club

AS Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: Help:IPA/Italian, ) is a professional Association football, football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier ...

, where he later also served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, winning the

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

title with the club in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. He is one of the members to have been inducted into the

AS Roma Hall of Fame This is a list of AS Roma players who have been inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. AS Roma's Hall of Fame has been launched in 2012 as part of the initiatives for the club's 85th anniversary. Exceptionally for the starting 2012 Class, eleve ...

Club career

Aldair started playing at

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

where he won the State Championship

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. He moved to Europe in 1989, playing with Benfica, winning the Portuguese Supercup, and reaching the European Cup final during his only season with the team. Aldair subsequently moved to

in 1990 and played with this club during 13 seasons, until 2003. He played a total of 436 matches with the ''Giallorossi'', scoring 20 goals in total. During this period he won the Serie A in 2001, one

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

, and one

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

(also reaching the UEFA Cup final in the same year). Aldair was recognised in 2000 as one of the best players in the world by being selected in the FIFA XI; still, he remained loyal to Roma in spite of the club not having won any major international honours during his time there. Due to his long career with Roma, Aldair is currently the most-capped foreign player in the Italian club's history and the club decided to retire his number 6 jersey when he left the team in 2003. However, this retirement was not permanent, as in 2013 the shirt number 6 has been conceded to Kevin Strootman, with Aldair's approval. In 1998, he was chosen to be the captain of the ''Giallorossi'' but preferred to grant the

armband An armband is a piece of material worn around the arm. They may be worn for pure ornamentation, or to mark the wearer as belonging to group, or as insignia having a certain rank, status, office or role, or being in a particular state or conditi ...

to the then 22-years old

Francesco Totti Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played solely for AS Roma, Roma and the Italy national football team, Italy national team. He was a technically gifted and creati ...

. For his contribution to the club, Aldair was included into the

in 2012, and thus recognized as one of the best footballers in the club's history. He was nicknamed "

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...

" by Roma fans. After Roma, Aldair then briefly joined

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. In July 2005, Aldair announced plans of playing for Rio Branco, and played two games for the club in the state championship, helping his team to win the title. Former teammate and good friend Massimo Agostini convinced him to play in

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

for SS Murata in order to boost their Champions League campaign. After Murata's dreadful 7–1 aggregate defeat to Cypriots APOEL in the first round of qualifying for the

2006–07 UEFA Cup The 2006–07 UEFA Cup was the 36th edition of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup, Europe's second-tier club association football, football tournament. On 16 May 2007, at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Sevilla FC, Sevilla won their second consecu ...

, Agostini decided to call upon Aldair to join him on the Italian Peninsula. Aldair took part in the Champions League qualifying stage in July 2007.

International career

Aldair was part of the Brazilian squad that took part at the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

. In 1994, he reached the pinnacle of his career when he played for the Brazilian squad that won the

. Originally not included in the squad announced on 10 May 1994, he was called up as replacement when Carlos Mozer had to withdraw due to illness. He also played for Brazil in the 1998 World Cup, as Brazil went on to reach the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

once again, only to be defeated by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He took part in three Copa América's with Brazil, winning the title in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

and

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, whilst earning a runners-up medal in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. Aldair won a bronze medal at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, and was part of the Brazilian team that won the

1997 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup was the first FIFA Confederations Cup, Confederations Cup to be organized by FIFA. The tournament had previously been played in 1992 King Fahd Cup, 1992 and 1995 King Fahd Cup, 1995 as the King Fahd Cup. This editi ...

. In addition to these tournaments, Aldair also took part in two friendly tournaments with Brazil, winning the 1995

Umbro Cup The Umbro Cup was a Friendly matches, friendly international Association football, football competition that took place in England in June 1995. The trophy was sponsored by the sports equipment brand Umbro, the manufacturers of the England national ...

, and finishing in second place in the

1997 Tournoi de France The 1997 Tournoi de France (; French, 'Tournament of France'), often referred to as Le Tournoi, was an international football tournament held in France in early June 1997 as a warm-up to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The four national teams participati ...

. In total, he appeared 81 times for Brazil between 1989 and 2000, scoring three goals.

Style of play

An elegant and tactically versatile defender, Aldair was capable of playing both as a

sweeper Sweepers are small, tropical marine (occasionally brackish) ray-finned fish of the family (biology), family Pempheridae. Found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Indo-Pacific region, the family contains about 80 species in two genus, genera. One ...

and

, due to his vision, technical ability and passing range. His confidence on the ball and, in particular, his adeptness at

long ball In association football, a long ball is a pass attempt that moves the ball a long distance on the field via one long aerial kick from either a goalkeeper or a defender directly to an attacking player, with the ball generally bypassing the midfie ...

s enabled him to advance into midfield and create chances for teammates. Although he was not particularly quick, he was a strong defender who excelled in the air. He also excelled at anticipating opponents with well-timed challenges due to his ability to read the game. In addition to his defensive and technical skills, Aldair was also known for his leadership and sportsmanship throughout his career.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

;Flamengo *

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 ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

;Benfica * Portuguese Supercup:

;Roma *

: 2000–01 *

: 1990–91 *

;Rio Branco * Campeonato Capixaba Série B: 2005 ;Murata *

Campionato Sammarinese Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio (English translation: Sammarinese Football Championship) is the highest competition for football clubs located at the only level of the Sammarinese football league system (no relegation system exists) and has ...

: 2007–08

International

;Brazil *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

; Runner-up

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

; Runner-up

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

: Bronze medal

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

Individual

* FIFA XI: 2000 *

Golden Foot The Golden Foot award is an international Association football, football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active playe ...

: 2008, as football legend *

: 2012

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldair 1965 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazil men's international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in San Marino CR Flamengo footballers 1989 Copa América players 1995 Copa América players 1997 Copa América players 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players Copa América–winning players FIFA Confederations Cup–winning players Men's association football defenders Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics AS Roma players S.L. Benfica footballers Genoa CFC players Olympic bronze medalists for Brazil Olympic footballers for Brazil Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Serie A players Serie B players Primeira Liga players SS Murata players Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in San Marino Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy People from Ilhéus Footballers from Bahia 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen

Club career

International career

Style of play

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

International

Individual

See also

References

External links