Roberto Monteiro, commonly known by the nickname Roberto Batata (July 24, 1949 – May 13, 1976), was an association football

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who played for several

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 ...

club Cruzeiro and for the Brazil national team.

Nickname

Batata's nickname, meaning ''Roberto Potato'', was given by the head coach João Crispim, because of his love for

French fries French fries ( North American English), chips ( British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or '' allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France ...

(known in Brazil as ''batata frita'').

Club career

Born in Belo Horizonte, capital of the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

, Roberto Batata started his professional career playing for América-MG, leaving the club to join Cruzeiro in 1969. Defending Cruzeiro, he won the

Campeonato Mineiro Campeonato Mineiro is the state football league of the state of Minas Gerais and is controlled by the Minas Gerais Football Federation FMF (Federação Mineira de Futebol). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: befo ...

in 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974 and in 1975, and the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – 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 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

. He played 90 Série A games for his club, scoring 24 goals. Including other competition games, he played 281 games for Cruzeiro, and scored 110 goals.

International career

Roberto Batata played six

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

games in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, scoring three goals. His first game was played on July 31, against

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

. He scored his first two goals for the national team against that same country, on August 13. His third goal was scored on September 30, against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. His last game for the national team was played on October 4, against Peru.

Death

Batata died on May 13, 1976, in Belo Horizonte, after a car crash at

Rodovia Fernão Dias The Rodovia Fernão Dias (official designation BR-381 or SP-010 in the state of São Paulo) is a federal highway which runs in the Brazilian states of São Paulo and southern region of Minas Gerais. In Atibaia, the Fernão Dias highway intersect ...

when he was traveling to

Três Corações Três Corações () is a municipality in the south of Minas Gerais state in Brazil. As of 2020, the city population was estimated at 80,032, making it one of the largest cities in the south of Minas Gerais. The city is geographically located cl ...

to visit his wife Denize and his eleven-month son Leonardo. The accident happened one day after he played his last game for Cruzeiro, in which he helped his team beat Alianza Lima of Peru 4–0, scoring one of the goals. Roberto Batata is buried in Cemitério Bonfim - Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batata, Roberto 1949 births 1976 deaths Brazilian footballers Brazil international footballers América Futebol Clube (MG) players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Association football forwards 1975 Copa América players Road incident deaths in Brazil Footballers from Belo Horizonte