Waldemar de Brito (, 17 May 1913 – 21 February 1979) was a Brazilian

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 forward for several clubs in Brazil and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, as well as for the Brazil national team. He is acknowledged to have discovered

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 ...

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 '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 ...

, played as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

or as

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

. At the beginning of his career, he played for the local clubs ''Syrio'', ''Independência'', and ''São Paulo da Floresta'', today's

São Paulo FC São Paulo Futebol Clube () is a professional Association football, football club in the Morumbi, São Paulo, Morumbi district of São Paulo, Brazil. It plays in Campeonato Paulista, São Paulo (state), São Paulo's premier State football lea ...

; 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 M ...

, where he spent a short time, before transferring to

San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Boedo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football team, which plays in the Primera División, the first tier of the Argentine foot ...

in the Argentine first division. In 1936, he returned to Brazil, this time to play for

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 ...

. He went back to São Paulo in 1943, to play for Portuguesa de Desportos. He finished his playing career in 1945 with

Portuguesa Santista Portuguesa is a Portuguese language, Portuguese, Catalan language, Catalan, and Spanish language, Spanish feminine adjective meaning "Portuguese". It may also refer to: Places *Portuguesa (state), one of the 23 states of Venezuela *Portuguesa (Ri ...

International career

Waldemar was capped 18 times for the Brazil national team, scoring 18 goals. He played at the 1934 World Cup, where Brazil was eliminated by

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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 (; 21 January 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 Spain. As a man ...

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 named

Edson 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 () is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a ''bairro'' in the city of Santos, São Paulo, Santos. It plays in the Campeonato Paulista, the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo's premier State football lea ...

, 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 Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

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 men's footballers Brazil men's 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 men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina CR Flamengo footballers SE Palmeiras players Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players São Paulo state football team players Men's association football forwards Association football scouts 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Argentina