Socrates is dead

[Paradigm]

Hehe look what I found:

Uh oh KC you give us so many flashbacks.... I am now going to live 1986 all over again!!

I have to say, I am surprised Platini is not in the pictured line up. Maybe Ali took his spot?

[persianbruin]

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! eyval KC. I think I missed it since you posted right before I did!! That was the best one ever!!!!!!!! btw can you believe it was only 6 toomans!? I think it was considered an expensive one back then. Keyhan bacheha was 2 toomans

Hehe look what I found:

[KC McElroy]

Looking at that lineup I count 3 defenders (Junior, Briegel and Gentile), 3 midfielders (Zico, Socrates and Maradona even though they had him listed as a forward in the lineup) and 4 forwards (Rossi, Rumminegge, Ali Koochooloo and Conti although they had him listed as a defender in the lineup). Their lineup was basically this:

Schumacher
Conti Junior Briegel Gentile
Rossi Socrates Zico
Maradona Ali Koochooloo Rumminegge

[persianbruin]

oh yeah for sure. when you have time please do it. btw, every now and then I think about the ali koochooloo story and how he couldn't give an emza! lol. That was a good series with a good msg to all those street goal koochik players who always ditched school

I had both of those in Iran but lost them. The ones above are all I found online after searching every which way and with weird search terms. I even emailed the author Javad Alizadeh and asked about copies of those books but he never responded. The only one I still have is the one that was basically an all star biography of different players with Maradona on the cover and Gary Lineker on the back. If you want I can scan that if you are interested.

[KC McElroy]

Hehe look what I found:

[KC McElroy]

RIP DR. S

KC, I had the same magazine but I think it was lost. Do you have the caricature where he said by looking at the flat ball "toop sancope kardeh!"?

also do you have the ali koochooloo in the world team where he couldn't give an autograph? thats the one I really wanna seeagain. I think I was in the 3rd grade when that came out

I had both of those in Iran but lost them. The ones above are all I found online after searching every which way and with weird search terms. I even emailed the author Javad Alizadeh and asked about copies of those books but he never responded. The only one I still have is the one that was basically an all star biography of different players with Maradona on the cover and Gary Lineker on the back. If you want I can scan that if you are interested.

[persianbruin]

RIP DR. S

KC, I had the same magazine but I think it was lost. Do you have the caricature where he said by looking at the flat ball "toop sancope kardeh!"?

also do you have the ali koochooloo in the world team where he couldn't give an autograph? thats the one I really wanna seeagain. I think I was in the 3rd grade when that came out

[Amin_]

RIP, a true legend!

[Soroush-IK]

R.I.P Socrates!

[KC McElroy]

His last game in 2004 at age 50.

may he RIP. I just heard of it on fifa and was on the verge of posting it here. but thats what too much alcohal consumption does to one

[KC McElroy]

Damn it, along with Zico he was my childhood soccer idol. RIP.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/12/04/sports/s030822S81.DTL&tsp=1

Former Brazil great Socrates, the clever playmaker who captained the country at soccer's 1982 World Cup, died Sunday. He was 57.

Known for his elegant style on the field and his deep involvement with Brazilian politics, Socrates died of septic shock resulting from an intestinal infection, according to a statement by the Albert Einstein hospital.

He had been rushed to the hospital on Saturday — the third time in four months — and had been in critical condition in an intensive care unit, breathing with the help of a ventilator.

The hospital said Socrates died at 4:30 a.m. Brazilian time (0630 GMT).

Socrates was twice hospitalized and placed in intensive care in the last few months, most recently in September. Both times he was admitted for a hemorrhage caused by high pressure in the vein that carries blood from the digestive system to the liver.

Socrates acknowledged being a heavy drinker, even when he starred as a player in the 1980s, but said he stopped drinking earlier this year after his stints in the hospital.

Dozens of Brazilian footballers expressed their sadness on Twitter moments after Socrates' death was announced.

"Sad start to the day," retired Brazil striker Ronaldo wrote. "Rest in peace Dr. Socrates."

Former Brazil and Barcelona playmaker Rivaldo added on his Twitter page: "Sad to wake up and find out that Socrates has died."

Reaction came from those outside of football, too, including three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten and three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves.

"Great guy," Castroneves tweeted. "A Brazilian who will be greatly missed."

The Brazilian football federation said the final round of the Brazilian league on Sunday will be played in Socrates' honor. All matches will be preceded by a minute of silence. Corinthians, the team that featured Socrates at the height of his career, needs a draw against rival Palmeiras to win the title. Corinthians' main fan group said it will honor its former star throughout the day.

Fiorentina, another of Socrates' former clubs, said it would hold a minute of silence and wear black armbands in his honor for Sunday's Italian league match with Roma.

"He was a very dynamic player with a sublime foot but most of all great intelligence," said former Italy forward Paolo Rossi, who scored a memorable hat trick against Brazil and Socrates at the 1982 World Cup. "Along with Zico and Falcao he was the symbol of that Brazil squad.

"Socrates seemed like a player from another era," added Rossi, according to the ANSA news agency. "You couldn't place him in any category — on the pitch and even more so off it. Everyone knew about his degree in medicine and he had a lot of cultural and social interests as well. He was unique from every point of view."

Indeed, Socrates stood out on and off the field. He became a doctor after retiring from football and later became a popular TV commentator and columnist, always with unique and controversial opinions. He never denied his fondness for drinking, from the time he was a player until his final days.

Socrates wrote a series of columns for The Associated Press during the 2011 Copa America in Argentina, expressing his views on all aspects of the tournament, including economic and political issues in Latin America.

"It's not just about the game itself," Socrates said before the competition began. "Before anything, (football) is a psychological battle, the human aspect plays a significant role."

Since his playing days, Socrates never kept his political ideas to himself and often wrote about the subject in his columns. Known as Dr. Socrates because of his practice of medicine, he was the main commentator on a weekly TV sports program and was constantly in demand from local media for interviews on varied subjects.

While with Corinthians, Socrates spearheaded a movement called the Corinthians Democracy, in which players protested against the long periods of confinement required by the club before matches. It quickly became a broader protest that coincided with Brazil's fight to overturn a military regime in the 1980s.

Socrates, whose full name is Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, starred for Corinthians in the early 1980s, but he also played for Flamengo and Santos, as well as Fiorentina in Italy.

The tall full-bearded playmaker captained Brazil in the 1982 World Cup in Spain and was a member of the squad in 1986 in Mexico. The 1982 Brazil team became widely known as the best not to win a World Cup. With players like Zico and Falcao, it fell to Italy 3-2 in the second round despite needing only a draw to advance to the semifinals.

Socrates was included in FIFA's list of the best 125 living soccer players in the world, a list compiled by countryman Pele. Socrates played 63 matches with the national team, scoring 25 goals.

He was known for his great vision on the field. Always clever with the ball at his feet, his trademark move was the back-heel pass, and he set up and scored many goals with it throughout his career.

Socrates briefly coached and played for Garforth Town in England in 2004.

Socrates' younger brother Rai was another great Brazilian midfielder, and he helped Brazil win the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

He is survived by his wife and six children.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...#ixzz1fZuXQrVe