Ademir de Menezes

Ademir Marques de Menezes (8 November 1922 – 11 May 1996), best known as Ademir de Menezes (Portuguese pronunciation: [adeˈmiʁ]), was a Brazilian footballer, regarded as one of the best centre forwards in the history of the Brazil national team.[1] His prominent underbite earned him the nickname "Queixada", which means "jaw".

For other Brazilian footballers named Ademir , see Ademir da Guia and Ademir Roque Kaefer.

Ademir de Menezes

Ademir in 1947
Personal information
Full name	Ademir Marques de Menezes
Date of birth	8 November 1922
Place of birth	Recife, Brazil
Date of death	11 May 1996 (aged 73)
Place of death	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 ^1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1939–1942	Sport Recife	75	(98)
1942–1945	Vasco da Gama	90	(115)
1946–1947	Fluminense	29	(19)
1948–1956	Vasco da Gama	240	(230)
1957	Sport Recife
Total		434	(462)
National team
1945–1953	Brazil	39	(32)
Honours Men's Football Representing  Brazil FIFA World Cup Runner-up 1950 Brazil Copa América Winner 1949 Brazil Runner-up 1945 Chile Runner-up 1946 Argentina Runner-up 1953 Peru Panamerican Championship Winner 1952 Chile
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

International career

He is best known for his exploits in the 1950 World Cup held in his native Brazil. Playing in an outstanding forward trio involving Zizinho and Jair he won the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the competition. He was the scorer of the first competitive goal at the Maracanã stadium[2] There is some disagreement in the records as to how many goals Ademir scored, with some sources citing seven and others, including the authoritative RSSSF, nine. Despite this feat, he could not bring victory to Brazil in the decisive match against Uruguay – a national tragedy which was later dubbed the Maracanazo.

Ademir also enjoyed success in the Copa América. He played in the 1945, 1946, 1949, and 1953 editions of the tournament, scoring 13 goals in 18 appearances in the competition, including a tournament-winning hat-trick in the final play-off against Paraguay in 1949. He also won the Panamerican Championship with Brazil in 1952. In total, Ademir played 39 times for his country, scoring 32 goals (according to RSSSF) between 1945 and 1953.

Club career

He began his club career with Sport Recife before moving to Vasco da Gama. He played for Vasco for two spells, 1942–1945 and 1948–56, broken by a spell at Fluminense. In total, Ademir made 429 appearances for Vasco, scoring 301 goals, winning five Rio State League championships (1945, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1956). He won another with Fluminense (1946). He was the league's top scorer in 1949 with 30 goals and again in 1950 with 25 goals. Ademir finally retired from playing in 1956, going on to work as a commentator, coach and businessman.

Playing style

A fast and powerful striker, with a strong shot in both feet,[1] Ademir began his career as a left winger before moving to the centre, causing havoc in opposing defences with his skill and sublime finishing. People at the time considered him an unequalled ball juggler who knew every trick in the book. He used to wreak havoc among defences with his quick changes in tempo, fooling his opponents with deceptions carried out almost at lightning speed, his mastering of the ball in all situations and the ability to accelerate rapidly.

Career statistics

International

[3] [4]

Brazil national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1945	9	7
1946	6	1
1947	2	0
1948	0	0
1949	5	7
1950	9	14
1951	0	0
1952	5	2
1953	3	1
Total	39	32

1950 World Cup statistics

The scores contain links to the article on the 1950 FIFA World Cup and the round in question. When there is a special article on the match in question, the link is in the column for round.

Game no.	Round	Date	Opponent	Score	Ademir's goals	Times	Ademir's playing time	Venue	Report
1	Group 1	24 June 1950	Mexico	4–0 (1–0)	2	30'  79'	90 min.	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
2	Group 1	28 June 1950	Switzerland	2–2 (2–1)	0		90 min.	Estádio do Pacaembu, São Paulo
3	Group 1	1 July 1950	Yugoslavia	2–0 (1–0)	1	3'	90 min.	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
4	Final R.	9 July 1950	Sweden	7–1 (3–0)	4	17'  37'  51'  59'	90 min.	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
5	Final R.	13 July 1950	Spain	6–1 (3–0)	2	15'  57'	90 min.	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
6	Final R.	16 July 1950	Uruguay	1–2 (0–0)	0		90 min.	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

Honours

Club

Sport Recife

• Campeonato Pernambucano: 1941, 1942

Vasco da Gama

• Campeonato Carioca: 1945, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1956
• South American Championship of Champions: 1948

Fluminense

• Campeonato Carioca: 1947

International

Brazil

• South American Championship: 1949
• Panamerican Championship: 1952
• FIFA World Cup Runner-up: 1950
• South American Championship Runner-up: 1945, 1946, 1953

Individual

• Copa América Best Player: 1949
• FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: 1950
• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1950
• IFFHS Brazilian Player of the 20th Century (18th place)[5]
• IFFHS South American Player of the 20th Century (44th place)[5]
• Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame

References

1. Tim Vickery (26 March 2007). "Tim Vickery column". BBC. Archived from the original on 30 March 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
2. "Maracanã, the largest stadium of the world". Sambafoot.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
3. Ademir de Menezes at National-Football-Teams.com
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. IFFHS' Century Elections