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Evaristo de Macedo: The record-breaking Brazilian loved by Barca & Madrid
The first Brazilian striker to play for Barcelona scored more times than Ronaldo and Romario combined, had a better goals-to-games ratio than Neymar or Rivaldo and got the goal that knocked Real Madrid out of the European Cup for the very first time - before crossing that bitter divide two years later.
For Brazil, he holds a goalscoring record that Pele never matched, yet was prohibited from playing at the 1958 World Cup. As a manager, he led 16 different teams, including Iraq, where he worked alongside Saddam Hussein's son.
Now aged 87, Evaristo de Macedo Filho looks back on a remarkable career in football - and the extraordinary goal that still defines him as a Barca legend, despite everything that followed.
Born in 1933, Evaristo grew up in northern Rio de Janeiro, far from the city's famous beaches and postcard views. He played football just for fun on the streets, but that changed after he tagged along to a friend's trial at local club Madureira in 1950.
The coaches asked him to make up the numbers and handed over a pair of old boots. Despite the footwear being so tight his toes curled, the 17-year-old impressed and was asked to return the following day.
Within two years, Evaristo had scored 18 goals in 35 games for Madureira, including one against national team goalkeeper Castilho's Fluminense at the Maracana - the same fabled stadium he had squeezed inside to watch the 1950 World Cup final, alongside 200,000 others.
His performances as an amateur for Madureira led to a call-up for the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, where Brazil scored nine goals in three games before succumbing to an experienced Germany side in the quarter-finals.
The small band of Brazilians, including future two-time World Cup-winners Vava and Zozimo, returned home with enhanced reputations and contract offers from clubs around the country. Evaristo, a lifelong Flamengo fan, got the call he wanted most. Over the next three years he helped his boyhood club to three successive Rio State Championships.
"Flamengo was always the team of my heart," Evaristo tells BBC Sport from his home in Rio de Janeiro. "I grew up watching them with my uncle so there was only ever one team for me. I had offers from Vasco da Gama and Fluminense, but Flamengo gave me so much and I'm eternally grateful."
You can read interesting news here. : สมัครสมาชิกสล็อต
The first Brazilian striker to play for Barcelona scored more times than Ronaldo and Romario combined, had a better goals-to-games ratio than Neymar or Rivaldo and got the goal that knocked Real Madrid out of the European Cup for the very first time - before crossing that bitter divide two years later.
For Brazil, he holds a goalscoring record that Pele never matched, yet was prohibited from playing at the 1958 World Cup. As a manager, he led 16 different teams, including Iraq, where he worked alongside Saddam Hussein's son.
Now aged 87, Evaristo de Macedo Filho looks back on a remarkable career in football - and the extraordinary goal that still defines him as a Barca legend, despite everything that followed.
Born in 1933, Evaristo grew up in northern Rio de Janeiro, far from the city's famous beaches and postcard views. He played football just for fun on the streets, but that changed after he tagged along to a friend's trial at local club Madureira in 1950.
The coaches asked him to make up the numbers and handed over a pair of old boots. Despite the footwear being so tight his toes curled, the 17-year-old impressed and was asked to return the following day.
Within two years, Evaristo had scored 18 goals in 35 games for Madureira, including one against national team goalkeeper Castilho's Fluminense at the Maracana - the same fabled stadium he had squeezed inside to watch the 1950 World Cup final, alongside 200,000 others.
His performances as an amateur for Madureira led to a call-up for the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, where Brazil scored nine goals in three games before succumbing to an experienced Germany side in the quarter-finals.
The small band of Brazilians, including future two-time World Cup-winners Vava and Zozimo, returned home with enhanced reputations and contract offers from clubs around the country. Evaristo, a lifelong Flamengo fan, got the call he wanted most. Over the next three years he helped his boyhood club to three successive Rio State Championships.
"Flamengo was always the team of my heart," Evaristo tells BBC Sport from his home in Rio de Janeiro. "I grew up watching them with my uncle so there was only ever one team for me. I had offers from Vasco da Gama and Fluminense, but Flamengo gave me so much and I'm eternally grateful."
You can read interesting news here. : สมัครสมาชิกสล็อต