SÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS) - Geraldão did not score the title goal of the 1977 Campeonato Paulista, an honor that fell to Basílio, but Corinthians would not have reached the final without him. The team's top scorer in that tournament - the most celebrated by Fiel in more than a century of history - died at the age of 77, after 22 years, eight months and seven days of waiting.
Geraldão, Corinthians' top scorer in the 1977 Paulista title, dies
SÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS) - Geraldão did not score the title goal of the 1977 Campeonato Paulista, an honor that fell to Basílio, but Corinthians would not have reached the final without him. The team's top scorer in that tournament - the...
The death was announced by the team, without the cause being disclosed. In the text, the association highlights that Álvares Machado, from São Paulo, was also a state champion in black and white in 1979 and "was present for Coringão in one of the most memorable moments in the club's history, the Invasão da Fiel ao Maracanã, in 1976".
- Geraldão arrived at Corinthians in 1975 after being Paulista's top scorer the previous year, with Botafogo, supported by midfielder Sócrates.
- Far from a refined style, the center forward missed goals as easily as the displayed visor marked them: he accumulated 91 in 280 matches with the black and white shirt.
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The death was announced by the team, without the cause being disclosed. In the text, the association highlights that Álvares Machado, from São Paulo, was also a state champion in black and white in 1979 and "was present for Coringão in one of the most memorable moments in the club's history, the Invasão da Fiel ao Maracanã, in 1976".
Geraldão arrived at Corinthians in 1975 after being Paulista's top scorer the previous year, with Botafogo, supported by midfielder Sócrates. Far from a refined style, the center forward missed goals as easily as the displayed visor marked them: he accumulated 91 in 280 matches with the black and white shirt.
"A player doesn't just have a good phase, of scoring a goal, scoring a goal, scoring a goal. There will be a time when three or four months will pass without scoring. We have to understand that it's not just a good phase, no. In the bad phase, you have to show the fans that you're fighting. And I was wrong", he stated, in 2010, in a statement for the film "Almighty: the Movie - 100 Years of Timão".
"I was under the goal, the ball was going in, the crowd was ready to shout a goal, then the ball went over the top. Ten minutes passed, the ball came, the crowd was going to scream, I sent it up there. I missed two or three goals in the game. When the crowd wasn't expecting it, I scored the goal", he joked.
Simplicity helped build his connection with fans. Its popularity led musician Bebeto to compose "Flecha Negra" in 1979. "He has the strength of a tamer, and when he plays he is a terror; at the top of the box, if the ball is left, a goal will be scored for the crowd to cheer. It's the Arrow, Arrow, Arrow, Arrow, Arrow, Black Arrow of the Park!"
There were 23 accurate arrows from Geraldão in the Corinthians campaign in 1977. In the final stretch, when the team needed two victories to advance to the decision, they scored 1-0 against Portuguesa and also scored in the 2-1 victory over their favorite victims, São Paulo - in 1977 alone there were five games and five goals against the tricolor team.
The number 9 was loaned to Juventus and also played for Gauchos Grêmio and Internacional. Wearing the Colorado uniform, he was decisive in winning the 1982 Campeonato Gaúcho, scoring the goals in the 2-0 victory over Grêmio that defined the competition.
Retired, Geraldão began working as a teacher at football schools in São Paulo. And he returned to defend Corinthians, in his masters team, displaying his usual style. "To this day I shoot the ball over the top. Then they say: 'Ah, it's still the same'. Of course, if I don't shoot the ball over the top, I'm not Geraldão."
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