Carlos Alberto Torres

Brazilian association football player and manager (1944-2016)

Carlos Alberto "Capita" Torres (17 July 194425 October 2016), also known as the "Captain of the Third", was a former Brazilian football player. He has played for Brazil national team. A technically talented defender with good ball skills and defensive ability, he is widely regarded as one of the best defenders of all time. He also stood out for his leadership and was an excellent penalty taker. In the 1970 FIFA World Cup Final, Carlos Alberto scored the fourth Brazilian goal that closed the 4-1 rout against Italy. His goal is considered one of the greatest goals in the history of the tournament. Considered one of the greatest players in history in his position, he was the captain of the Brazilian team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, becoming known as the Capitão do Tri. As far as clubs go, Carlos Alberto has played for Fluminense, Botafogo, Flamengo, California Surf, Santos and New York Cosmos. He was Pelé 's teammate in the last two clubs.

Carlos Alberto Torres
Carlos Alberto Torres in 2011
Personal information
Full name Carlos Alberto Torres
Date of birth (1944-07-17)17 July 1944
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death 25 October 2016(2016-10-25) (aged 72)
Place of death Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1963–1966 Fluminense 98 (9)
1966–1974 Santos 445 (40)
1971Botafogo (loan) 22 (0)
1974–1976 Fluminense 50 (4)
1976–1977 Flamengo 28 (3)
1977–1980 New York Cosmos 80 (6)
1980–1981 California Surf 19 (2)
1981–1982 New York Cosmos 20 (0)
Total 743 (64)
National team
1964–1977 Brazil 53 (8)
Teams managed
1983–1985 Flamengo
1985–1986 Corinthians
1987–1988 Náutico
1988 Miami Sharks
1989–1990 Once Caldas
1991–1992 Monterrey
1992 Tijuana
1993–1997 Botafogo
1994 Fluminense
1998 Atlético Mineiro
1998–1999 Querétaro
2000–2001 Unión Magdalena
2000–2001 Oman
2001–2002 Flamengo
2002 Botafogo
2004–2005 Paysandu
2005 Azerbaijan
Honours
Men's Football
Representing  Brazil
FIFA World Cup
Winner 1970 Mexico
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career change

Carlos Alberto joined Fluminense at the age of 19. He quickly made a name for himself in the team, and this from his first season at the club, thanks to his defensive qualities and his vision of the game but also an ability to dribble but also to make his teammates play, rare qualities for defenders. at that time. In 1966, he left for the Santos club where he joined his teammate Pelé. In 1974, he returned to Fluminense and enabled the club to win two consecutive Rio championships. Three years later, in 1977, he moved to Flamengo, Fluminense's biggest rival.

Despite his success in Brazil, Carlos Torres joined New York club Cosmos in 1977. He arrived on the day of the New York power outage and reunited with his former teammate and friend Pelé. He helped his club win back-to-back NASL titles in 1979 and 1980. After a year at the California Surf club, he returned to New York and won a third NASL 3 title with his club in 1982. During his five years in the NASL, he was elected to the All-Stars team of the year five times and scored eight goals in 119 regular season games and 26 playoff games. He bid farewell on September 28, 1982 during a match between Cosmos and his former club Flamengo.

International career change

 
Carlos Alberto in 1970

Between 1964 and 1977, Carlos Alberto Torres was capped 53 times and scored eight goals with Brazil. In 1966, he was on the list of forty-four players likely to participate in the 1966 FIFA World Cup but he was not retained in the final list of twenty-two players. At this edition of the World Cup, in England, Brazil is eliminated in the group stages. When João Saldanha is responsible for restoring the image of the Selecao, he recognizes Carlos Alberto's ability to lead a team and decides to make him the new captain of Brazil. His extroverted character is also suitable for taking on this role of leader of the group. He is therefore the captain of the Brazilian team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. Despite his position at fullback, Carlos Alberto scored the last goal in the final against Italy - on a blind pass from Pelé. This goal is considered one of the best scored in the competition. 1970 was the best year of his career with Brazil. He couldn't participate in the 1974 World Cup because of a persistent knee injury. When he regains a certain physical form, his speed has decreased markedly. Nevertheless, his vision of the game which makes it possible to compensate for his low speed, allows him to occupy the position of central defender. After some return to form, he was selected again with Brazil. In 1977, his coach Cláudio Coutinho called him up to captain the Selecao in the first three qualifying matches for the 1978 World Cup. He performs well despite seven years of absence in the national team. He is approaching 33 when he retires from international duty and immediately joins the New York Cosmos. Even today, he is considered one of the best players to have worn the colors of Brazil.

Death change

Torres died in Rio de Janeiro on October 25, 2016 due to a sudden heart attack, aged 72.[1]

Club career statistics change

[2]

Club statistics League
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals
BrazilLeague
1971 Santos Série A 2 0
1972 20 2
1973 28 6
1974 Fluminense Série A 16 1
1975 18 0
1976 19 3
1977 Flamengo Série A 0 0
United StatesLeague
1977 New York Cosmos NASL 4 0
1978 25 2
1979 28 2
1980 23 2
1981 California Surf NASL 19 2
1982 New York Cosmos NASL 20 0
Country Brazil 103 12
United States 119 8
Total 222 20

International career statistics change

[3]

Brazil national team
YearAppsGoals
1964 3 0
1965 1 0
1966 3 0
1967 0 0
1968 18 5
1969 9 0
1970 14 2
1971 0 0
1972 1 1
1973 0 0
1974 0 0
1975 0 0
1976 1 0
1977 3 0
Total 53 8

Honours change

Player change

Fluminense

Santos

New York Cosmos

Brazil

Individual

References change

  1. Brazilian football loses the biggest of its captains: Carlos Alberto Torres passes away (in Portuguese)
  2. :: National Football Teams ::.. Player - Carlos Alberto Torres
  3. Brazil - Record International Players
  4. "The Best of The Best" Archived 26 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 17 November 2015
  5. "The other two Ballon d'Or Dream Team XIs: Zidane, Cruyff, Iniesta, Di Stefano... but no Casillas". MARCA. 15 December 2020. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  6. "IFFHS ALL TIME WORLD MEN'S DREAM TEAM". IFFHS. 22 May 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.