Top facts about Socrates, known as "Doctor Socrates"

Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, a Brazilian better known by his nickname Sócrates, was a Brazilian offensive midfielder. He was dubbed "Doctor Socrates" because of his medical degree and political understanding, as well as the style and quality of his performance.

Sócrates became the "symbol of cool for an entire generation of football followers" thanks to his beard and headband. He is regarded as one of the most talented midfielders of his time. He won the South American Footballer of the Year award in 1983.

selected him to the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004.

This legend was a seven-year member of the Brazilian national team, scoring 22 goals and appearing in two World Cups. He led the squad at the 1982 FIFA World Cup when he played in midfield alongside Zico, Falco, Toninho Cerezo, and Éder in what is widely regarded as one of the finest Brazilian national sides ever.

He also competed in the Copa América in 1979 and 1983. Sócrates began his career at Botafogo-SP before joining Corinthians in 1978. He played for Fiorentina in Italy before returning to

in 1985 to finish his career.

Extra rare information and top facts about Socrates, known as "Doctor Socrates"

In this article, we are going to learn more about this legendary player as well as his statistics and information.

We will explore his personal life for secrets and rare facts and will look into his net worth to see how much he has made throughout these years. Thus without further ado let us hop into the article and get to know the

top facts about Socrates

.

Socrates information

Let's start with the most important facts about Socrates for those who don't know him or who want to get into the correct mindset to read the top facts about Socrates.

Personal information

• Full name:

  Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira

• Date of birth:

  19 February 1954

• Date of death:

  4 December 2011

• Aged:

  57

• Star Sign:

  Pisces

• Star sign features:

  Emotionally sensitive, gracious, and emotionally aware

• Nationality:

  Brazilian

• Place of birth:

  Belém, Pará, Brazil

• Marital status:

  Married

• Religion:

  Christianity

Football information

• Position:

  Attacking midfielder

• Last team played for:

  Garforth Town

• Total appearances:

  573

• Club appearances:

  513

• National appearances:

  60

• Foot:

  Right

Physical stats and appearance

• Height:

  1.92 m

• Hair color:

  Dark brown

• Skin color:

  White

• Facial hair:

  short

Now that you know everything there is to know about Socrates, we can safely go on to the next section of the

top facts about Socrates

article, which will provide entailments and complementary information of the current section's contents.

Socrates transfermarkt

Because him being an old-school player, there is not much to explore on his profile page on Transfermarkt.com. He has no market graph nor achievements list, thus this part of the top facts about Socrates can't offer you much information.

Socrates international career

We limited this part of top facts about Socrates to only his international career due to the limitation of space and time. Between May 1979 and June 1986, Sócrates was capped 60 times for Brazil, scoring 22 goals. At the 1982 FIFA World Cup, he led the national squad, and he also played in the 1986

.

He scored twice in the latter competition, the first being the game's only goal against Spain in the group stage.

He added another in the 4–0 round-of-16 triumph over Poland, firing his penalty kick without running; in the next game, against France, he attempted to convert it in the same manner, but goalkeeper Jol Bats stopped his shootout effort; France went on to the semi-finals.

Sócrates also competed in the Copa América competitions in 1979 and 1983. He only played in one game in this competition, the second leg of the final versus Uruguay (1–1 home tie, 1–3 aggregate defeat).

Socrates political career

How did his career end and how was he living in his last days? Let us uncover some important information about his death and legacy in this section of top facts about Socrates.

He was taken to the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo's intensive care unit on August 19, 2011, with gastrointestinal bleeding caused by portal hypertension, and was discharged nine days later.

He spent 17 days in the hospital the following month due to a liver problem. He was admitted to the hospital on December 1, 2011, with food poisoning that progressed to septic shock, and he was placed on life support. At the age of 57, he died on December 4, 2011.

Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's president, paid homage, saying the country had lost "one of its most cherished sons." "He was a genius on the field, with his talent and refined touches. Off the field, he was a political activist who cared about his people and his nation."

Before the team's play against Palmeiras, fans held up tribute placards and there was a moment of silence.

The outcome matched Sócrates' expressed intention to "die on a Sunday when Corinthians win a trophy," as he previously declared. Before their league match against Roma, Fiorentina conducted a minute of silence and the players donned black armbands as a mark of respect.

He was described as "unique" by

. "A piece of our past that has broken off and gone away," said Paolo Rossi of Italy. Sócrates' "great grace" was praised by Garforth chairman Simon Clifford.

Socrates early days

Professional soccer players don't normally say things like "I smoke, I drink, and I think." It's more like something you'd expect from a sassy student playing as a dissident thinker.

When Sócrates said the line, he was in at least half a posture, but you can hear an unmistakable sense of the obstinacy that was both his gift and curse.

The concentraçao, the practice of requiring players to spend the night before a match at a hotel with the rest of the squad, irritated Sócrates more than any other orthodox custom in Brazilian soccer. The idea was that they could unwind and concentrate on the game without being distracted.

The story hero, who thrived on diversion, thought this was completely absurd. "He preferred to stay at home on a Friday or Saturday night, sipping his beer," his brother Raimundo stated.

Sócrates always claimed to be a champion of liberty and self-expression, yet his thought was filled with harmful inconsistencies.

He loathed uniformity, yet his life after football unfurled as one long, depressing cliché. He opposed authority yet gave in to every wasteful instinct; he fought against duty, yet was addiction's obedient slave; he scorned responsibility, yet was addiction's obedient slave.

Socrates family 

Let us talk about his family in this section of

top facts about Socrates

.

Raimundo and Guiomar Vieira's firstborn child was Sócrates. He was born in Belém, Pará, and moved to Ribeiro Preto, Sao Paulo, with his family in January 1960, after his father Raimundo was promoted to a key job as revenue supervisor.

In Igarapé-Açu, where the family lived at the time, this job elevated Sócrates' father to the position of a small-town hero.

Sócrates was able to attend the greatest school in Ribeiro Preto, Colégio Marista, because of his father's increased income.

The little library Sócrates' father had constructed in his home, which contained philosophy volumes and other works, was threatened by the coup d'état on March 31, 1964, according to a biography authored by journalist Tom Cardoso.

"In 1964, I witnessed my father burn numerous books, because of the coup d'état, which I felt was stupid because the library was the thing he liked best," Sócrates said.

Socrates personal life facts

Sócrates had four marriages. He was married four times and divorced three times before dying in his fourth marriage. He was the father of six children. He was a sports journalist for several newspapers and journals, as well as a political and economics columnist.

He was a regular football commentator on Brazilian television. Sócrates was working on a fictitious novel on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil when he died.

Sócrates was a physician, an uncommon accomplishment for a professional player (he earned a bachelor's degree in medicine at the University of S Paulo's Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeiro Preto).

Even more extraordinary is the fact that he completed his degree while playing professional football. He practiced medicine in Ribeiro Preto after retiring as a footballer.

He was also known for being a thinker, a big drinker, and a cigarette smoker. Rai, his younger brother, was a footballer and an attacking midfielder who played for S. Paulo and Paris Saint-Germain. He was a member of the Brazilian squad that won the World Cup in 1994.

Sócrates is said to have studied medicine in Dublin, Ireland, and to have won the Sigerson Cup for University College Dublin at this time.

The allegation received considerable credence as pieces in numerous publications appeared to corroborate it, one of which even cited an identified person inside the Football Association of Ireland as a source. However, the report is false, as evidenced by numerous media articles and the Dublin college's denial.

Socrates brother

Socrates had a footballer sibling, as we already mentioned. He, too, played for Botafogo de S. Paulo and was a Brazilian international for a long period.

Rai joined Sao Paulo FC for the 1987 season, but due to injury, he only made his league debut on October 18th. In his first year, he only scored once, but once Telê Santana took over as coach, he grew into a prolific scorer, scoring 28 times in 1991 as the squad won both the provincial Campeonato Paulista and the National Championship.

The brother of our story's hero was purchased by

of France for US$4.6 million in June 1993, but he remained with S. Paulo until the end of the year. Despite this, he managed to score six goals in 28 Ligue 1 games to help his new team win the national title for the second time in its history.

Rai returned to Sao Paulo at the age of 33. In the year 2000, he announced his retirement.

This player became a social activist and justice advocate after retirement and was active in two different charity organizations.

Socrates quotes

For the last section of top facts about Socrates let us take a look at his most memorable quotes.

“Beauty comes first. Victory is secondary. What matters is joy." Socrates suggests that you should enjoy the process and then the result and that is what he exactly did in the pitch.

He was a doctor, not only by degree but also by the ideology that he had of football: “To win is not the most important thing, football is an art and should be about showing creativity.

If Vincent van Gogh and Edgar Degas had known the level of recognition they were going to have, they would not have done the same. You have to enjoy doing the art and not think ‘will I win?’”

Here is a fun quote that depicts Socrates's humor: “When I named one of my sons Fidel, my mother told me: ‘It’s a bit strong for a child.’ And I said: Mom, look what you did to me.”

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