Gérson

Lore & Background

Gérson was born and spent his childhood in the city of Niterói. In school, he was nicknamed papagaio (parrot). Both his father and uncle were professional footballers in Rio. As a boy, Gérson was influenced by midfielders Zizinho, Jair, and Danilo Alvim.

At Flamengo, his playing style was compared with that of midfielder Didi. Within a year of making his professional debut for Flamengo in 1959, he was called to the Brazilian 'amateur' team in the Pan-American Games in Chicago. A year later he was a lynchpin of the side at the Rome Olympics where he scored four goals, but Brazil did not make it beyond the group phase. By 1961, he was the playmaker in Flamengo and had been recruited into the full national squad to defend the World Cup in Chile by coach Aymore Moreira.

His dreams of combining with Garrincha, Pelé, and Didi in Chile were dashed when he suffered a serious knee injury. In 1963, he chose not to sign another contract with Flamengo after being assigned the impossible task of man-marking Garrincha in the 1962 Rio de Janeiro Championship final, which Botafogo won 3–0. He moved to Botafogo, where he became one of the most celebrated Brazilian players of his generation, winning the Torneio Rio-São Paulo in 1964 and 1965, the Rio de Janeiro Championship in 1967 and 1968, and the Brazilian Cup in 1968 in two finals against Fortaleza.

Later on, he also played for São Paulo and Fluminense, his favourite team. Gérson is considered one of the best passers in World Cup history. Although he didn't play well in 1966, he was the mastermind behind the whole Brazilian national team in the 1970 tournament. He is regarded as the best passer and midfielder in that edition of that World Cup, and the second best player in the 4–1 victory against Italy in the final, after Pelé himself.

Overall, he played 70 times for Brazil, scoring 14 goals for his country, including one in that 1970 World Cup final. Outside the soccer pitch, Gérson's name became nationally infamous after he starred in a Vila Rica cigarettes' advertising campaign for television in 1976, which had him read the tagline 'I like to take advantage of everything, right? You too take advantage!'. The line became associated with the traditional Brazilian disregard for laws and social rules, informally named 'jeitinho brasileiro' or 'Lei de Gérson'. He later publicly regretted having starred in the ad.

Reader's Guide

Gérson played as a holding midfielder. Jonathan Wilson noted in a 2013 article for The Guardian that he was an early example of a more creative interpreter of this role, who focussed more on ball retention and passing rather than solely looking to win back possession. A tactically intelligent, efficient, and technically gifted midfield playmaker, he was considered the 'brain' behind the Brazilian squad that won the 1970 World Cup. He was known for his ability to retain possession and dictate the tempo of his team's play in midfield with his precise passing, and was also capable of switching from defence to attack by playing sudden, accurate long balls to meet his teammates' runs; he is regarded as one of the best passers in the history of the sport, and as one of Brazil's greatest ever players.

He also possessed an excellent positional sense, and a powerful shot with his left foot, which earned him the nickname Canhotinha de Ouro ('Golden left foot').

Did You Know?

• Gérson was nicknamed papagaio (parrot) in school, a nickname he kept throughout his life.
• He scored four goals at the Rome Olympics in 1960, but Brazil did not make it beyond the group phase.
• Gérson displayed anger towards Pelé's list of the 125 greatest living footballers, symbolically ripping up a piece of paper on a local broadcasting station.