Paulo César Caju

Paulo Cézar Lima, commonly known as Caju, is a Brazilian former attacking midfielder born on 16 June 1949. He played for several Brazilian clubs, including Botafogo, as well as Marseille in France. Internationally, he represented Brazil in the 1960s and 1970s, earning 57 caps and scoring 10 goals.

Caju spent part of his childhood in Honduras, where his father Marinho Rodrigues managed Club Deportivo Olimpia in the early 1960s. When Marinho later took charge of Colombian side Junior de Barranquilla in the mid-1960s, Caju made his professional debut there at age 16, playing alongside fellow Brazilians Dida and Escurinho. In 1967, he moved to Botafogo, debuting at 17, and won the Campeonato Carioca multiple times.

He was part of Brazil’s World Cup squads in 1970 and 1974, and was selected for the Brazilian Bola de Ouro team of the season in 1970, 1972, 1976, and 1977. In the 1990s, filmmaker João Moreira Salles made a documentary about Caju, focusing on his flamboyant playing style and lifestyle, as well as the challenges he faced after retiring from football, when he supported himself as a landlord.

Caju’s honours include winning the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A with Botafogo in 1968, the Campeonato Carioca with Botafogo (1967, 1968), Flamengo (1972, 1974), and Fluminense (1975, 1976), the Campeonato Gaúcho with Grêmio (1979, 1980), and the Copa Intercontinental with Grêmio in 1983. He also won the FIFA World Cup with Brazil in 1970, the Roca Cup in 1971, and the Brazil Independence Cup in 1972. Individually, he received the Bola de Prata from Placar in 1970, 1972, 1976, and 1977, and was the top scorer in the Rio state league in 1971.