Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira (born February 19, 1954), more commonly known as simply Sócrates, was a superlative Brazilian football (soccer) player. His ability to read the game was highly valued, but his touch on the ball was impeccable as well. His signature was the blind heel pass. Sócrates is a doctor of medicine, probably a unique case of a professional soccer player having such a high degree of education. He is also a noted intellectual, and a heavy smoker. February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Football is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. ... The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. ... A physician is a person who practices medicine. ...

As one of the best midfielders in football history, Sócrates played for Brazil in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. He began playing football professionally in 1974 in his hometown of Riberão Preto in São Paulo state, but spent the majority of his career (1978 to 1984) with Corinthians in São Paulo, where he became famous for using football to challenge the existing military dictatorship. Sócrates also played for the Italian club Fiorentina and the Brazilian clubs Flamengo and Santos towards the end of his career. In 2004, more than a decade after retiring, Sócrates agreed a one month player-coaching deal with Garforth Town Football Club of the Northern Counties East Football League in England. In association football (soccer), a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders. ... The 1982 Football World Cup was held in Spain. ... The 1986 Football World Cup was held in Mexico from May 31 to June 29. ... São Paulo is a state in Brazil. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, commonly known as Corinthians, are a Brazilian football team from São Paulo in Brazil. ... Sao Paulo and São Paulo (city) redirect here. ... After the military coup, Brazil went into a troubled process of redemocratization. ... ACF Fiorentina, formerly Associazione Calcio Fiorentina, is an Italian football club based in Firenze (Florence). ... Clube de Regatas do Flamengo is a Brazilian multimodality sportive association from Rio de Janeiro. ... Santos Futebol Clube is a Brazilian football team from Santos, São Paulo state, Brazil. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Garforth Town A.F.C. are an English football team. ... The Northern Counties East League is an English association football league that was founded in 1982 by the merger of the former Yorkshire League and Midland Counties League. ...

External links

• Sócrates joins Garforth Town (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/3957519.stm)