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Carlos Alberto Torres
	Carlos Alberto with the NY Cosmos in 1978
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Alberto Torres
Date of birth	17 July 1944
Place of birth	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death	25 October 2016 (aged 72)
Place of death	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Right-back, Centre-back
Senior career*
Years	Team
1963–1966	Fluminense
1966–1974	Santos
1971	Botafogo
1974–1976	Fluminense
1976–1977	Flamengo
1977–1980	New York Cosmos
1981	California Surf
1982	New York Cosmos
Total
International career
1964–1977	Brazil
Managerial career
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
Medal record
Men's Football
Representing Brazil
FIFA World Cup
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Carlos Alberto "Capita" Torres (17 July 1944 – 25 October 2016), also known as "O Capitão do Tri", was a Brazilian football player and manager who played as an attacking right-sided full-back or wing-back.^[1] A technically gifted defender with good ball skills and defensive capabilities,^[2] 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. Nicknamed O Capitão, he captained the Brazil national team to victory in the 1970 World Cup, scoring the fourth goal in the final, considered one of the greatest goals in the history of the tournament.^[3]^[4]

Carlos Alberto was a member of the World Team of the 20th Century, and in 2004 was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.^[5] He was an inductee to the Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame, and was a member of the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame.

In January 2013, Carlos Alberto was named one of the six Ambassadors of 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, others being Ronaldo, Bebeto, Mário Zagallo, Amarildo and Marta.

Personal life

Carlos Alberto was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1944. He had a twin brother, Carlos Roberto, who died one month before him in 2016.^[6] His son is fellow player Carlos Alexandre Torres and his daughter Andrea Torres.^[7]

Club career

Brazil

Carlos Alberto joined Fluminense at the age of 19. He made a name for himself in his first season, not only because of his great tackling and reading of the game, but also for his outstanding ball control, dribbling and playmaking abilities, which were quite rare at the time for a defender. In 1966, he moved to Santos, where he became Pelé's teammate. In 1974, he returned to Fluminense and helped the team capture two consecutive Campeonato Carioca championships. In 1977, he moved to Fluminense's arch-rivals Flamengo.

NASL

In 1977, despite his success in Brazil, Carlos Alberto Torres decided to move to the New York Cosmos. He arrived on the day of the New York City blackout where he was reunited with his friend and partner Pelé and helped the Cosmos capture two consecutive NASL titles in 1977 and 1978. After spending one year with the California Surf, he returned to the Cosmos in 1982 where he won his third NASL title. He played his farewell game on 28 September 1982 in an exhibition match between the Cosmos and his former club Flamengo. In 119 regular season games and 26 playoff games, Carlos scored a total of 8 goals and was an NASL All-Star five times.

International career

From 1964 to 1977, Carlos Alberto was capped 53 times and scored 8 goals. He was included in the 44-man training squad for the 1966 FIFA World Cup but did not make the final 22. As it turned out, Brazil were knocked out at the Group stage in England, and when João Saldanha was tasked with restoring pride and passion to the seleção, he recognised the leadership ability that Carlos Alberto was consistently demonstrating at Santos, and made him national captain. Thus, Carlos Alberto is remembered holding aloft the Jules Rimet trophy after Brazil secured the cup for good after an impressive victory over Italy in the 1970 FIFA World Cup Final in Mexico City. That squad also included Clodoaldo, Gérson, Jairzinho, Rivellino, Tostão and Pelé. Carlos Alberto's goal against Italy in the final is considered one of the best goals ever scored in the tournament.^[3] In 2002 the UK public voted the goal No. 36 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.^[8] 1970 would prove to be the only time he would play at that level. He was unable to participate in the 1974 World Cup due to a persistent knee injury. When he eventually regained match fitness, his speed had been compromised. However, his ability to read the game compensated for his loss of pace and when he moved to centre back, he found the form to warrant a recall to the national team. In 1977, he was selected by Claudio Coutinho to captain the national team for the first three qualifiers for the 1978 World Cup. He acquitted himself well despite those being the first competitive internationals he had played for almost seven years. He was approaching 33 years of age and retired from international football, immediately prior to joining New York Cosmos in the NASL. Today he is widely considered one of the finest Brazilian men's footballers of all time.^[5]

Coaching career

His career as a football manager started in 1983, when he managed Flamengo. He also managed several other clubs, like Corinthians in 1985 and 1986; Náutico in 1986, 1987 and 1988; Once Caldas on 1989, 1990; Monterrey in 1991, 1992; Club Tijuana in 1992; Fluminense in 1994 and 1995; Botafogo in 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003; Querétaro F.C. in 1999; Unión Magdalena in 2000, 2001; and Paysandu in 2005.

He was also an assistant manager for national teams such as the Nigeria national football team and the Oman national football team. On 14 February 2004, he was appointed manager of the Azerbaijan national football team. He resigned on 4 June 2005 after losing a match against Poland, during which he assaulted the technical referee and ran on the pitch suggesting the referee was bribed.

Death

Carlos Alberto died in Rio de Janeiro on 25 October 2016^[9] due to a sudden heart attack.^[10] He was a sports commentator at a Brazilian channel SporTV, having appeared live on studio only two days before his death, which occurred exactly one month after his twin died.^[11]^[12]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals
Santos	1971	Série A	2	0
	1972		20	2
	1973		28	6
	Total		50	8
Fluminense	1974	Série A	16	1
	1975		18	0
	1976		19	3
	Total		53	4
Flamengo	1977	Série A	0	0
New York Cosmos^[a]	1977	NASL	4	0
	1978		25	2
	1979		28	2
	1980		23	2
	Total		80	6
California Surf	1981	NASL	19	2
New York Cosmos	1982	NASL	20	0
Total			222	20

^ "Cosmos" in 1977–78

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[13]
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Brazil	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

As a player

Fluminense

Campeonato Carioca: 1964, 1975, 1976
Taça Guanabara: 1966

Santos

Recopa Sul-Americana: 1968
Campeoanato Brasileiro: 1968
Torneio Rio–São Paulo: 1966
Paulista Championship: 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973

New York Cosmos

NASL Soccer Bowl Championships: 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982

Brazil

FIFA World Cup: 1970
Pan American Games: 1963

Individual

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1970
World XI: 1971^[14]
World Team of the 20th Century: 1998
National Soccer Hall of Fame: 2003^[15]
FIFA 100: 2004
The Best of The Best – Player of the Century: Top 50^[16]
Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame
Ballon d'Or Dream Team (Silver): 2020^[17]
IFFHS All-time Men's B Dream Team: 2021^[18]

As a Manager

Flamengo

Campeonato Brasileiro: 1983

Fluminense

Campeonato Carioca: 1984

Botafogo

Copa CONMEBOL: 1993

Notes

^ Hayward, Paul (13 June 2010). "Carlos Alberto worried that Dunga's Brazil have abandoned heritage". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
^ "FUT 20 ICONS". www.ea.com. 20 September 2018. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
^ ^a ^b Benson, Andrew (2 June 2006). "The perfect goal". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
^ "Carlos Alberto, born to be a leader". www.fifa.com. 31 May 2014. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
^ "Brazilian soccer great Carlos Alberto Torres dies". USA Today. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
^ "Gabriel not first Brazil centre back". www.Arsenal.com. 30 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
^ 100 Greatest sporting moments – results Archived 9 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine Channel 4
^ Mason, Peter (26 October 2016). "Carlos Alberto obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
^ Mará, Márcio (25 October 2016). "Aos 72, morre Carlos Alberto Torres, o maior dos capitães do futebol brasileiro" [Brazilian football loses the biggest of its captains: Carlos Alberto Torres passes away] (in Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
^ "Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer lead tributes to 'brother' Carlos Alberto". Guardian. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
^ "Carlos Alberto: Brazil legend dies aged 72 after heart attack". BBC Sport. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
^ Carlos Alberto Torres at National-Football-Teams.com
^ "Eric Batty's World XI – The Seventies". Beyond The Last Man. 7 November 2013. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
^ "Carlos Alberto - 2003 Inductee | National Soccer Hall of Fame". Carlos Alberto - 2003 Inductee | National Soccer Hall of Fame. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
^ "The Best of The Best" Archived 26 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 17 November 2015
^ "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.
^ "IFFHS ALL TIME WORLD MEN'S DREAM TEAM". IFFHS. 22 May 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.

External links

World Cup-winners status
Preceded by Bobby Moore 1941	Latest Born Captain to Die 1944 25 October 2016 – 25 November 2020	Succeeded by Diego Maradona 1960