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Fio Maravilha
Personal information
Full name	João Batista de Sales
Date of birth	19 January 1945 (age 80)
Place of birth	Conselheiro Pena, Brazil
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1960–1965	Flamengo
Senior career*
Years	Team
1965–1973	Flamengo
1973	→ Paysandu (loan)
1973	→ Desportiva (loan)
1975	São Cristóvão
1975	CEUB
1977	São Cristóvão
1978	New York Eagles
1978	Montebello Panthers
1979	San Francisco Mercury
Managerial career
1977–1978	São Cristóvão
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

João Batista de Sales (born January 19, 1945, in Conselheiro Pena, Minas Gerais), better known as Fio Maravilha, is a former Brazilian football player. In Brazil he played for Flamengo, Paysandu Sport Club, CEUB, Desportiva and São Cristóvão. Later he moved to the United States, where he played for the New York Eagles, the Montebello Panthers, and the San Francisco Mercury.^[4]

Biography

He is perhaps most famous for the hit single "Fio Maravilha" that was written about him in 1972 by Jorge Ben (later known as Jorge Ben Jor). The musician attended a friendly game between Flamengo and Benfica at Maracanã. Fio was left out of Flamengo's starting lineup by coach Mário Zagallo, but after a chorus of fans demanded that he play, he was brought in as a substitute. After 33 minutes in the second half he scored the goal ("the goal of an angel") that was immortalized in the song:

...driblou o goleiro

Só não entrou com bola e tudo porque teve humildade.

("...he dribbled past the goalkeeper but did not enter the goal with the ball because he was humble.")

As the result of a legal dispute between Jorge Ben and Fio, the title of the song was later changed to Filho Maravilha. In 2007, Fio gave to the musician the permission to use his name Fio in the song.

Fio Maravilha lives in San Francisco, where he worked as a pizza deliverer. He now coaches youth soccer.

References

^ Fla-Estatística (in Portuguese)
^ ^a ^b "Jornal dos Sports". Biblioteca Nacional Digital (in Portuguese).
^ ^a ^b "Futpedia" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Futpedia.globo.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
^ "Fio "Maravilha" prevê fracasso da Copa".