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Gradim
Personal information
Full name	Francisco Ferreira de Sousa
Date of birth	15 June 1908
Place of birth	Vassouras, Brazil
Date of death	12 June 1987 (aged 78)
Place of death	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
	Bonsucesso
Senior career*
Years	Team
1931–1932	Bonsucesso
1933	Flamengo
1933–1938	Vasco da Gama
International career
1932	Brazil
Managerial career
1939–1949	Bonsucesso (youth)
1951–1954	Fluminense (assistant)
1954	Fluminense
1955–1956	Fluminense
1957–1959	Vasco da Gama
1959–1960	Brazil Olympic
1961–1962	Bangu
1963–1964	Barcelona SC
1966	Atlético Mineiro
1967	Campo Grande-RJ
1968–1969	Vasco da Gama (youth)
1969–1970	Náutico
1970	Campo Grande-RJ
1971	Cerro Porteño
1972	Náutico
1973	Náutico
1976–1977	Santa Cruz (youth)
1977	Santa Cruz
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 February 2024

Francisco Ferreira de Sousa (15 June 1908 – 12 June 1987), better known as Gradim, was a Brazilian professional footballer and manager, who played as a forward.

Career

Revealed by Bonsucesso, he played for the club professionally in 1932 and 1933, when he was hired by CR Flamengo, alongside his strike partner Leônidas. Without achieving the previous performance, he ended up moving to CR Vasco da Gama, and there he scored the first goal of a completely professional match in the Campeonato Carioca, on 2 April 1934, against America. He had a single appearance for the Brazil national team, in 1932, against Uruguay.^[1]

Managerial career

Gradim retired in 1938 after fracturing his leg, beginning his career as a coach in the youth categories at Bonsuceso, where he remained until the end of the 40s. In 1951 he became an assistant at Fluminense and in 1954 he had his first opportunity as manager of the main team.^[2]

In 1957 he arrived at Vasco da Gama where he repeated the feat as an athlete, becoming state champion in 1958 and the Rio-São Paulo tournament. He helped prepare the Olympic team in 1959 and 1960, and in 1963 he was Ecuadorian champion with Barcelona de Guayaquil. He also trained Bangu, Náutico and Campo Grande over the years. Gradim was the first coach of Dadá Maravilha at Campo Grande and Givanildo Oliveira at Santa Cruz^[3]

Personal life

He received the nickname Gradim in reference to his speed when he was young, when Uruguayan striker Isabelino Gradín had stood out in the 1919 South American Championship held in Rio de Janeiro. He is often confused with two other people who received this nickname: Adhemar de Oliveira, who played for Santos FC during the 40s, and Fernando Ramos Soares, "Seu Gradim", scout who discovered Roberto Dinamite.^[4]