Palmeiras Greatest All-Time Team
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| Copa Libertadores 1999 |
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club. The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.
The club was founded on August 26, 1914, as Palestra Italia , but changed to the current name on September 14, 1942. It is one of the most popular and successful Brazilian clubs, with around 17 million supporters, including a large number of Brazilians of Italian ancestry. They won the 1999 Copa Libertadores.
Team
GK: Marcos (Brazil)
Marcos spent his entire career at Palmeiras, of the Série A, from 1992 until his retirement in January 2012, and became one of the club's greatest idols, being nicknamed São Marcos ("Saint Mark" in Portuguese). He earned 24 caps. He was the starting goalkeeper of the champion Brazilian squad of the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
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| Marcos |
GK: Emerson Leao (Brazil)
He won a World Cup in Mexico 1970 as the backup keeper. He started at West Germany 1974 and Argentina 1978. At the club level, he played for several clubs, his longest term being at Palmeiras.
GK: Oberdan Cattani (Brazil)
He was one of the most famous Brazilian goalkeepers of the 1940s, a period in which the World Cups were suspended because of the War. He is among the greatest idols of Palmeiras. He won four titles of Campeonato Paulista (1942, 1944, 1947 and 1950), the Rio-São Paulo Tournament of 1951.
RB: Djalma Santos (Brazil)
Some considered DJ Santos as the best right back in the football history. He is one of only three players to be included into three FIFA World Cup All Star team. He starred at WC Finals in 1954, 1958 and 1962. He also went to the WC in 1966. Santos started his career with Portuguesa. In 1959, he moved to Palmeiras. He played almost 500 games for the club, winning several league and cup titles. He left the club in 1968, joining Atlético Paranaense for a short spell before retiring in 1970.
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| Djalma Santos |
Arce was a part of the great defensive unit of Paraguay in 1998 and 2002. Arce started his career in Paraguay playing for Cerro Porteño, where he won the national championship on three occasions. He then moved to Brazil where he played for big clubs such as Grêmio and Palmeiras. He won the Copa Libertadores in 1995 with Gremio, but he spent much of his career with Palmeiras.
CB: Djalma Dias (Brazil)
During his career, Djalma played for América Football Club - where he won the Rio state championship of 1960 - Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, Clube Atlético Mineiro, Santos Futebol Clube and Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas, retiring in 1974 at the age of 35. He played 21 times for the Brazilian national team, but did not attend any major international tournament.
CB/DM: Galeano (Brazil)
Galeano is the all-time appearance leader for Palmeiras. He won the Copa Libertadores in 1999. he also played form many clubs in Brazil, and clubs in Turkey and Japan.
CB: Luis Pereira (Brazil)
Luis Pereira was widely considered to be the best central back in the Seleção's history. He was capped over 30 times and played in World Cup in 1974. He played 562 games with S.E. Palmeiras (34 goals) and 171 games with Atlético Madrid (17 goals).
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| Luis Pereira |
He played his entire career with Palmeiras. He played for them between 1931 and 1945. He was considered their best ever defender until the emerge of Luís Pereira. He was the first player to be honored with a bust at the Palestra Italia Stadium by the club. After him only Ademir da Guia, Waldemar Fiúme, Oberdan Cattani and Marcos received such homage.
LB: Geraldo Scotto (Brazil)
Scotto came to Palmeiras in 1958 from Santos, and spent nearly ten years at the club. During that time, he fought many duels with Garrincha and was the greatest defender Garrincha ever faced.
Scotto made 352 games for Palmeiras, scoring 3 goals. He was capped twice.
He was regarded one of the best leftbacks in history. He had 125 caps for Brazil playing in three WC Finals. He won 3 Champions League titles with Real Madrid and one WC title with Brazil in 2002. In 1997 he was runner-up in the FIFA World Player of the Year. He is especially famous for a free kick from 35m out against France in the Tournoi de France 1997. The goal is considered one of the greatest goals ever scored.
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| Roberto Carlos |
Nicknamed "O Pai da Bola" because he could play for many positions. He played for Palmeiras from 1941 to 1958. With 601 games, he is the fourth player in Palmeiras history in terms of appearance for the club.
DM: César Sampaio (Brazil)
César Sampaio is one of the few players who had played for the 4 major clubs from São Paulo (Santos, Palmeiras, Corinthians and São Paulo) and one of the greatest idols from Palmeiras' history. He won the Bola de Ouro (Brazilian Golden Ball award) twice, in 1990 and 1993. Capped 47 times. He was a part of the squad that won both the Copa América and FIFA Confederations Cup in 1997, and played for Brazil at the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals
CM: Dudu (Brazil)
Dudu played over 600 games for Palmeiras from 1964 to 1975. He was known for his partnership with Ademir de Guia. He won the Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol 4 times. He also spent a season with Sevilla in Spain. Capped 13 times.
RW: Julinho (Brazil)
He was nominated the best player in the history of Fiorentina in 1996. He was one of the greatest winger in Serie A's history and one of the best player at the World Cup Finals in 1954. He turned down a chance to play in the 1958 WC Finals in Sweden.
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| Julinho |
LW: Francisco Rodrigues (Brazil)
He played for the following clubs: Ypiranga-SP, Fluminense, Palmeiras, Botafogo, Juventus, Paulista and Rosario Central (Argentina). He earned 21 caps (3 non-official) and scored 9 goals (4 non-official) for the Brazil's Seleção, and was part of the team at the 1950 FIFA World Cup and the 1954 FIFA World Cup.
AM: Alex de Souz (Brazil)
Alex has played for Coritiba, Palmeiras, Flamengo and Cruzeiro in Brazil, Parma in Serie A and Fenerbahçe in Turkey. he made a name at Palmeiras winning the Copa Libertadores in 1999. At Cruzeiro, Alex had the best performance in his career, winning the Brazilian triple crown (that is the State Championship, the Brasileirão and the Brazilian Cup). He was capped 47 times. he never went to the WC Finals, due to playing at the same time as Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Juninho Pernambucano, Juninho Paulista, Kaka. However, he captained Brazil as they won the Copa America in 2007.
FW: César Maluco (Brazil)
César played for Palmeiras from 1967 to 1974, where he is considered to be one of the greatest players in the history. He scored 180 goals for then, the club's second-highest scorer.
Nicknamed "Crazy" because of such characteristics, he is currently the only player in Palmeiras history to become top scorer of a Brazilian Championship. He went to the WC finals in 1974.
FW: Leivinha (Brazil)
Leivinha achieved a total of 21 international caps for Brazil, from June 1972 until June 1974, scoring seven goals. He was included in the Brazil national football team squad at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, where he played in the first three matches. At club level, Leivinha played for Portuguesa, Palmeiras, and Atlético de Madrid, winning national championships in both Brazil and Spain, as well as the UEFA and Intercontinental Cups.
AM/FW: Jair de Rosa Pinto (Brazil)
Jair was a member of the great offensive trio for Brazil at the World Cup in 1950. The other two were Zizinho and Ademir. He played for Flamengo and Vasco da Gama before the WC in 1950. After the WC Finals, he played mainly for clubs in Sao Paulo. For the national team, he only made two cameo appearances two years after the ill-fated World Cup Finals.
AM/FW: Ademir da Guia (Brazil)
Ademir is the son of Domingo Da Guia. He started with Bangu, but moved to Palmeiras in 1962, where he was nicknamed "O Divino" (The Divine One) by his supporters. He holds the record for the most appearances for the club and is the third best goalscorer ever, and was considered their greatest player. For the national team, he only managed 9 appearance. He went to the WC Finals in 1978.
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| Ademir da Guia |
ST: Heitor (Brazil)
He was one of the most important players in the history of Palmeiras, being their greatest goalscorer of the team. He began his career in 1916, becoming the first idol of the club. In São Paulo, Heitor was a rival of Arthur Friedenreich, but together, they formed a great pair for the national team, notably in the South American championship of 1919. He was also a star basketball player.
ST: Edmundo (Brazil)
Nicknamed "Animal", he was known as a talented yet controversial footballing figure. He drew attention both for his skill, as well as for his volatile behaviour, both on and off the pitch. He played for a number of clubs in Brazil, Italy and Japan. Edmundo was only capped 39 times, largely for his behaviour and playing in the same generation as Romario, Ronaldo, Bebeto, etc. He played for Brazil in the victorious 1997 Copa América, and at the 1998 World Cup, where they finished in second place.
ST: Vava (Brazil)
Vava's nickname was "Peito de Aço" (Steel Chest). He played for Sport Club do Recife, C.R. Vasco da Gama, S.E. Palmeiras. he was capped 20 times. He won the WC in 1958 and 1962 World Cup Finals. He won the co-winner of the Golden Shoe award in 1962.
ST: Evair (Brazil)
During his career Evair played for several clubs, he is most famous for his time with Palmeiras and also his contributions to Vasco da Gama, when the club won Brazilian Série A in 1997. He scored 125 goals for Palmeiras and he is the seventh top scored of the club. He also played for Atalanta in Italy. He was only capped 9 times for the Seleção, largely due to playing in the same generation as Romario, Ronaldo, Bebeto, Edmundo, etc.
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| Evair |
Honorable Mention
Rivaldo, Junior Ângelo de Souza, Junior Baiano, José Altafini(Mazzola), Djalminha, Romeu Pellicciari, Jorge Mendonça, Chinesinho, Roque Junior, Valdemar Carabina, Zinho, Jorginho Putinatti, Mazinho, Valdir de Moraes, Gino Imparato.
Squad Explanation
-- Djalminha, Rivaldo and Mazzola only played briefly for the club.
-- Valdir de Moraes was the 4th goalkeeper.
-- Roberto Carlos was selected because of the lack of a suitable alternative.
Formation
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