 Nelinho in 2014 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manoel Rezende de Mattos Cabral | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1950-07-26)July 26, 1950 (age 74) | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rio de Janeiro,Brazil | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Right back | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 1965 | Olaria | |||||||||||||
| 1965–1970 | América (RJ) | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 1970 | América (RJ) | |||||||||||||
| 1970–1971 | Barreirense | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 1971 | Anzoátegui | |||||||||||||
| 1972 | Bonsucesso | |||||||||||||
| 1972 | Remo | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 1973–1980 | Cruzeiro | 410 | (43) | |||||||||||
| 1980–1981 | Grêmio | 2 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 1981–1982 | Cruzeiro | 17 | (4) | |||||||||||
| 1982–1987 | Atlético Mineiro | 274 | (52) | |||||||||||
| Total | 755 | (100) | ||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 1974–1980 | Brazil | 21 | (6) | |||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||
| 1993 | Atlético Mineiro | |||||||||||||
| 1994 | Cruzeiro | |||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||
Manoel Rezende de Mattos Cabral (born July 26, 1950), known asNelinho, is a former Brazilian association footballer who played asright back.[1] He played for several clubs in his home country and abroad, includingBelo Horizonte rivalsCruzeiro andAtlético Mineiro. Nelinho also represented theBrazil national team in twoFIFA World Cups.
Born inRio de Janeiro, the son ofPortuguese immigrants fromOvar, Nelinho started his career at local clubOlaria, but signed his first professional contract withAmérica. After a recommendation byOtto Glória, then manager of the team, he moved toPortugal to play forBarreirense. A brief stint with Venezuela'sDeportivo Anzoátegui followed, before returning to Rio de Janeiro to play forBonsucesso, which then loaned him toRemo. After good performances in the1972 Brasileirão, Nelinho was signed byCruzeiro for the following season.[2]
At the Belo Horizonte-based club, Nelinho won theCampeonato Mineiro four times between 1973 and 1977, and oneCopa Libertadores in 1976, scoring in two matches of the finals againstRiver Plate. While at the club, he was also selected for theBola de Prata (Campeonato Brasileiro team of the year) three times, in 1975, 1979 and 1980. In total, he had 411 appearances with Cruzeiro, and scored 105 goals.[3] Nelinho managed Cruzeiro in 1994.
After a brief spell atGrêmio, where he won aCampeonato Gaúcho, Nelinho returned to Belo Horizonte to play for Cruzeiro's rivalsAtlético Mineiro in 1982. He spent the rest of his career at the club, where he won four more Campeonato Mineiros and was awarded with the Bola de Prata once more in 1983. He also coached the club in 1993.[4]
Nelinho was capped 21 times byBrazil, between April 1974 and June 1980, and scored six international goals.[5] He won aTaça do Atlântico with theSeleção, and was part of the squad in twoCopa Américas.
Nelinho played three matches in the1974 FIFA World Cup and four in the1978 FIFA World Cup,[5] and scored one of the most stunning goals inWorld Cup history, in the third place match againstItaly in 1978: from the right side of the pitch, he struck the ball into the far corner of the goal with the outside of his right foot, bending it around the sprawlingDino Zoff.[1]
After retiring from football, Nelinho joined Brazil'sDemocratic Labour Party and was elected State Deputy of Minas Gerais in 1987. After a period of involvement with politics, he returned briefly to football and managed Atlético Mineiro in 1993 and Cruzeiro in 1994. In 2005, Nelinho worked as pundit forTV Globo andSporTV, and currently owns ahealth club in Belo Horizonte.[6]
Cruzeiro
Grêmio
Atlético Mineiro
Brazil
Individual
Brazil squad | |||||||||||||||||||
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