 Dirceu (right) andWalter Schachner with Avellino in the 1986–87 season | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dirceu José Guimarães | ||
| Date of birth | (1952-06-15)15 June 1952 | ||
| Place of birth | Curitiba, Brazil | ||
| Date of death | 15 September 1995(1995-09-15) (aged 43) | ||
| Place of death | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1970–1972 | Coritiba | 26 | (1) |
| 1973–1976 | Botafogo | 52 | (9) |
| 1976 | Fluminense | 22 | (2) |
| 1977–1978 | Vasco da Gama | 25 | (2) |
| 1978–1979 | América | 45 | (2) |
| 1979–1982 | Atlético Madrid | 84 | (18) |
| 1982–1983 | Verona | 29 | (2) |
| 1983–1984 | Napoli | 30 | (5) |
| 1984–1985 | Ascoli | 27 | (5) |
| 1985–1986 | Como | 25 | (2) |
| 1986–1987 | Avellino | 23 | (6) |
| 1988 | Vasco da Gama | - | (-) |
| 1988 | Miami Sharks | 17 | (5) |
| 1989–1991 | Ebolitana | 39 | (14) |
| 1992 | Benevento | 11 | (4) |
| 1995 | Atlético Yucatán | ||
| International career | |||
| 1973–1986 | Brazil | 44 | (7) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Dirceu José Guimarães, known asDirceu (Portuguese pronunciation:[dʒiʁˈsew]; 15 June 1952 – 15 September 1995), was a Brazilianfootballer who played as anattacking midfielder, notably forBotafogo and theBrazil national team as well as numerous Italian teams in the 1980s–early 1990s.
Dirceu was born atCuritiba, in southern Brazil, on 15 June 1952.
In his early career, Dirceu played forCoritiba, Botagofo (1971–1975),Fluminense (1975–1977) andVasco da Gama in his country, before spending one year inMexico atAmérica. In 1979, he signed for Spanish sideAtlético Madrid, where he remained until 1982, playing 84 games and scoring 18 goals. In 1982, he signed for Italian teamHellas Verona, the first of five ItalianSerie A teams which he changed yearly (the last beingAvellino in 1986–1987), before returning to Vasco da Gama. In 1988 Dirceu played in the USA forFort Lauderdale Strikers, and in 1989–1991 he played again in southern Italy, this time forEbolitana (1989–1992) andBenevento (1991–1992). His last teams wasAtlético Yucatán in Mexico, where he ended his career in 1995.
Dirceu won 44 caps (14 non-official), between June 1973 and May 1986, with theBrazil national team, scoring seven goals.
He played for Brazil at the1974,1978, and1982FIFA World Cups. He was due to go to the1986 edition of the tournament, but was ruled out by injury. He played 11 games and scored three goals in his World Cup appearances. Brazil finished fourth in 1974, while in 1978, he won the Bronze Ball and was named to the team of the tournament after helping Brazil to a third-place finish. He also took part at the1972 Summer Olympic Games with Brazil.
Dirceu died on the night of 15 September 1995, at the age of 43, when anOpel Ascona driven by astreet racer ran a red light and hit hisPuma at high speed inBarra da Tijuca, not too far from his apartment. Dirceu and a passenger, who was thrown out of the vehicle following the crash, died immediately. There were two couples in the Ascona; all four of them survived and nobody was prosecuted for Dirceu's death.[1]
The Ebolitana named its arena atEboli the Stadio José Guimarães Dirceu in his honor.
Coritiba
Fluminense
Vasco da Gama
Hellas Verona
Brazil
Individual
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