SÓCRATES'S HEEL

The Brazilian legend's biographer on the activist-doctor who would ultimately captain one of the best teams to never win the World Cup

- MILAN SIME MARTINIC

He dribbled the ball around the flailing keeper and walked the ball towards the goal. He stopped on the goal line, turned around to face the other players and back-heeled his third and Botafogo’s sixth into the net.... Andrew Downie, Doctor Sócrates: Footballer, Philosopher, Legend

The man with the 'heel of gold', Sócrates Brasileiro was a leader and idol at Sao Paulo’s storied Corinthians club, and the captain of Brazil’s 1982 World Cup team. To understand Sócrates’s contribution, it is important to understand the times he lived in. He grew up during the brutal 21-year military dictatorship that changed Brazil, and achieved football glory at its tail end, when the country was under economic distress. It was a spirited, hopeful, energetic and chaotic time and place.

Sócrates transcended football, says journalist and author Andrew Downie, whose books include Doctor Sócrates and The Greatest Show on Earth, the latter about the 1970 World Cup. “He stood out on the field because he looked unusual [with his headband and beard],” Downie told THE WEEK. “He caught people’s attention by using the back heel in a way no player had ever done before, nor after.”