Neto (footballer)

Neto

Neto (centre) with ex-president Lula (right) and ex-footballer Marcelinho Carioca (left)
Personal information
Full name	José Ferreira Neto
Date of birth	9 September 1966 (1966-09-09) (age 45)
Place of birth	Santo Antônio de Posse, Brazil
Height	1.74 metres (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Playmaker, Second striker, Winger
Youth career
1979–1980	Ponte Preta
1980–1984	Guarani
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1984–1986	Guarani	73	(59)
1986	Bangu	9	(1)
1987	São Paulo	33	(7)
1988	Guarani
1988	Palmeiras	25	(9)
1989–1993	Corinthians	227	(80)
1993	Millonarios
1993	Atlético Mineiro	9	(5)
1994	Santos	18	(3)
1994	Matsubara
1995	Guarani	13	(2)
1995	Araçatuba	13	(13)
1996–1997	Corinthians	17	(14)
1997	Osan Indaiatuba	22	(15)
1998	Paulista	11	(3)
1998–1999	Deportivo Italia
National team
1988–1993	Brazil	26	(7)
Honours Olympic Games Competitor for  Brazil Men's Football Silver 1988 Seoul Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

José Ferreira Neto (born September 9, 1966 in Santo Antônio de Posse, São Paulo), commonly known as Neto, is a Brazilian former football player, and currently a football commentator for Rede Bandeirantes.

In Brazil he is commonly considered one of the greatest free kick takers ever [1] [2] and one of the best Brazilian players of the early 1990s [3]. Besides his accurate foul shots, he had a great long pass and was a leader for his teammates on the field. He played 470 games and scored 184 goals, in his entire career.

Biography

Neto was born in Santo Antônio de Posse, a small town near Campinas, in the State of São Paulo.

He began his career very early, playing for Campinas-based team Guarani. In the mid-1980s he also played for Bangu (in Rio de Janeiro) and São Paulo before returning to Guarani once again. In 1988 he brought more attention upon himself by scoring a goal from a bicycle-kick in the São Paulo State Championship finals against Corinthians. In this same year he was also part of the Brazilian national team that went to Seoul to play in the Olympic Games. Neto's was the corner kick who enabled Romário to score Brazil's first goal against Soviet Union in the final game (however, the Soviets overcame Brazil, with a 2-1 win in the extra-time).

In 1989 he played for Palmeiras and then he was transferred to Corinthians, were he was an idol in the beginning of the nineties. With his precise game and strong personality, he was the key player during the 1990 National Championship in Brazil, when Corinthians won the finals against São Paulo.

After almost five years and 114 goals for Corinthians, his cycle in the club was over. Still, even today Neto is remembered as one of the player who most identified himself with the black-and-white club. After Corinthians he played in many other clubs, in Brazil (Araçatuba, Atlético Mineiro, Matsubara, Santos) and abroad (Millonarios of Colombia).

Neto's career was always plagued by weight problems and divergences with referees and club managers. His most famous episode was when he spat in referee José Aparecido de Oliveira's face, earning himself a 4-month suspension from the games. Neto says this is the only regrettable thing he did in his career.

Neto stopped playing at the end of the nineties. He was, for a while, manager in his first club, Guarani, but as of 2004 was a soccer commentator in Brazil.

External links

• Neto (footballer) at National-Football-Teams.com
• Corinthians All Time Best XI Placar Magazine
• Video - Goals
• Free Kicks
• [4]
• [5]
• Interview - In Portuguese
• Neto's official site (in portuguese)

Persondata
Name	Neto, Jose Ferreira
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 9, 1966
Place of birth	Santo Antônio de Posse, Brazil
Date of death
Place of death