Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa

Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa (born March 26 1934 in Maceió, AL - September 17 2002, Rio de Janeiro), better known as Dida, was a Brazilian football player.

Dida is among the greatest players in Flamengo's history such as his idol Zizinho, Domingos da Guia, Leonidas da Silva and Zico. The skillful forward was the first great scorer of Maracanã. His delightful performances at the pitch made him an idol of idols as Zico, Júnior and Carlos Alberto. He led Flamengo to consecutive Carioca championships in 1954 and 1955.

Following his retirement, he remained with Flamengo, working for two decades with the club's youth teams, while staying out of the spotlight and refusing to give interviews.

On September 17, 2002, he died of cancer in a Rio de Janeiro hospital, at the age of 68.

Dida is the 2nd high scorer in Flamengo's history with 244 goals (according to a 2002 ESPN Soccernet article, he scored more than 500). He was capped six times for his country, including the 1958 World Cup, scoring four goals.

Clubs

*1949-1949 - América-AL
*1950-1953 - CSA-AL
*1954-1964 - Flamengo
*1964-1965 - Portuguesa-SP
*1966-1968 - Atlético Junior Barranquilla

Honours

*Alagoas State Championship 1952
*Rio State Championship 1954, 1955, 1963
*Rio-São Paulo Tournament 1961
*1958 FIFA World Cup - Winner

External links

* [http://www.soccernet.com/global/news/2002/0918/20020918dida.html Former Brazil star Dida dies] - ESPN Soccernet, 9/18/02