Leovegildo Lins da Gama Júnior
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leovegildo Lins da Gama Júnior | ||
| Date of birth | 29 June 1954 | ||
| Place of birth | João Pessoa, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Left back, Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1973–1974 | Flamengo | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1984 | Flamengo | 192 | (7) |
| 1984–1987 | Torino | 86 | (12) |
| 1987–1989 | Pescara | 62 | (6) |
| 1989–1993 | Flamengo | 70 | (10) |
| Total | 410 | (35) | |
| National team | |||
| 1979–1992 | Brazil | 70 | (9) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1993–1994 | Flamengo | ||
| 1997 | Flamengo | ||
| 2003 | Corinthians | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Leovegildo Lins da Gama Júnior (born 29 June 1954), known simply as Júnior or Léo Júnior, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a left back or midfielder. He was nicknamed "capacete"(Helmet) because of his afro hairstyle.
He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Junior now works as a television pundit for Rede Globo.
Júnior played for Flamengo during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, winning four Brazilian Championships (1980, 1982, 1983, 1992), the 1981 Copa Libertadores and 1981 Intercontinental Cup. With 857 matches, he is the player with most appearances for Flamengo.
On 12 June 1984 he was bought by Torino, for a fee of two million dollars. Júnior asked and obtained a guarantee to play as a midfielder rather than a full-back, because he considered the former role less stressful, so to extend the life of his career. Although he was now thirty years old, after some initial difficulties, he succeeded in integrating in the formation coached by Luigi Radice, becoming the leader of the midfield. During his first year in Italy was the victim of two incidents of racism: in Milan he was repeatedly insulted and spat upon as he left the stadium with his mother and father and in Turin, on the occasion of the derby, Juventus fans exhibited offensive banners on the colour of his skin. The Torino supporters responded promptly with another banner: "Better negro than Juventino". At the end of the season, finished second behind Verona, he was awarded Serie A's player of the year.
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