Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade, known as Tostão, celebrates his 77th birthday this Thursday. Born on January 25, 1947, the former striker made history with the Brazilian team by winning the third World Cup title in 1970, in Mexico, together with coach Zagallo and stars such as Carlos Alberto Torres, Clodoaldo and Gérson, Jairzinho, Rivellino and Pelé.
At the age of 13, Tostão took his first steps in indoor football at Cruzeiro. His progress took him to the club’s field football and, two years later, to América Mineiro, the club close to his father’s heart, Oswaldo. Upon noticing young Eduardo’s prominence in the Minas Gerais rival, Cruzeiro’s president repurchased him in 1963, the beginning of the history of one of the team’s main idols.
Tostão immediately made an impact on the team and won the 65 Mineiro Championship. In total, there were five state titles: 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969. The story with Raposa lasted until 1972, but maintains an eternal connection. He is the biggest scorer in the club’s history, with 245 goals in 383 matches.
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Since his appearance, Tostão demonstrated unusual tactical intelligence and his ability to move and understand the game were fundamental in his first call-up to the Brazilian national team and then to the 1966 World Cup in England. Despite Brazil’s poor performance at the World Cup, the young striker scored against Hungary.
After the competition, Tostão returned to Cruzeiro, where he was accompanied by a squad full of big names, such as Raul, Piazza and Dirceu Lopes, and achieved an unlikely feat for the time: surpassing Pelé’s Santos with Cruzeiro winning the 1966 Taça Brasil. , the Brazilian Championship of the time.
In both games of the final, Tostão found the back of the net, and Cruzeiro showed its strength and prevented Santos’ sixth consecutive Brazilian title. The team from Minas Gerais beat Santos at Mineirão 6-2, with goals from Dirceu Lopes (3), Zé Carlos (own goal), Natal and Tostão. The match is considered by the birthday boy to be one of the biggest of his career. At Vila Belmiro, Raposa reversed the 2-0 lead in the first half and emerged victorious by a score of 3-2, with goals from Tostão, Dirceu and Natal. The title was Cruzeiro’s first at national level.
Raposa’s prominence continued in the following seasons, and Tostão established himself as one of the pillars of the Brazilian team. In 1969, his presence in the World Cup was threatened after suffering a kick to the left eye that caused a detachment of the retina. Treated by doctor Roberto Abdalla Moura, the striker managed to be ready to compete in the World Cup in Mexico.
At the World Cup, Tostão started every match, scored two goals and was part of one of the greatest squads in the history of world football.
1971 was the player’s last at Cruzeiro. Vasco was his destination until 1973, when, when traveling to Houston (USA) to consult with Roberto Abdalla, the doctor identified another problem with his retina. Continuing in football could leave him blind, and Tostão was forced to end his career at 26 years of age.
Once retired, Tostão, whose intelligence was not restricted to the pitch, graduated in Medicine and worked for decades in hospitals and as a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). Author of several books, he is one of Folha de S.Paulo’s columnists.
