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Waldemar de Brito
	Waldermar playing for; San Lorenzo in 1935
Personal information
Full name	Waldemar de Brito
Date of birth	17 May 1913
Place of birth	São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death	21 February 1979 (aged 65)
Place of death	São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1923–1927	São Paulo
Senior career*
Years	Team
1927–1932	Syrio
1928	→ Independência (loan)
1933–1934	São Paulo
1934	Botafogo
1935–1937	San Lorenzo
1937–1939	Flamengo
1939–1941	San Lorenzo
1942–1943	São Paulo
1944	Fluminense
1944	Portuguesa
1945–1946	Palmeiras
1946	Portuguesa Santista
Total
International career
1934–1942	Brazil
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Waldemar de Brito (Portuguese pronunciation: [vɐwdeˈmaʁ dʒi ˈbɾitu], 17 May 1913 – 21 February 1979) was a Brazilian footballer who played as a forward for several clubs in Brazil and Argentina, as well as for the Brazil national team. He is acknowledged to have discovered Pelé during the latter's early footballing days. His brother, Petronilho de Brito, was also a footballer.^[5]

Club career

Waldemar, a native of São Paulo, played as an inside forward or as centre forward. At the beginning of his career, he played for the local clubs Syrio, Independência, and São Paulo da Floresta, today's São Paulo FC; he was top goalscorer of the Rio-São Paulo Tournament with 21 goals.^[6] The following year, he moved to Botafogo, where he spent a short time, before transferring to San Lorenzo de Almagro in the Argentine first division. In 1936, he returned to Brazil, this time to play for Flamengo. He went back to São Paulo in 1943, to play for Portuguesa de Desportos. He finished his playing career in 1945 with Portuguesa Santista.^[7]

International career

Waldemar was capped 18 times for the Brazil national team, scoring 18 goals.^[8] He played at the 1934 World Cup, where Brazil was eliminated by Spain in the first round. In that match, Waldemar took a penalty kick for Brazil, but Spain goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora saved his shot.^[9]

Post-playing career

After he retired, Waldemar de Brito was part of a project to scout young talents at Bauru Atlético Clube. In 1954, he spotted a kid named Edson Arantes do Nascimento, whom he took to Santos FC, predicting that he would become the greatest footballer in the world.^[6]^[10] Although Waldemar is recognized for his own talent while he was a player, it is perhaps his scouting of Pelé that makes him most notable in the history of football in Brazil.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Acervo Estadão". Estadao.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese).
^ [1] saopaulofc.net (in Portuguese)
^ ^a ^b "Jornal dos Sports". Biblioteca Nacional Digital (in Portuguese).
^ [2] Fla-Estatística (in Portuguese)
^ Enciclopédia do Futebol Brasileiro Lance Volume 2. Rio de Janeiro: Aretê Editorial S/A. 2001. p. 324. ISBN 85-88651-01-7.
^ ^a ^b Belpiede, Marcelo. "Waldemar de Brito: craque como jogador e descobridor de talentos" (in Portuguese). Gazeta Esportiva.net, Brazil. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
^ "Waldemar de Brito do São Paulo". museudosesportes.com.br. Museu dos esportes, Brazil. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
^ "Todos os brasileiros – 1934". Folha Online (in Portuguese). Folha de S.Paulo. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
^ "Eightfinals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
^ "Pele biography". FIFA. Archived from the original on 1 January 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2007.