* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:01, 19 March 2007 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:01, 19 March 2007 (UTC)
Cláudio Christóvam de Pinho (July 18, 1922 – May 1, 2000), better known as Cláudio, is the highest scorer of all time for Corinthians.
He scored 306 goals in 554 games for the team, where he was nicknamed “Manager”. He was also known for being a skillful player, who placed the ball anywhere he wanted, and is usually ranked as the third best ever Corinthians player, after Rivelino and Sócrates. He played as a forward, more precisely as a right winger. He was in possession of a great technique, ability to take free kicks and penalties and a leadership character that allowed him to be nicknamed O Gerente (the manager). His style of play is comparable to that of other players who have worn the Corinthians shirt in subsequent periods, such as Marcelinho Carioca. He is widely considered as one of the best football players of all time.
Club career
He made his debut for Santos in 1940, but moved to Palmeiras a short time later, with whom he won his first title, namely the 1942 Paulista championship. He was also the protagonist of a curious fact: in fact he scored the club's first goal after the name change from Palestra Itália to Palmeiras. The fruitful period with the São Paulo club allowed him to return to Santos, which however he left, again after less than two years, to move to Corinthians.
He made his scoring debut against his former club Palmeiras, netting from a corner kick. With Luizinho, Baltazar, Rafael, Simão and Carbone, he formed an attack capable of scoring more than one hundred goals (one hundred and three to be precise) in a single edition of the state championship, that of 1950. Cláudio's arrival at Corinthians ushered in a period of success, who broke the fast of ten years without titles for the company. In 1957 he temporarily left football to devote himself to a coaching career, which he however interrupted after only one season (1958-1959); so he returned to play, this time at the San Paolo, where despite the thirty-seven years he was the protagonist of a good year, with 10 goals scored in 35 games.
International career
He played 31 games for Brazil, scoring 10 goals. He played for Brazil between 1942 and 1957. Although he hasn't made many appearances, he has been called up to four editions of the Campeonato Sudamericano de Football in 1942, 1949, 1953, 1957, he was left out to be selected for the 1945, 1946 and 1956 edition. He won the Copa América with Brazil in 1949. Following the injury of the starting right winger of the Tesourinha national team, Flávio Costa selected Alfredo and Friaça for the 1950 world championship instead of him and Heleno de Freitas, thus excluding Cláudio, who was at that time considered one of the best interpreters of the role. He even turned a chance down to play for the 1954 World Cup and 1958 World Cup.
Death
He died in 2000 because of a heart attack, in Santos, the city where he was born.
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