For other uses, see Careca (disambiguation).
Careca
FullnameAntônio de Oliveira Filho
Birth date5 October 1960 (age 66)
Birth placeAraraquara, Brazil
Height1.83 m
PositionStriker
Years 11978–1982
Clubs 1Guarani
Caps 177
Goals 146
Years 21983–1987
Clubs 2São Paulo
Caps 267
Goals 254
Years 31987–1993
Clubs 3Napoli
Caps 3164
Goals 373
Years 41993–1996
Clubs 4Kashiwa Reysol
Caps 460
Goals 431
Years 51997
Clubs 5Santos
Caps 59
Goals 52
Years 61998
Clubs 6Campinas
Caps 610
Goals 66
Years 71999
Clubs 7São José (RS)
Caps 72
Goals 70
Totalcaps389
Totalgoals212
Nationalyears 11982–1993
Nationalteam 1Brazil
Nationalcaps 164
Nationalgoals 130

Antônio de Oliveira Filho (born 5 October 1960), better known as Careca (kaˈɾɛkɐ), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

During his career, Careca played for several clubs, most notably with Brazilian side São Paulo. He was also capped over 60 times for the Brazil national team.

Club career

Careca began his footballing career in his home state of São Paulo with local side Guarani in 1978. With his finishing ability and devastating pace quickly established himself as one of his country's best young strikers. With Guarani, he won the Brazilian Championship during his first season and the Brazilian Second Division in 1981.

By 1983, he had been signed by São Paulo, he continued to gather notoriety because of his impressive goals to games ratio and by 1986, Careca led São Paulo to the Brazilian Championship, beating his former club Guarani in the final. He was awarded Bola de Ouro the same year, which is the Brazilian equivalent of Footballer of the Year.

Move to Napoli

In the summer of 1987, Careca moved to Italian Serie A champions Napoli, where he was part of the "Ma-Gi-Ca" forward lineup with Bruno Giordano and Diego Maradona.[1] Careca's first season at Napoli was an unsuccessful one, despite his 13 goals: the team were knocked out in the first round of the European Cup by Real Madrid and they lost the title in the final games of the season.

However, his second season was far more successful. The team won the UEFA Cup, with Careca scoring a goal in each leg of the final, one a memorable lobbed goal, and finished second in Serie A, also reaching the Coppa Italia final that season. In 1990, Careca finally won the Scudetto with Napoli, following the success up with the first ever Supercoppa Italiana later that year. Careca spent a further three years with Napoli, establishing a partnership with Gianfranco Zola, during which Napoli failed to win any silverware.

Later stages of playing career

In 1993, Careca left Italy to play for a new Japanese J.League team Kashiwa Reysol. Careca spent three years with the team, during which time he helped them to promotion to the J1 league in 1994. He returned to Brazil in 1997, where he played Santos for one seasons, and for Cambinas for one season, before joining the lower-league team São José (RS) where he finished his career in 1999.

Careca retired having played 64 games for Brazil, and scoring 30 goals.

Garforth Town owner and manager, Simon Clifford, persuaded Careca to play the majority of a friendly game against Guiseley in the summer of 2005.[2]

Footballing name

The word careca is Portuguese for 'bald'. It was a nickname given to Careca as a child because of his admiration for a famous Brazilian clown of the same name.

Other Carecas

Two contemporaries of Careca, who like him played for the Brazil national football team, were also called Careca and are thus sometimes confused with him: Careca II and Careca Bianchezi.

International career

Careca first broke into the national side of Brazil during 1982, but was forced to miss the 1982 World Cup in Spain due to a thigh injury suffered in practice three days before Brazil's debut in that tournament. His place in the squad for that tournament was taken by Roberto Dinamite. He was also part of the Brazilian squad that came in second in the 1983 Copa América.

It was during the 1986 World Cup, in Mexico, that Careca really established himself in world football. He ended the tournament, during which Brazil were memorably eliminated on penalties by France at the quarter-final stage, with five goals, which placed him second in the Golden Boot rankings behind England's Gary Lineker. In 1990, Careca was part of the Brazilian team that was defeated by Argentina in the second round. He scored two goals in the tournament. His last cap was earned in August 1993.

Style of play

Careca is regarded as one of the greatest strikers in the history of Brazilian football.[3] He was a prolific, fast, opportunistic, and powerful striker, with excellent technique and great striking ability. Despite being right-footed, he was also capable of scoring with his left foot, and he was known for his ability to score goals off-balance from angled shots even when running with the ball. Careca was also good in the air, and he had an excellent positional sense, which along with his intelligence, sense of space, and attacking movement, made him known for frequently being in the right position at the right time in the penalty area. Although he was usually deployed as a striker, he was also capable of playing in deeper positions, as a creative forward, due to his ability to play off of his teammates and provide them with assists, as well as his tendency to make attacking runs starting from outside the area in order to create space for other players.[4][5][6][7][8] After scoring a goal, Careca often celebrated by mimicking an aeroplane's wings with his arms outstretched.[9]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueState league[a]National cup[b]ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Guarani1978[10]Série A28132112——4925
1979[10][11]1049167[c]0—5716
1980[10]1773816——5523
1981[10]1483413——4821
1982[10]17182811——4529
Total77461706870—254114
São Paulo1983[10]Série A20173315——5332
1984[10]3714——3714
1985[10]17123123——4835
1986[10]3025137——4332
1987[10][11]2[c]1—21
Total67541145921—183114
Napoli1987–88[10][11]Serie A2613—751[d]0—3418
1988–89[10][11]3019—10212[e]6—5227
1989–90[10][11]2210—106[e]2—2912
1990–91[10][11]299—612[d]01[f]23812
1991–92[10][11]3315—42——3717
1992–93[10][11]247—33——2710
Total16473—31132181221796
Kashiwa Reysol1993[10]Football League—64——64
1994[10]2519—11——2620
1995[10][11]J1 League3010———3010
1996[10][11]52—63——115
Total6031—138——7339
Santos1997[10]Série A
Career total368204284127442130912727363
  1. ^ Inludes Campeonato Paulista
  2. ^ Includes Coppa Italia, Emperor's Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in Copa Libertadores
  4. ^ Appearances in European Cup
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Cup
  6. ^ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[10]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Brazil198240
1983115
198400
198573
1986118
198742
198800
198966
199073
199110
199220
199372
Total6029
Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Careca goal.
List of international goals scored by Careca
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
128 April 1983Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilChile–3–2Friendly[12]
28 June 1983Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, PortugalPortugal1–04–0Friendly[13]
33–0
417 June 1983St. Jakob-Park, Basel, SwitzerlandSwitzerland2–12–1Friendly[14]
522 June 1983Ullevi, Gothenburg, SwedenSweden2–23–3Friendly[15]
62 May 1985Estádio do Arruda, Recife, BrazilUruguay–2–0Friendly[16]
75 May 1985Estádio Fonte Nova, Salvador, BrazilArgentina1–02–1Friendly[17]
830 June 1985Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, BrazilBolivia–1–11986 FIFA World Cup qualification[18]
91 April 1986Castelão, São Luís, BrazilPeru4–04–0Friendly[19]
108 April 1986Estádio Serra Dourada, Goiânia, BrazilEast Germany3–03–0Friendly[20]
1130 April 1986Estádio do Arruda, Recife, BrazilYugoslavia4–24–2Friendly[21]
126 June 1986Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, MexicoAlgeria1–01–01986 FIFA World Cup[22]
1312 June 1986Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, MexicoNorthern Ireland1–03–01986 FIFA World Cup[23]
143–0
1516 June 1986Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, MexicoPoland4–04–01986 FIFA World Cup[24]
1621 June 1986Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, MexicoFrance1–01–11986 FIFA World Cup[25]
1721 June 1987Estádio da Ressacada, Florianópolis, BrazilEcuador–4–1Friendly[26]
1828 June 1987Estadio Córdoba, Córdoba, ArgentinaVenezuela3–05–01987 Copa América[27]
1920 August 1989Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, BrazilVenezuela1–06–01990 FIFA World Cup qualification[28]
202–0
215–0
226–0
233 September 1989Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilChile–2–01990 FIFA World Cup qualification[29]
2420 December 1989De Kuip, Rotterdam, NetherlandsNetherlands1–01–0Friendly[30]
2513 May 1990Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilEast Germany2–13–3Friendly[31]
2610 June 1990Juventus Stadium, Turin, ItalySweden1–02–11990 FIFA World Cup[32]
272–0
286 June 1993Yale Bowl, New Haven, United StatesUnited States1–02–01993 U.S. Cup[33]
2910 June 1993Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, United StatesGermany2–03–31993 U.S. Cup[34]

Honours

Guarani

São Paulo

Napoli[35]

Individual

References

  1. ^ Richardson, James (3 April 2007). "Serie A's comeback kid eyes another miracle". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Careca drives fans nuts". Northern Counties East Football League. 31 July 2005. Archived 21 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  3. ^ "Shooting from the hip – Careca joins Brazil's coaching staff". Goal.com. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Careca" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  5. ^ "ANTONIO FILHO DE OLIVEIRA 'CARECA'" (in Italian). Pianeta Azzurro. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  6. ^ "CARECA (Antonio de Oliveira Filho)" (in Italian). Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport. 2002. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  7. ^ Marco Caiazzo (5 December 2015). "Careca vede un solo avversario: "Napoli stai attento alla Juve"" [Careca sees only one opponent: "Napoli beware of Juve"] (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Careca: The Napoli striker who was better than Neymar". La Gazzetta dello Sport. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  9. ^ Paul Doyle (27 October 2009). "Carling Cup: Barnsley v Manchester United – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  10. ^ 13645
  11. ^ "Careca » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Brazil v Chile, 28 April 1983". 11v11. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Portugal v Brazil, 08 June 1983". 11v11. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Switzerland v Brazil, 17 June 1983". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Sweden v Brazil, 22 June 1983". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Brazil v Uruguay, 02 May 1985". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Brazil v Argentina, 05 May 1985". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Brazil v Bolivia, 30 June 1985". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Brazil v Peru, 01 April 1986". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  20. ^ "Brazil v East Germany, 08 April 1986". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  21. ^ "Brazil v Yugoslavia, 30 April 1986". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  22. ^ "Brazil vs. Algeria". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  23. ^ "Northern Ireland vs. Brazil". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Brazil vs. Poland". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  25. ^ "Brazil vs. France". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  26. ^ "Brazil vs. Ecaudor". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  27. ^ "Brazil vs. Venezuela". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  28. ^ "Brazil vs. Venezuela". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  29. ^ "Brazil vs. Chile". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  30. ^ "Netherlands vs. Brazil". Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  31. ^ "Brazil vs. East Germany". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  32. ^ "Brazil vs. Sweden". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  33. ^ "USA vs. Brazil". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  34. ^ "Brazil vs. Germany". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  35. ^ "Careca". Eurosport. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  36. ^ "South American Team of the Year". RSSSF. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2015.