Tostão

Tostão

Tostão in 1970
Personal information
Full name	Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade
Date of birth	(1947-01-25) 25 January 1947 (age 77)
Place of birth	Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Forward / Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1961	Cruzeiro
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1962–1963	América Mineiro	26	(16)
1963–1972	Cruzeiro	378	(249)
1972–1973	Vasco da Gama	45	(6)
Total		449	(271)
International career
1966–1972	Brazil	54	(32)
Medal record Men's Football Representing  Brazil FIFA World Cup Winner 1970 Mexico
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Tostão was an intelligent, hardworking and prolific left-footed forward, who was known for his creativity and technical skills, and was considered one of the best players in the world in his prime and arguably the best player in the world in the early 70s alongside Cruyff before health problems forced his early retirement. Tostão was widely considered at the time the second best or even the best brazilian player in the late 60s alongside Pelé, even ahead of other stars that would be part of the legendary 1970 Brazil squad. He played most of his 11-year career with Cruzeiro.

Tostão represented Brazil in two World Cups, winning the tournament in 1970. He formed a lethal offensive partnership with Pelé in the national team.

Born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Eduardo Andrade received, like the vast majority of Brazilian footballers, a nickname early into his football career, being dubbed 'Tostão' (little coin). Legend has it that as a six-year-old school boy he netted 47 goals in one game for his primary school football team.

Tostão made his professional debut aged only 15, for local América Mineiro, returning after two years to Cruzeiro, where he had started his youth career. Although being a centre midfielder, he was crowned the Campeonato Mineiro's topscorer on three consecutive occasions, the first in 1966, and left the club as its all-time scorer, with a total of 249 goals.

In the 1970 FIFA World Cup, improvised as a forward, Tostão scored two of his 32 goals for Brazil, and assisted four, as the national team won its third trophy, whilst finding the net on 19 occasions. The previous year, after being hit in the face by a ball during a match against Corinthians, he suffered a detached retina from which he never fully recovered. In April 1972, he signed for Vasco da Gama for a then record fee in the country but, after good overall displays, was forced to retire from the game at only 27, after his sight problems resurfaced, despite attempts at corrective surgery.

Weary of football and fame, Tostão became a medical doctor, but ultimately rejoined the footballing world, working as a journalist and pundit on TV.

Tostão was, due to his relatively small stature and slender frame, not particularly skilled in the air; in spite of his lack of pace, strong physical attributes, or long-range shooting abilities, however, he was a mobile, intelligent, and hard-working footballer, who stood out throughout his career due to his anticipation and timing in the penalty area, which made him a prolific goalscorer. A predominantly left-footed player, in his prime, he was considered one of the best players in the world, and was known for his technique, balance, and dribbling skills, while also contributing with many assists thanks to his vision, creativity, precise passing and playmaking abilities, as well as his work-rate, which often saw him drop back into midfield in order to retrieve the ball and start attacking plays. He was also known for his ability to disorient defenders and get onto the end of passes or create space for teammates with his movement and runs off the ball, which saw him act in a role which was essentially functioning as a precursor of the modern false 9 role with Brazil during the 1970 World Cup, despite being deployed as a centre-forward on paper. Due to his versatility and wide range of skills, he was capable of playing in several attacking and midfield positions including as an attacking midfielder, as a second striker, as a left winger, or even as an out-and-out striker.

International goals

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1.	5 June 1966	Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil	Poland	2–1	4–1	Friendly
2.				3–1
3.	8 June 1966	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Peru	2–0	3–1	Friendly
4.	30 June 1966	Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Sweden	1–0	3–2	Friendly
5.				3–1
6.	15 July 1966	Goodison Park, Liverpool, England	Hungary	1–1	1–3	1966 FIFA World Cup
7.	9 June 1968	Pacaembu Stadium, São Paulo, Brazil	Uruguay	1–0	2–0	1968 Copa Río Branco
8.	16 June 1968	Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, West Germany	West Germany	1–2	1–2	Friendly
9.	20 June 1968	10th-Anniversary Stadium, Warsaw, Poland	Poland	3–2	6–3	Friendly
10.				4–2
11.	25 June 1968	JNA Stadion, Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Yugoslavia	2–0	2–0	Friendly
12.	30 June 1968	Estádio da Machava, Lourenço Marques, Mozambique	Portugal	2–0	2–0	Friendly
13.	17 July 1968	Estadio Nacional de Lima, Lima, Peru	Peru	3–0	4–0	Friendly
14.	6 November 1968	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	FIFA XI	3–0	4–0	Friendly
15.	9 April 1969	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Peru	2–1	2–1	Friendly
16.	12 June 1969	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	England	1–1	2–1	Friendly
17.	6 August 1969	Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia	Colombia	1–0	2–0	1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
18.				2–0
19.	10 August 1969	Estadio Olímpico, Caracas, Venezuela	Venezuela	1–0	6–0	1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
20.				3–0
21.				4–0
22.	21 August 1969	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Colombia	1–0	6–2	1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
23.				2–1
24.	24 August 1969	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Venezuela	1–0	6–0	1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
25.				2–0
26.				3–0
27.	14 June 1970	Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico	Peru	2–0	4–2	1970 FIFA World Cup
28.				3–1
29.	30 September 1970	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Mexico	2–0	2–1	Friendly
30.	14 July 1971	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Czechoslovakia	1–0	1–0	Friendly
31.	31 July 1971	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Argentina	1–1	2–2	1971 Roca Cup
32.	26 April 1972	Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, Brazil	Paraguay	2–0	3–2	Friendly