Tostao

Tostao Biography

Eduardo Goncalves de Andrade, popularly known as Tostão is a former Brazilian footballer, born on 25^th January 1947 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Tostao primarily played as an attacking midfielder and preferred his left foot.

Tostao appeared for Brazil in two FIFA World Cups and ended up winning the 1970 edition.

Background

It is said that Tostao once netted 47 goals for his primary school football team. Tostao began his professional football career at a young age of 15 in the early 1960s with America MG before he moved to city rivals Cruzeiro.

The frequency of goals scored by Tostao being a midfielder brought him to the attention of successive Brazilian coaches like Vicente Feola, Joao Saldanha and the great Mario Zagallo. He was a regular pick for the Brazil national team even before he celebrated his 20^th birthday.

Debut

Tostao made his debut for Brazil in May 1966 and thus earned a late entry into Brazil’s squad for the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England to be held a month later.

He scored his first goal in national colours against Poland in an international friendly in front of his home crowd in June 1966.

A month later, he scored the consolation goal for Brazil in a 1-3 loss against Hungary in the World Cup.

Rise to Glory

Post 1966 FIFA World Cup saw the rise of Tostao as a footballing phenomenon in Brazil. In Spite of being a central midfielder, Tostao finished as the league top scorer on three occasions. He reached the pinnacle of his career in 1966 when Cruzeiro won the Brazilian Cup, defeating Pele’s Santos twice.

Before the 1970 FIFA World Cup where Brazil had to come back strongly, Tostao had established himself firmly by winning five consecutive Minas Gerais State Championships and a national title for Cruzeiro. Despite not being a forward, he was well on his way to scoring 249 goals for Cruzeiro.

Such statistics meant he automatically became first choice into the Brazilian national team. Pele’s retirement further aided his cause. Such was his influence in the Brazilian team that he was always involved in a goal scoring movement in some way or the other.

Low Points

Eight months before the 1970 FIFA World Cup was supposed to go underway, Tostao suffered a massive injury. A ball hit his face with such force that it caused a detached retina, an injury which can cause severe visual impairment even after corrective surgery. His vision was saved after two operations performed by Roberto Moura, a Miami-based ophthalmologist.

Club Career

Tostao scored 46 goals in 22 starts for America MG. For Cruzeiro, he scored 249 goals in 378 matches and became the all-time leading goal scorer for the club. After the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Tostao joined Vasco da Gama and scored 71 goals in just 35 games.

Records

Tostao holds the record of being the all-time leading goal scorer for Cruzeiro with 249 goals.

He was also named the Campeonato Mineiro top scorer for three consecutive seasons.

Retirement

Tostao decided to retire at a relatively young age of 26 after he damaged his eye again in 1973.

After retirement, he became a medical doctor. He later re-joined the football world by working as a football journalist and pundit.