Zé Maria

Zé Maria is one of the greatest right-backs in the history of Corinthians and Brazilian football. He began his career at Portuguesa de Desportos in the late 1960s, drawing attention for his defensive consistency and constant support to the attack. Transferred to Corinthians in 1970, he became an absolute idol at Parque São Jorge, where he played for over a decade and appeared in approximately 600 matches. He was a key player in the conquest of the 1977 Campeonato Paulista, a title that ended a streak of more than twenty years without achievements for the club and is remembered as one of the most important in Corinthian history. For the Brazilian National Team, he was part of the 1970 World Cup-winning squad, in Mexico, and was a starter in the 1974 World Cup, in Germany, where Brazil finished in fourth place. In the final years of his career, he participated in Democracia Corintiana, a historic movement of squad self-management that won the Paulistas of 1982 and 1983.