For all the kicking, and the pushing and shoving, football is a thinking man's game. And for as long as he played, Socrates was its philosopher, on and off the field. The Brazilian great, who died of an intestinal infection on Sunday, was captain of the 1982 team — regarded as one of the best and most attractive of teams never to win a World Cup, ranking alongside Ferenc Puskas' Hungarians of 1954 and Johan Cruyff's Dutchmen of 1974. But he was not all art and no success. Behind the seeming effortlessness of his midfield movements, his back-heel passes, and his penalty kicks was a hard-working brain that sensed an opportunity where others could not. The ease of physical motion, which sometimes gave the appearance of nonchalance or laziness, would not have been possible without the inch-perfect anticipation of a trained mind. But the constant efforts at out-thinking opponents did not always pay off. One of his biggest failures was the botched penalty during the tie-breaker against France in the World Cup quarterfinal in 1986. Socrates walked up to the ball, and held back his shot for a fraction of a second to see if goalkeeper Joel Bats would move one way or the other. Goalkeepers tend to take a chance during penalties. But Bats had decided not to move, and was able to keep out Socrates' attempt to the top of the net. Not unusually for someone whose mind reduced the load on his body, Socrates was given to the indulgences of drinking and smoking. Whatever liberties he could take with his body, he took, especially when he knew those made no difference to his playing. But while his football did not suffer, in later years his body could not bear the cumulative burden of the abuse.
Socrates, who qualified as a medical doctor after his playing years, did not confine his free-spirited and incisive thinking to the football field. An admirer of the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, he co-founded the Democracia Corinthiana, a movement formed in revolt at the authoritarian ways of football club management. Besides helping to organise players and democratise football clubs, Democracia, with Socrates in the forefront, also served as a catalyst for political change in Brazil, then under a military dictatorship. Trade unions and political organisations took the cue from Democracia, inspiring strikes and protests. Along with his achievements in football, Socrates valued his contribution through Democracia highly. In his death, Brazil has lost not only a legend in football, but a truly inspirational figure. Here was a philosopher who understood that a key function of philosophy was to contribute to changing the world.
Socrates, who qualified as a medical doctor after his playing years, did not confine his free-spirited and incisive thinking to the football field. An admirer of the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, he co-founded the Democracia Corinthiana, a movement formed in revolt at the authoritarian ways of football club management. Besides helping to organise players and democratise football clubs, Democracia, with Socrates in the forefront, also served as a catalyst for political change in Brazil, then under a military dictatorship. Trade unions and political organisations took the cue from Democracia, inspiring strikes and protests. Along with his achievements in football, Socrates valued his contribution through Democracia highly. In his death, Brazil has lost not only a legend in football, but a truly inspirational figure. Here was a philosopher who understood that a key function of philosophy was to contribute to changing the world.
