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London: Tributes flooded in after the death of Socrates on Sunday morning. From former Italy international Paolo Rossi, whose hattrick saw Brazil out of the 1982 World Cup to former World Player of the Year and 2002 World Cup winner Ronaldo, the footballing fraternity was shocked to learn about the passing away of the man who was known as the Heel of Gold. The following are what they (alphabetically) had to say :
Junior: Socrates was a buddy, a great friend, one of those figures football’s going to miss for everything he represented. Whoever shared life with him enjoyed the special person he was, intelligent, cultured, fun, a ball ace. He’s the kind of figure hard to find in football.
Carlos Alberto Parreira: He was the most intellectual of the players I worked with, intelligent, objective and he had opinions that were his own and firm about anything and mainly politics. He was a genius on the field. He marked a generation with the technical quality and intelligence of his football... He was one of the great icons of that (1982) team that marvelled the world.
Rivaldo: Sad to wake up and find out that Socrates has died.
Ronaldo (on Twitter): Sad start to the day. Rest in peace Dr Socrates.
Paolo Rossi: He was a very dynamic player with a sublime foot but most of all great intelligence. Along with Zico and Falcao he was the symbol of that Brazil squad. Socrates seemed like a player from another era. You couldn’t place him in any category — on the pitch and even more so off it. Everyone knew about his degree in medicine and he had a lot of cultural and social interests as well. He was unique from every point of view. (agencies)
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