Former basketball player Oscar Schmidt died this Friday (17), aged 68, in São Paulo. Owner of one of the most remarkable careers in Brazilian sport, he was notable for his precision in throws, titles and, also, phrases.
Remember phrases by Oscar Schmidt
“Every ball I kick, it’s as if I ordered it to go into the basket. Every ball I have confidence will go in there” (Folha, 1987)
“I’m a very emotional guy, I put my heart into everything. That day when we beat the United States in the 87 Pan-American Games, I couldn’t contain myself. I lay down on the court and cried, curled up in the basket net” (Jornal do Brasil, 1992)
“My passion is basketball and I’ve spent my whole life playing it. I have no frustration. It’s priceless to pay for 15 years on the Brazilian national team, as an idol” (Folha, 1994)
“I only know how to do two things in life: play basketball and be a father. I’ve dreamed my whole life of playing for a living and I live to play. When I think about stopping, I get really distressed” (O Globo, 1995)
“Basketball is so beautiful that it can only be second to football, which is insurmountable” (O Globo, 1995)
“There is no holy hand. My hand was trained. There were always 500 shots or more per day” (Folha, 1995)
“The only request I make to young people is that they feel the same pride that I felt playing for the national team. We are often unfairly criticized by those who know nothing about basketball. Here, we stop making money, we risk our skin to defend our country with our hearts. But it’s worth it. Nothing is better than winning with the Brazil shirt.” (O Globo, 1996)
“I’m a high-level athlete and, even so, it’s enormously difficult to find a sponsor for my team. If it’s difficult for me, you can imagine the obstacles faced by those who do cycling, boxing or water polo” ( Veja, 1998)
“Sport and religion are the two strongest things to get children out of the bad side of life. They create goals, faith, dreams. Those who don’t have dreams go down the wrong path” ( Veja, 1998)
“I trained to be the best basketball player in the world, no one trained more than me. In the beginning, I completed collectives with a thousand shots a day, in the solitude of gymnasiums. It wasn’t for lack of dedication that I couldn’t be the best in the world” ( Veja, 1998)
“I go onto the court to play to my limit. If I miss the first ball or the second, I don’t think it’s not my day. I think that next time I’ll get it right. And I do” (Jornal do Brasil, 1999)
“I think it’s normal for football to have more space in the media. But I’m proud to be an idol of the sport in the country of football” (Jornal do Brasil, 1999)
“In the 11 years I played in Italy, I received 13 technical fouls. Here [no Brasil]I take one in almost every match. Unfortunately, I am more respected abroad” (Folha, 2000)
“It’s difficult to say goodbye. I would like to go back and start over, but I know it’s not possible. Changing the routine will be difficult. Today, I can say that I’m not ready to stop playing” (Diário de SP, 2003)
“You have seen and will see many players better than me, but you will not see one who has trained more and who has so much obstinacy for basketball. I trained to be the best and I didn’t achieve it. Even so, I had much more than I imagined” (Diário de SP, 2003)
“I’m going to die thinking about the emotions I experienced with my gold medal teammates at the Pan American Games in Indianapolis, Mackenzie and Flamengo, and my farewell to the Brazilian team at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, in 1996, and playing alongside my son” (Diário de SP, 2003)
“I always said at home and with friends that I thought I could die, because I have the feeling of a mission accomplished. So, when I found out about the tumor, I wasn’t nervous about the possibility of death. I was just worried about how my wife and son were feeling at that moment” (IstoÉ, 2011)
“Life is short and has to be lived well with family and friends. I already feel calmer than before. I’m much more complacent with my wife. I knew I was admired by people, but with this episode I discovered how much I am loved” (IstoÉ, 2011)
“Politics, in fact, was not my life. Everything bothered me. I wanted to do something, but I had to go through a bidding process first. Then, it took time and time”¦ and even the desire to do it was lost. When I was a candidate for the Senate, it was worse. I gained enemies and to this day I still receive critical emails. My wife was against my candidacy and I’m glad I lost. I prefer to look like this, in sweatpants, flip-flops and socks. My political career lasted a year and a half.” (IstoÉ, 2011)
“I was always nervous, with my children, my wife. I argued over, I don’t know, an open window or not, for no reason, a waste of time. I was an athlete, I never drank, I never took drugs or went extravagant and I had a brain tumor. This intemperance is not worth it.” (IstoÉ, 2011)
“I’ve had a beautiful life, I’ve achieved practically everything I wanted, I’ve reached infinitely further than I ever dreamed of getting. If nature gave me this problem, I have to be able to overcome it. And I’m already overcoming it. If I have to open my head ten times, I’ll open it” (IstoÉ, 2013)
“They [família] They are very shaken, they know that I will leave early and that is very difficult. Just bring up the subject and they start crying, I’m the one who has to console them. I know they are going through hard times, but they will get through it. Let’s overcome this challenge” (IstoÉ, 2013)
“This tumor got the wrong guy. You’ll see in 15 years” (Folha, 2013)
“Of course I have [medo de morrer]. But what’s the problem with that? Will I get upset? My life was very beautiful and extraordinary. Bigger than I thought it could be. Of course, if that happens it will be a huge sadness, especially for leaving my family. But that day will take a while to come. Don’t think about nonsense, nothing about death, no, because this little tumor got the wrong guy. I see cancer as another step. I know that I have a serious illness that I am treating as if it were the most difficult thing that has ever appeared in my life. I will do everything in my power to heal. I am not afraid of the disease. I pulled out, I’m treating it. What else can I do?” (See, 2013)
“Mão Santa is the damn thing! He’s Mão Trained! I don’t think anyone trained as much as I trained. You can never think it was enough. If you stop, things regress. In addition to two training sessions a day, I took more than a thousand shots, without a break even on the weekends. I only left the court after hitting 20 baskets in a row. In total, I think I trained around eight hours a day. My numbers and my success rate were the result of that” (See, 2013)
“Volleyball being the second sport in Brazil is a shame. It’s the only country in the world like this. A sport in which you play eight months of the year with the national team. Every year there’s a World League. It’s a great championship. Brazilians love to see the national team win, that’s why volleyball grew. But, in this way, they took away a lot of basketball players, very tall athletes, with a future, who went to volleyball” ( Veja, 2013)
“In my opinion, the 1987 Pan was the most important achievement of Brazilian basketball. From 1985 to 1988, we had the best phase of my generation. No one believed in us, not even our team. We had a huge fear of losing by more than 50 points to the Americans. We thought: ‘How are we going to beat the guys at their home?’. We focused for three months, playing friendlies against other American teams before the competition. That’s why we won, because the training It’s the most decisive part of the sport. Every August 23rd, the day of the final, I remember the Pan. Winning the Interclub World Cup with Sírio was good, playing a professional match with my son, too, but nothing equals that victory” ( Veja, 2013)
“I started going to a center [espírita] in Campinas every Monday, where I receive energizations and drink herbal liquids. I’m Catholic, I’ve never set foot in a center, but I’ve always been sympathetic to this type of faith. It’s all from God, isn’t it?” (See, 2013)
“I feared for my life, but with an open heart, because my life was beautiful. Who wouldn’t want to have my life? Playing sports, defending Brazil. It’s a wonderful thing. I feared, but I feared calmly.” (Globoesporte.com, 2014)
“If I were president, I wouldn’t let Brazil go to the World Cup, I would stay at home to see firsthand what it’s like to be left out.” (Folha, 2016, about Brazil paying to have a place in the tournament)
