Two-time champion of the Campeonato Paulista (1972 and 1974) and the Campeonato Brasileiro (1972 and 1973) with Palmeiras, former attacking midfielder João Leiva Campos Filho, known as Leivinha, died this Thursday (4), aged 76. The cause of death was not revealed.
“A playmaker with both feet and head, Leivinha was one of the symbols of the Palmeiras team that enchanted Brazil in the first half of the 1970s,” Palmeiras said in a statement.
Born in Novo Horizonte, in the interior of São Paulo, he began his career at Linense, in Lins, a municipality located in the same region as his hometown, at the age of 15.
In 1966, he transferred to Portuguesa de Desportos. He didn’t win titles with Lusa, but his goals aroused the interest of Palmeiras, where he transferred in 1971.
“He was a key player in the Second Academy, even masterfully assuming command of the attack when César Maluco was out of the team for around four months due to a suspension”, recalled the alviverde.
The club also recalled that the former midfielder “was the victim of one of the most remembered refereeing errors in Brazilian football”, in the decisive round of the 1971 Campeonato Paulista, against São Paulo. Leivinha scored with a header, but referee Armando Marques canceled it on the grounds that he had used his hand.
“It was a question I had to answer many times. Armando wanted to be the character of the match. The true judge is the one who goes unnoticed in games”, said Leivinha at the time.
Palmeiras’ highlight in winning the 1975 Ramón de Carranza Tournament, in Cádiz, Spain, was subsequently traded to Atlético de Madrid.
With the Madrid team, he won the King’s Cup of Spain in the 1975/76 season and the Spanish Championship in the 1976/77 season.
After four seasons in Europe, Leivinha returned to Brazil to end his career at São Paulo, with whom he played just 11 matches, scoring two goals.
For the Brazilian national team, he played 27 matches and scored 7 goals, having been one of those called up by Zagallo for the 1974 World Cup. He participated in the three group stage games against Yugoslavia, Scotland and Zaire, but suffered an injury and did not return to the field for the remainder of the World Cup. Brazil finished in fourth place, losing the third place decision to Poland.
Consecrated on the pitch with the number 8 shirt, Leivinha stopped playing early, at the age of 29, due to a series of physical problems accumulated during his career.
In total, he took to the field in 263 matches, scoring 107 goals.
