Ademir de Menezes
He came to football at the age of 14 in 1937. He first played at the youth level in the Pernambuco state championship for the Sport Recife team, where his father Antonio Rodriguez, a retired colonel, was on the board of directors. With the team in 1939, 1940 and 1941 Ademir became the champion of the competition. Among other players, the young mulatto stood out with excellent starting speed and "jet" breakthroughs with the ball, which the Brazilians called the English word "rush". Together with the Pernambuco team, in 1942 Ademir went on tour in Brazil. During the trip, the team met in matches with the strongest clubs in the country. And to the surprise of the organizers of friendly matches, in 16 games the national team won 10 victories. The match with Vasco da Gama turned out to be the most enchanting. At the beginning of the game, the Pernambuco team lost 0-3, but thanks to four goals Ademir was able to win with a score of 5-4. After the match, the owners of the defeated club could not be surprised by the skill of the striker and the same 1942 Ademir moved to "Vasco da Gama". He then became the first Brazilian footballer to receive money for a new team. He played for Vasco for three years, during which time he added another state title to his title, but now not to Pernambuco, but to Rio. The team won this title at the peak of its popularity in 1945. Vasco did not lose a single match in that championship. In 1946 , Ademir moved to another club from Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo, for two years. And together with him he became the champion of the state of Rio. At that time, the striker was a real leader of his team, which beat thanks to his goals of both its main competitors - and "Vasco da Gama" and "Botafogo". And in 1948, Ademir returned to Vasco da Gama and played here until 1956 , the end of his professional football career (next year he will play several matches in his first team - Sport Recife) - but only in the role of the amateur). As part of the team, he became the South American club champion in 1948, won the Rio State Championship three more times, and in 1949 and 1950 became the top scorer in the state championship. He had 30 and 25 goals, respectively.