Socrates was a living contradiction. A qualified doctor addicted to alcohol and nicotine. A thinker who earned a living kicking a ball. A fighter for democracy who sympathized with Fidel Castro and Muammer Khadaffi. A hedonist named after the philosopher who argued against hedonism.
But for all these apparent contradictions, Socrates, the great believer in spontaneity, beauty and freedom, was also a man of rock solid character. He thought deeply, said what he thought, and did what he said. As a footballing freedom fighter, his legacy can be said to surpass that of any other professional footballer in the history of the game.
Read and enjoy this rare selection of 30 Socrates Quotations.
Thoughts about Football
1) Beauty comes first. Victory is secondary. What matters is joy.
2) In 1970 the average Brazilian footballer ran 4km in a game. Today it’s 10km, which means space has reduced greatly. It has stifled creativity because no one has enough time on the ball. Given these changes, I think the game should be played with just nine players on each side, to recreate the spirit the game is meant to be played in.
3) To win is not the most important thing, football is an art and should be about showing creativity. If Vincent van Gogh and Edgar Degas had known the level of recognition they were going to have, they would not have done the same. You have to enjoy doing the art and not think ‘will I win?’
4) In the World Cup final of 2010, we found all the elements of contemporary football. A game truncated, violent, with excessive breaks, tackles and complaints, with little interest in the spectacle and few scoring chances. Both teams had an absurd fear of losing and, consequently, of winning.
5) It’s a technical decision rather than just for effect. I’m tall and, if I make sudden turns, I lose momentum, so I use my heel. I started doing it as a boy, and now I have more confidence using my heel than my left foot.
(On his trademark backheel pass)
6) Machiavelli claimed that it is better to be feared than loved, but this is a choice that the Seleçao doesn’t have to make. She is feared and loved. Feared by opponents on the field and loved by anyone who likes football. In Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, wearing a shirt of the Brazilian team doesn’t even indicate that you are Brazilian, just that you like football.
7) No player abandons his football career. It’s the football that abandons the player.
8) Footballers have no educational background and many do not know what’s written in their own contracts. Society must demand that they be educated because they are references to the less favored population.
9) I’m writing a novel about the 2014 World Cup. The final will be Brazil versus Argentina, with Argentina winning 2-0, both goals scored by Messi. Heh heh.
A Brazilian drive for pleasure
10) I like to reproduce.
(On having six children)
11) I drink, I smoke and I think.
12) I found Europe very regimented. Everything is so correct and organised. But there’s more to life than football, and sometimes I didn’t want to train, but to hang out with friends, party or have a smoke. They didn’t appreciate that.
13) Reporter: Have you ever tried cocaine?
Socrates: No. I have only three vices: Women, cigarettes and beer. If I get another I’ll have to replace one of these.
14) In Brazil, the way we live is not like Europe where you have your schedule for the whole year – we don’t know what we are doing for the next 15 minutes.
15) Everyone who comes to Brazil falls in love with someone.
Brazil and the 1982 World Cup
16) The World Cup is not a proper championship. It is actually a football fair. In a championship, you would expect to win the title with a side like Brazil had in 1982. But in the World Cup, where more than half of the matches are knockout ties, anything is possible. Merit doesn’t count.
17) Zico was the king. He was much better than everyone else. When there is a king, the rest fight to be close to the king. When there is no king, everybody loses direction. Society is like that. So it was Zico who should lead. It was Machiavellian, but I was the prince and Zico the king.
18) I measure success by the experiences we live; and to play for a side like that is like dating the woman you’re in love with.
19) That side epitomised Brazil. It may have been the last side to represent Brazil in a World Cup that epitomised the country. It was irreverent, joyful, creative, free-flowing. From that point onwards, the Seleçao became like any other first-world country national side.
20) I never relive that game. It’s part of my past. I live the present, carry on my life. I don’t even recall my son’s face when he was born.
(On the match vs Italy)
21) That Brazilian team represented fantasy, idealism, an idyll. Italy represented efficiency, effectiveness. But at least we lost fighting for our ideals. And you can compare that to society today. We have lost touch with humanity, people are driven by results. They used to go to football to see a spectacle. Now, with very few exceptions, they go to watch a war and what matters is who wins.
22) It was like seducing the most beautiful woman in the world. And then failing on the moment for which you did it all.
Football and Politics
23) Football came by accident. I was more interested in politics. I always had my eyes turned to the social injustices in the country. I just happened to be good at football, which gave me entrance to a very different and privileged environment.
24) If people do not have the power to say things, then I will say it for them. While I was a footballer, my legs amplified my voice.
25) Perhaps the most perfect moment I ever lived. And I’m sure it was for 95 percent of the others too.
(After turning his club Corinthians into a democracy – during a time when a military regime ruled Brazil – the club won the Sao Paulo state championship.)
26) Our players of the 60′s and 70′s were romantic with the ball at their feet, but away from the field absolutely silent. Imagine if at the time of the poltical coup in Brazil a single player like Pelé had spoken out against all excesses?
27) If Congress approves the bill to open elections, I will not transfer to Italy.
(Elections weren’t held, so Socrates moved to Fiorentina.)
28) Give my goals to a better country.
29) Often I think what if we could one day direct this enthousiasm that we have for football towards positive causes for humanity? For in the end, football and earth both have one thing in common: both are a ball.
30) When I named one of my sons Fidel, my mother told me: ‘It’s a bit strong for a child.’ And I said: Mom, look what you did to me.
