Corinthians Greatest All-Time Team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

World Club Cup 2000

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

Santos, Flamengo, Sao Paulo, Corithians, Botafogo
Vasco Da Gama, Palmeiras, Internacional
Fluminense, Gremio, Cruzeiro, Atlético Mineiro, Bahia.

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club.  The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista was founded in 1910 by five railway workers from the district of Bom Retiro, who became impressed by the performances of London-based club Corinthian Football Club. It is the richest mon-European club in the world. In 2000, the club won the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup as the host nation's representative, repeating the feat in 2012 after winning the Copa Libertadores de América for the first time.

World Club Cup 2012

Team
GK: Ronaldo Giovanelli (Brazil)
Ronaldo Giovanelli began his career with Corinthians. He played over 600 games for Corinthians from 1986 and 1998.  He won Campeonato Paulista in 1988, 1995 and 1997.  He played for many clubs after leaving them in 1998.  He won the Bola de Prata award for the best goalkeeper in 1990 and 1994.  He was a part of the Fluminense squad that was relegated from Série B to Série C in 1998.  He was capped once in 1993. After retirement, he formed a band.

Ronaldo Giovanelli 

GK: Gilmar (Brazil)
Gilmar was the goalkeeper for World Cup Finals in 1958, 1962 and 1966 winning two titles. He had 104 caps. Also a member of Pele's Santos team of the 1960's. With Gilmar between the posts, Santos conquered almost every championship they competed in: they won five São Paulo State Championships, five National Championships, back-to-back Libertadores Cups and two Intercontinental Cups (1962 and 1963).

GK: Cassio Ramos (Brazil)
After playing mainly as a backup keeper for Greimo and PSV, Cassio Ramos joined Corinthians in 2012.  He helped to the club to win Copa Libertadores Cup and the World Club Cup in 2012.  He wont Golden Ball for the World Club Cup. He was called up many times for Brazil since 2007, but he did not earn his first cap until in 2017 against Japan.

RB: Ze Maria (Brazil) 
During his career (1966–1983),  Ze Maria played for Ferroviário (SP), Portuguesa, Corinthians and Internacional (RS) as a defender. From 1970 to1983, he played for Corinthians. For Brazil, he played in 46 games from 1971 to 1978. He was a member of the Brazilian squad at the 1970, but did not play.  He played in 1974 World Cup in West Germany.

CB/LB: Del Debbio (Brazil) 
Del Debbio started his career with São Bento in 1919. In 1921, to join Corinthians, where he stayed until 1931. During his stint at Corinthians, he won the Campeonato Paulista in 1922, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1929 and 1930. He joined Lazio of Italy in 1931, leaving the club in 1935 to play again for Corinthians. He was capped three times.

CB:  Carlos Gamarra (Paraguay)
Widely considered a top defender in South America during his peak years.  Carlos Gamarra played in Paraguay, Brazil, Greece, Italy and Portugal. He is the most capped player in Paraguayan football history.  He was named as the Paraguayan Footballer of the Year in 1997 and 1998, and was also included in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament.  He also went to World Cup Finals in 2002 and 2006.

Carlos Gamarra

SW/CB: Domingos da Guia  (Brazil)
Domingos da Guia was a star defender during the 1940's. He was among the first skilled defender to play the game. He played for several clubs, but notably with Flamengo and Corinthians, and aboard with Boca Juniors. He had 30 caps. He was a star at the 1938 World Cup Finals in France. He made the all-star team at that World cup Finals.  His son is Ademir da Guia.

CB: Chicão (Brazil)
Between 1968–1985, Chicão played for many clubs: São Paulo FC, Atlético Mineiro, Santos FC, Londrina, Corinthians, Botafogo-SP Mogi Mirim, etc. He won one São Paulo State League (1975), one Brazilian League (1977) and one Minas Gerais State League (1980). For the Brazil, he played 9 times, from 1976 to 1979. He played 3 games at the 1978 World Cup.

LB: Wladimir (Brazil) 
Wladimir was best remembered for his time at Corinthians. He won four São Paulo State Championships, and is the most capped player in Corinthians history with 803 matches played. In 1998 Federação Paulista de Futebol named him in the Paulista League all-time best XI, alongside players like Rivelino, Ademir da Guia, Pelé, Djalma Santos and others. He was also named, by Placar Magazine, as the best left back in Corinthians history.

LB: Oreco (Brazil)
Oreco began his career at the Santa Maria in 1949, where he played for a year. He then played for Internacional of Porto Alegre, for which he played for seven years and won five Rio de Janeiro championships in that period. He was also a Corinthians player for eight years.  He won the 1958 World Cup as Nilton Santos' backup. He also played in the NASL.

DM/CM: Paulinho (Brazil)
Paulinho became famous with Corinthians.  In 2013, he was the best player for Brazil as they won the Confederation Cup.  he joined Tottenham Hotspurs during that summer. Aftervthe disappointment of the WC Finals in 2014, he joined Guangzhou Evergrande in China.  He won the Asian Champions' league immediately.  At the time of writing, he was capped 55 times. He appeared in both 2014 and 2018 World Cup Finals.

Paulinho

DM: Roberto Belangero (Brazil)
Roberto Belangero played for Corinthians from 1947 to 1960. He made 450 matches in the white jersey. He joined Newell's Old Boys, of Argentina, where he finished his career. He also played for the Brazilian national team, playing for the qualifiers and preparing for the 1958 World Cup, but missed the Finals due to an injury. concussion.

DM: Biro-Biro (Brazil)
Biro-Biro started his career in 1977, playing for Sport. In 1978, he moved to Corinthians., During his 11 seasons there,  he won the Campeonato Paulista four times and in 1988. He won the Placar's Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Bola de Prata award in 1982, and he scored 75 goals, in 592 matches, placing him as the 5th player with the most appearances for Corinthians. He also played for  Portuguesa, Coritiba, Guarani Botafogo-SP and Nacional-SP.

RM/CM: Socrates (Brazil)
Socrates was one of Brazil's greatest players. He earned over 60 caps between 1979 and 1986. He was the captain of 1982 and 1986 World Cuo team. One of the best attack midfielders in Brazil's history.  In 1983, he was named South American Footballer of the Year.  He spent 7 seasons with Corinthians.  He went abroad in 1984, playing a season in Serie A with Fiorentina.  He was also a MD, earning the degree while he was an active player.

Socrates

LW/AM: Rivelino (Brazil)
Rivelino is considered to be one of the greatest left-sided midfielder ever.  His signature move was the "flip-flap". He was a member of Brazil's great 1970 team and also played in the 1974 team.  He had 92 caps for Brazil.  He started his career with Corinthians, but in one of the club's worst period in history. He moved to Fluminense in 1974, forming a great team with Carlos Alberto.  He also played for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

Rivelino

AM: Marcelinho Carioca (Brazil) 
Nicknamed "Pé-de-Anjo" (Angel Foot), the most successful player ever to play for Corinthians, he has scored 206 goals in 420 matches from 1994 to 2001. He has collected more trophies with Corinthians than any other player in their history, a total of 8 championships including 1998 and 1999 Brazilian National Championships and the Club World Cup, in 2000. He scored 505 goals, in his entire career.

AM/FW: Luisinho (Brazil) 
Luisinho played entire career (1949–1967) with Corinthians, except in season 1962–63 when play for Clube Atlético Juventus. He won three São Paulo State Championship in 1951, 1952 and 1954. He died at 67 years old.  Some people consider Luisinho, the greatest player ever for Corinthians. He was capped 11 times for the Seleção between 1955-1957.

AM/FW: Neto (Brazil)
In Brazil Neto is commonly considered one of the greatest free kick takers ever and one of the best Brazilian players of the early 1990s. He played for many clubs.  His longest career was with Corinthians. After Corinthians he played in many other clubs, in Brazil (Araçatuba, Atlético Mineiro, Matsubara, Santos) and abroad (Millonarios of Colombia). He was capped over 20 times.

AM: Vampeta  (Brazil)
Vampeta started his career with team Vitória, and later went to  PSV Eindhoven alongside Ronaldo in 1994. In 1998, he joined Corinthians. He then joined Inter Milan in summer 2000, being reunited with Ronaldo. In January 2001, Vampeta went to PSG for €12.196 million.  In 2007, he returned to Corinthians, signed a contract until the end of season.  He represented Brazil from 1998 until 2002, winning the 1999 Copa América and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

CM/FW: Freddy Rincon (Colombia)
Freddy Rincon was one of the most important player during the Golden Generation of the 1990's.  He had 84 caps. He played in the 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cup Finals.  He scored the equalizing goal vs West Germany in 1-1 draw at Italia 1990, securing Colombia a place in the 2nd round.  He was best remembered for his career in Brazil, where he played for Palmeiras, Corinthians, Santos and Cruzeiro. 

Freddy Rincon

ST/SS: Carlos Tevez (Argentina)
Tevez began his career with Boca Juniors, winning the Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup in 2003. With Manchester United, he won a Champions' League. In 2009, he joined Manchester City becoming the first player to move between the two rival clubs since Terry Cooke in 1999. He helped City win their first league title in 44 years. He earned over 70 caps and appeared in two World Cup Finals.

ST: Neco (Brazil)
With great skill and tenacity, Neco was the first idol of Corinthians, being the first player to get a statue in the team's gardens (in 1929). As of 2006, Neco is the player who played the longest for Corinthians: 17 years in total.  He won the Paulista League eight times as a player (being top scorer in 1914 and 1920).  For Brazil, he won two South American Championships: 1919 (team's top scorer) and 1922 (top scorer). 

Neco

ST: Baltazar (Brazil)
Nicknamed Cabecinha de Ouro (Golden Head) by fans, Baltazar played as a striker for União Monte Alegre, Jabaquara, Corinthians, Juventus and União Paulista. His longest stint was with Corinthians, where he played from 1945 to 1957.  He had 31 caps for Brazil between 1950 and 1954.  He participated in the 1950 World Cup and 1954 World Cup, he played 4 matches, scoring 3 goals.

ST: Teleco (Brazil) 
Most of his career was spent with Corinthians, representing the club during one full decade. He was given the nickname Teleco by his grandmother when he was a young boy. He was referred to as "O Rei das Viradas" (King of the Twist) and "O Homem Gol" (Goal Man), for scoring 251 goals in 246 games as well as helping it to four state titles.

ST: Claudio (Brazil)
Cláudio is the all-time leading scorer of all time with 306 goals in 554. He was usually ranked as the 3rd best ever Corinthians player, after Rivelino and Sócrates.  He won the São Paulo State Championship in 1951, 1952 and 1954 and the Rio-São Paulo Tournament in 1950, 1953 and 1954. He was a member of the Palmeiras team that won the São Paulo state championship in 1942 and he was also part of the Seleção which won the South American Cup in 1949.

Claudio

Honorable Mention
Carlos Tevez, Ronaldo,Viola,  Basilio, Idário, Henrique, Marcelo Djian, Amaral, Jairo do Nascimento, Dida, Kleber, Paolo Guerrero, Walter Casagrande, Dida, Marcelinho Carioca, Ze Elias, Fabio Costa, Edílson, Renato Augusto, Gil, Tupãzinho.

Squad Explanation
--  Socrates, Rivelino and Claudio are often considered to be the greatest footballer for the club. Luisinho also is considered to be the club's greatest players by some fans.  Neco supposed to be another important player in the early history of the club.   Those names must be on any all-time team for Corinthians.
-- In 2018, the fans voted for Corinthians' Best XI: Cassio, Ze Maria, Freddy Rincón, Paulinho, Carlos Gamarra and Fabian Balbuena; Carlos Tevez, Ronaldo, Socrates, Rivellino and Wladimir.  Except Ronaldo and Balbuena, everyone from that team made my all-time team.  Please see below for Ronaldo.  Obviously, the younger fans forgot about Claudio, Neco and Luisinho.  Balbuena was an active player of the club at the time of the poll.  He had not done much in his career to be included.
-- Corinthians won Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup in 2012, but I only selected Paulinho and Cassio to my all-time team.  At the time of Paulinho's departure from Corinthians, he was considered the most important Brazilian player after Neymar, especially after a good performance at the 2013 Confederation Cup.
-- Corinthians won the World Club Championship in 2000.  It was an early version of the World Club Cup.  Corinthians qualified for the tournament not because they were the defending Copa Libertadores champion.  They were the host. From that winning team, I selected Marcelinho Carioca, Freddy Rincon and Vampeta.
-- Carlos Gamarra's reputation in South America was very good.  He was one of the best defenders playing in Brazil during his prime, but he only spent a single season with the club.  I was not sure if he deserved to be on this team.  He won Serie A Brazilian Championship in 1998. I am also unsure about Domingos da Guia's career here.  As you might have known, he is considered to be Brazil's greatest defender.  He played between 1944 and 1948 with the club at the end of his career.  But in the end, I took both players.
-- Ronaldo Giovanelli made my all-time team for Corinthians. He is often listed as the club's greatest goalkeeper.  Ronaldo "The Phenomenon" did not make the team.  He only played two seasons here. He started his career here well.  He helped Corinthians win the Campeonato Paulista with 10 goals in 14 games. 
-- Gilmar spent half of his career here.  He got the second spot. Dida (goalkeeper) appeared in several all-time list, but he only spent very limited time with the club.  He seemed to have achieve more elsewhere.  I gave the final goalkeeping spot to Cassio who helped the club to win the Copa Libertadores and the World Club Cup in 2012. 
-- Fullback Wladimir (Brazil) is the club's all-time appearance leader.  In 1998, Federação Paulista de Futebol named him in the Paulista League all-time best XI.  Rivelino is also on the list.
-- Teleco scored 251 goals in 246 matches.  He was the Campeonato Paulista Top scorer in 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939 and 1941.
-- Basilio scored the goal that won the 1977 Sao Paulo State Champion, which ended the club's trophy drought stretching all the way back to 1954.  But I could not find a spot for him.
-- Instead, I decided to select one big-time player to the team. Ronaldo came to the club at the end of his career.  He only played a short time there. Carlos Tevez also did not play much, but he came at the beginning of his career when he was one of the best South American players in the world. Carlos Tevez at Corinthians was better than Ronaldo at Corinthians.
-- Renato Augusto, Jo, Edílson and Marcelinho Cairoca won the Bola de Ouro award(Player of the Year award) while playing for Corinthians, but I do not have space for them.
-- Rivaldo also played briefly for the club at the beginning of his career.


Formation