Vavá

Edvaldo Izidio Neto (12 November 1934 - 19 January 2002) commonly known as Vava, was a Brazilian footballer, who is widely considered one of the best strikers of his generation. His nickname was "Peito de Aco" (Steel Chest). He was known for his goalscoring ability, dribbling, vision, beating opponents and having explosive shots. He is regarded as one of the most legendary players of the Brazilian football history. He played as a main striker (or centre forward) for Sport Club do Recife, C.R. Vasco da Gama, S.E. Palmeiras and the Brazil national football team.
Club career
Vava started his career with Sport from his home city of Recife and won the Campeonato Pernambucano in 1949 with it. In 1951 he moved to Vasco da Gama, winning the Campeonato Carioca three times, the Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo and the Tournoi de Paris. In 1958 he moved to Europe to play for Atletico Madrid. He returned after three seasons and then went on to play for Palmeiras from Sao Paulo. Palmeiras was at this time the only club that had a response against the supreme Santosand in 1963, the year Santos took the world title, he became state champion with Palmeiras. From 1964 to 1968 he played for Mexican clubs and after a short stay with the American San Diego Toros, he ended his career at Portuguesa, a smaller club from Rio de Janeiro.
International career
Vava made his debut for Brazil national team in 1955, He was left out for three Copa America tournaments in 1956, 1957, 1959. He was on the side that won both the 1958 and 1962 World Cup, in which he scored 5 and 4 goals, respectively. Furthermore, he was a joint recipient of the 1962 World Cup Golden Shoe award, as one of the tournaments top scorers. He was also part of Brazil's squad for the 1952 Summer Olympics. Vava earned 20 caps with the Brazil national football team between 1955 and 1964, scoring a total of 15 goals.
Vava scored in the final of both 1958 (twice) and 1962 (once), thus becoming the first player to score in the final of two different world cups. To this day, only four players achieved this feat, the other three being Pele, Paul Breitner, Zinedine Zidane and Kylian Mbappe.
Club career statistics
|-
|1958/59||rowspan="3"|Atletico Madrid||rowspan="3"|La Liga||27||16
|-
|1959/60||29||10
|-
|1960/61||15||5
71||31
71||31
|}
International career statistics
|-
!Total||20||15
|}
Honours
Club
Sport Club do Recife
Campeonato Pernambucano: 1949
C.R. Vasco da Gama
Campeonato Carioca (Rio de Janeiro State championship): 1952, 1956, 1958
Torneio Rio - Sao Paulo (Rio - Sao Paulo Tournament): 1958
Quadrangular Tournament of Rio: 1953
Rivadavia Correa Meyer's Tournament (Rio): 1953
Santiago de Chile Tournament: 1957
Paris Tournament: 1957
Theresa Herrera Trophy: 1957
Atletico de Madrid
Copa del Rey: 1960, 1961
Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras
Campeonato Paulista (Sao Paulo State championship): 1963
Guadalajara Tournament: 1963
Club America
Liga MX: 1966
International
Brazil national football team
FIFA World Cup: 1958, 1962
Taca Oswaldo Cruz: 1955, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962
Taca Bernado O'Higgins: 1955, 1959, 1961
Taca do Atlantico: 1956, 1960
Roca Cup: 1957, 1960, 1963
Individual
FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe: 1962
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1962
Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame
References
1934 births
2002 deaths
Brazilian footballers
Sportspeople from Recife