DOMINGOS DA GUIA | 1935-1940

[Brezza]

Name: Domingos Antônio da Guia

Nickname: "The Divine Master"





INFO:

Domingos Antônio da Guia nicknamed the "the Divine Master" was a Brazilian footballer. He is regarded as one of the greatest players in Flamengo and Corinthians history, as well as the all time best brazilian defender.

He quickly rose to fame as one of Bangu's key players (central defender) between 1929-1932. Despite the fact Bangu had a history of fielding black players (Francisco Carregal was the first in 1905) Domingos witnessed racism in football as he was growing up. Seeing the brutality that some of the black players received is believed to have inspired Domingos's extraordinary ability to dribble with the ball and avoid defenders, a trait which Brazilians would become famous for around the world.

I will offer a couple of fragments from Argentine publications which give an idea of how Da Guia is regarded in Argentina

Translated from Boca Juniors 100 year anniversary collection book.

'In 1935 the team adquired Domingos Da Guia, a defender who was a catalog of class. The Brazilian was a central marker of inmense category. Great with his timing, skillfull with the ball, and never resorting to violence, he had shined with the verdeamarelha - he later played at the 1938 World Cup - and he formed an impassable tandem with Valussi, who was more of a tough guy and a fighter. Da Guia became a champion with teams from three countries: Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. The day he arrived to the port of Buenos Aires, a huge crowd was waiting for him. The Ebony statue, as he was known in Brazil, descended from the boat in an impecable suit of white linen, and he put all of us in his pocket forever.'

Here are some other commentaries profiling the attributes of Da Guia:

'He is considered the best Brazilian defender of all time, and the first to take risks and innovate his position. The way he played led a revolution in football, since the ball didn't 'burn' Domingos. He liked to keep it next to his foot, and he never punted it away, which is what most defenders at the time habitually did. Watching him was true entertainment, and if that isn't enough, he was also solid and consistent in his marking.'

.....

'He was a champion in four cities, Rio, So Paulo, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, and he was worshipped in all four. When he played, he filled the stadium. He abhorred speed and he seemed to play the ball in slow motion. A master of suspense, enjoying every moment with the ball. The word 'Domingada' became an expression for the art of calmly coming out of the penalty area with the ball, as he would do, disposing of it efficiently without running, and almost without wanting to, as if it pained him to get rid of it.

VIDEOS:



ADDITIONAL LINKS:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domingos_da_Guia

http://web.archive.org/web/200712231457 ... ugador=167

http://www.world-football-legends.co.uk ... daguia.php

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate ... prmd%3Divo

[Classical]

I have questions about dribble speed, short pass accuracy and teamwork.
This based on the fact that he was the first libero, the fullback who comes with the ball from the deep.

Couldn't he claim more points on the above mentioned parameters?

[Brezza]

Ive raised teamwork not sure why it was that low, I haven't touched his dribble speed though. Read his profile in the first post, the guy abhored speed and came out very slowly out of his penalty area. Ive compared him to Laurent Blanc in this area.

[Classical]

Fair enough

[beiderbecke]

Ive raised teamwork not sure why it was that low, I haven't touched his dribble speed though. Read his profile in the first post, the guy abhored speed and came out very slowly out of his penalty area. Ive compared him to Laurent Blanc in this area.

Most of his stats are fair, however he was stronger than that, just considering his weight and height; by the way, his real height was 1.85cm, what grants him even more strength.

Source: http://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/domingos ... ault/21647

I would suggest a body balance about 84-85 for him. This excerpt of the text posted does not let me lie: "...Domingos's extraordinary ability to dribble with the ball and avoid defenders (sic)...” In other words, this reference of "avoiding" the rival players has to do not only because of his good dribble skills by loosening the pressure of rival attackers (not defenders) on him, but his capacity to bear collisions as well.

Ps.: Did you guys know Domingos had committed three penalties in the 1938 World Cup? One of them was a very childish one over Piola in an important match, demonstrating low commitment and responsibility. So, I would decrease his mentality a little, but not too much (78 to 74), since he lost control and jeopardized the Brazilian National Team, leading it to disqualification.