Date and place of birth: 9 November 1948 in Passo Fundo (Brazil)
Nationality: Brazilian/Italian
Coaching career: 1982: CS Alagonao (Brazil). 1982-1983: EC Juventude (Brazil). 1983: Gremio Esportivo (Brazil). 1984-1985: Al-Shabab (Saudi Arabia). 1986: Gremio Esportivo (Brazil). 1987: Gremio Porto Alegre (Brazil). 1988: Goias (Brazil). 1988-1990: Al Qadisiya (Kuwait). 1990: Kuwait. 1991: Criciuma Esporte Clube (Brazil). 1991: Al-Ahli Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). 1992: Al Qadisiya (Kuwait). 1993-1996: Gremio Porto Alegre (Brazil). 1997: Jubilo Iwata (Japan). 1997-2000: Palmeiras (Brazil). 2000-2001: Cruzeiro (Brazil). 2001-2002: Brazil. Since July 2003: Portugal.
Honours as coach: Brazilian league championship (1996), Brazilian cup (1991, 1994, 1998), Copa Libertadores (1995, 1999), FIFA World Cup™ (2002), EURO 2004 finalist.

Francis Cornejo, a youth coach at Argentinos Juniors and revered in Argentina as the man who discovered Diego Maradona, recalls that the legendary player was put through many a tough test due to his stature. When Maradona was eight, a friend took him for a trial at the club and his ability was soon plain to see, despite his lack of height. “Apparently, other teams like Lanus or Remedios de Escalada didn’t want him because of his size, so he came to Argentinos.”
While Cornejo insisted that Maradona should join the youth ranks of Argentinos Juniors, others could not understand his faith in a player so short. “When Diego arrived on the scene, everyone started talking about his talent. People are always envious, they said to me, ‘He’s very small and we already have lots of his type.’ I thought he was a genius from the very first moment and I looked after him,” says Cornejo.
Pele, on the other hand, had no trouble: “I didn’t have any problems when I started out because I scored a lot of headers despite my height and continued to do so throughout my career.”
Nevertheless, there are many players who encountered the same problems as Maradona early in their careers, such as 1.70m-tall Valencia and Spain midfielder David Silva, who was rejected by Real Madrid at the age of 12. Messi, who is nicknamed “The Flea” on account of his height, is another player who was never destined to be tall. After playing for Newell’s Old Boys in Rosano at youth level, he was on the verge of a transfer to River Plate but was diagnosed with a growth deficiency that required treatment costing EUR 900 a month, which the club was not prepared to pay. In the end, he moved to Barcelona, who agreed to take over payment of the costs. Legendary AC Milan defender Franco Baresi, meanwhile, only joined the club because he had been rejected by eternal rivals Inter as a boy on account of his height. Romario was also initially rejected by Vasco de Gama for being too short, but the club soon saw the error of their ways once “Baixinho” [shorty] had begun to shine in the Olario youth set-up. Even Gerd Muller (1.76m) the legendary 1970s German striker nicknamed “Der Bomber”, was passed over early in his career because he was considered too short and stout.
“I don’t want that little elephant among my thoroughbreds,” said one coach . when he saw him early in his career. “Der Bomber” went on to win the 1974 FIFA World Cup™, scoring in the final. Appearances can be deceptive.

The phenomenon of short players in Argentina, Spain, England and Germany has even spread to Italy, where big men have predominated in recent years. This has led to the emergence of players such as Empoli’s Sebastian Giovinco (1.64m) and Torino’s Alessandro Rosina (1.68m), both of whom are Italian U-21 internationals, Frenchman Ludovic Giuly (1.64m) at Roma and Fabrizio Miccoli (1.68m) at Palermo. In France, this season has seen Marseille’s Mathieu Valbuena (1.63m) make the headlines after scoring the only goal in his club’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield.
Italian legend Gianfranco Zola (1.68m) believes the emergence in Italy of quality players who lack height is good for football. “Because we have a lower centre of gravity, we find it easier to find our way out of enclosed spaces and have certain advantages because we are closer to the ball. We can use our creativity to break the tactical deadlock. I am pleased that short players are making an impact because we provide excitement for the supporters,” he says.
Short players such as Brazilian Roberto Carlos (1.69m) have even made their mark as defenders, proving that a lack of height can be compensated for with speed and positional sense.
In the past, football was dominated by great footballers in small sizes such as Brazil’s Garrincha (1.68m) and Vava (1.67m), who won the FIFA World Cup™ in 1958 and 1962, Denmark’s Allan Simonsen (1.67m), who won the Ballon d’Or in 1977, and midfielders Jean Tigana (1.68m) and Alain Giresse (1.63m), members of the great French side of the 1980s.
The best example is perhaps the pocket-sized Portuguese Rui Barros (1.59m), who won the European Cup and Intercontinental Cup with Porto in 1987 before a spell at Juventus. England and Germany are also not immune to the power of short players. Kevin Keegan (1.70m) and Michael Owen (1.73m) are the last two British footballers to win the Ballon d’Or, the former in 1978 and 1979 and the latter in 2001, whereas Germany’s Lothar Matthaus (1.70m) is still the only German to have been voted FIFA World Player following his triumph in 1991.
Pele and Maradona brought pint-sized footballers to power and they have ruled the game ever since.