Ademir de Menezes

Ademir Marques de Menezes (8 November 1921 – 11 May 1996), best known as Ademir de Menezes (Portuguese pronunciation: [adeˈmiʁ]), was a Brazilian footballer, regarded as one of the best forwards in football history. His prominent underbite earned him the nickname “Queixada”, which means “jaw”. He was also the top goalscorer in the 1950 FIFA World Cup.

He is best known for his exploits in the 1950 World Cup held in his native Brazil. Playing in an outstanding forward trio involving Zizinho and Jair he won the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the competition with 9 goals, and he also helped the team with 6 assists in the tournament. He was the scorer of the first competitive goal at the Maracanã stadium. Despite this feat, he could not bring victory to Brazil in the decisive match against Uruguay – a national tragedy which was later dubbed the Maracanazo.

Ademir also enjoyed success in the Copa América. He played in the 1945, 1946, 1949, and 1953 editions of the tournament, with 13 goals and 3 assists in 18 appearances in the competition, including a tournament-winning hat-trick in the final play-off against Paraguay in 1949. He also won the Panamerican Championship with Brazil in 1952 scoring two goals on the title match against Chile. In total, Ademir played 39 times for his country, scoring 32 goals (according to RSSSF) between 1945 and 1953.