Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 19, 2026

Careca

Antônio de Oliveira Filho, better known as Careca, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

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Careca
Careca in 2008
Personal information
Full name Antônio de Oliveira Filho
Date of birth (1960-10-05) 5 October 1960
Place of birth Araraquara, Brazil
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1978–1982 Guarani 77 (46)
1983–1987 São Paulo 67 (54)
1987–1993 Napoli 164 (73)
1993–1996 Kashiwa Reysol 60 (31)
1997 Santos 9 (2)
1998 Campinas 10 (6)
1999 São José (RS) 2 (0)
Total 389 (212)
International career
1982–1993 Brazil 64 (30)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Antônio de Oliveira Filho (born 5 October 1960), better known as Careca (Portuguese pronunciation: [kaˈɾɛkɐ]), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

During his career, Careca played for several clubs, most notably with Brazilian side São Paulo. He was also capped over 60 times for the Brazil national team.

Club career

Careca began his footballing career in his home state of São Paulo with local side Guarani in 1978. With his finishing ability and devastating pace quickly established himself as one of his country's best young strikers. With Guarani, he won the Brazilian Championship during his first season and the Brazilian Second Division in 1981.

By 1983, he had been signed by São Paulo, he continued to gather notoriety because of his impressive goals to games ratio and by 1986, Careca led São Paulo to the Brazilian Championship, beating his former club Guarani in the final. He was awarded Bola de Ouro the same year, which is the Brazilian equivalent of Footballer of the Year.

Move to Napoli

In the summer of 1987, Careca moved to Italian Serie A champions Napoli, where he was part of the "Ma-Gi-Ca" forward lineup with Bruno Giordano and Diego Maradona.1 Careca's first season at Napoli was an unsuccessful one, despite his 13 goals: the team were knocked out in the first round of the European Cup by Real Madrid and they lost the title in the final games of the season.

However, his second season was far more successful. The team won the UEFA Cup, with Careca scoring a goal in each leg of the final, one a memorable lobbed goal, and finished second in Serie A, also reaching the Coppa Italia final that season. In 1990, Careca finally won the Scudetto with Napoli, following the success up with the first ever Supercoppa Italiana later that year. Careca spent a further three years with Napoli, establishing a partnership with Gianfranco Zola, during which Napoli failed to win any silverware.

Later stages of playing career

In 1993, Careca left Italy to play for a new Japanese J.League team Kashiwa Reysol. Careca spent three years with the team, during which time he helped them to promotion to the J1 league in 1994. He returned to Brazil in 1997, where he played Santos for one seasons, and for Cambinas for one season, before joining the lower-league team São José (RS) where he finished his career in 1999.

Careca retired having played 64 games for Brazil, and scoring 30 goals.

Garforth Town owner and manager, Simon Clifford, persuaded Careca to play the majority of a friendly game against Guiseley in the summer of 2005.2

Footballing name

The word careca is Portuguese for 'bald'. It was a nickname given to Careca as a child because of his admiration for a famous Brazilian clown of the same name.

Other Carecas

Two contemporaries of Careca, who like him played for the Brazil national football team, were also called Careca and are thus sometimes confused with him: Careca II and Careca Bianchezi.

International career

Careca first broke into the national side of Brazil during 1982, but was forced to miss the 1982 World Cup in Spain due to a thigh injury suffered in practice three days before Brazil's debut in that tournament. His place in the squad for that tournament was taken by Roberto Dinamite. He was also part of the Brazilian squad that came in second in the 1983 Copa América.

It was during the 1986 World Cup, in Mexico, that Careca really established himself in world football. He ended the tournament, during which Brazil were memorably eliminated on penalties by France at the quarter-final stage, with five goals, which placed him second in the Golden Boot rankings behind England's Gary Lineker. In 1990, Careca was part of the Brazilian team that was defeated by Argentina in the second round. He scored two goals in the tournament. His last cap was earned in August 1993.

Style of play

Careca is regarded as one of the greatest strikers in the history of Brazilian football.3 He was a prolific, fast, opportunistic, and powerful striker, with excellent technique and great striking ability. Despite being right-footed, he was also capable of scoring with his left foot, and he was known for his ability to score goals off-balance from angled shots even when running with the ball. Careca was also good in the air, and he had an excellent positional sense, which along with his intelligence, sense of space, and attacking movement, made him known for frequently being in the right position at the right time in the penalty area. Although he was usually deployed as a striker, he was also capable of playing in deeper positions, as a creative forward, due to his ability to play off of his teammates and provide them with assists, as well as his tendency to make attacking runs starting from outside the area in order to create space for other players.45678 After scoring a goal, Careca often celebrated by mimicking an aeroplane's wings with his arms outstretched.9

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League State leaguea National cupb Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Guarani 197810 Série A 28 13 21 12 — — 49 25
19791011 1 0 49 16 7c 0 — 57 16
198010 17 7 38 16 — — 55 23
198110 14 8 34 13 — — 48 21
198210 17 18 28 11 — — 45 29
Total 77 46 170 68 7 0 — 254 114
São Paulo 198310 Série A 20 17 33 15 — — 53 32
198410 37 14 — — 37 14
198510 17 12 31 23 — — 48 35
198610 30 25 13 7 — — 43 32
19871011 2c 1 — 2 1
Total 67 54 114 59 2 1 — 183 114
Napoli 1987–881011 Serie A 26 13 — 7 5 1d 0 — 34 18
1988–891011 30 19 — 10 2 12e 6 — 52 27
1989–901011 22 10 — 1 0 6e 2 — 29 12
1990–911011 29 9 — 6 1 2d 0 1f 2 38 12
1991–921011 33 15 — 4 2 — — 37 17
1992–931011 24 7 — 3 3 — — 27 10
Total 164 73 — 31 13 21 8 1 2 217 96
Kashiwa Reysol 199310 Football League — 6 4 — — 6 4
199410 25 19 — 1 1 — — 26 20
19951011 J1 League 30 10 — — — 30 10
19961011 5 2 — 6 3 — — 11 5
Total 60 31 — 13 8 — — 73 39
Santos 199710 Série A
Career total 368 204 284 127 44 21 30 9 1 2 727 363
  1. Inludes Campeonato Paulista
  2. Includes Coppa Italia, Emperor's Cup
  3. Appearances in Copa Libertadores
  4. Appearances in European Cup
  5. Appearances in UEFA Cup
  6. Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year10
National team Year Apps Goals
Brazil 1982 4 0
1983 11 5
1984 0 0
1985 7 3
1986 11 8
1987 4 2
1988 0 0
1989 6 6
1990 7 3
1991 1 0
1992 2 0
1993 7 2
Total 60 29
Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Careca goal.
List of international goals scored by Careca
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 28 April 1983 Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  Chile – 3–2 Friendly 12
2 8 June 1983 Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal  Portugal 1–0 4–0 Friendly 13
3 3–0
4 17 June 1983 St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland   Switzerland 2–1 2–1 Friendly 14
5 22 June 1983 Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden  Sweden 2–2 3–3 Friendly 15
6 2 May 1985 Estádio do Arruda, Recife, Brazil  Uruguay – 2–0 Friendly 16
7 5 May 1985 Estádio Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil  Argentina 1–0 2–1 Friendly 17
8 30 June 1985 Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil  Bolivia – 1–1 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification 18
9 1 April 1986 Castelão, São Luís, Brazil  Peru 4–0 4–0 Friendly 19
10 8 April 1986 Estádio Serra Dourada, Goiânia, Brazil  East Germany 3–0 3–0 Friendly 20
11 30 April 1986 Estádio do Arruda, Recife, Brazil  Yugoslavia 4–2 4–2 Friendly 21
12 6 June 1986 Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico  Algeria 1–0 1–0 1986 FIFA World Cup 22
13 12 June 1986 Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico  Northern Ireland 1–0 3–0 1986 FIFA World Cup 23
14 3–0
15 16 June 1986 Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico  Poland 4–0 4–0 1986 FIFA World Cup 24
16 21 June 1986 Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico  France 1–0 1–1 1986 FIFA World Cup 25
17 21 June 1987 Estádio da Ressacada, Florianópolis, Brazil  Ecuador – 4–1 Friendly 26
18 28 June 1987 Estadio Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina  Venezuela 3–0 5–0 1987 Copa América 27
19 20 August 1989 Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil  Venezuela 1–0 6–0 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification 28
20 2–0
21 5–0
22 6–0
23 3 September 1989 Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  Chile – 2–0 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification 29
24 20 December 1989 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands  Netherlands 1–0 1–0 Friendly 30
25 13 May 1990 Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  East Germany 2–1 3–3 Friendly 31
26 10 June 1990 Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy  Sweden 1–0 2–1 1990 FIFA World Cup 32
27 2–0
28 6 June 1993 Yale Bowl, New Haven, United States  United States 1–0 2–0 1993 U.S. Cup 33
29 10 June 1993 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, United States  Germany 2–0 3–3 1993 U.S. Cup 34

Honours

Guarani

São Paulo

Napoli35

Individual

References

References

  1. Richardson, James (3 April 2007). "Serie A's comeback kid eyes another miracle". The Guardian. UK.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  2. "Careca drives fans nuts". Northern Counties East Football League. 31 July 2005. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  3. "Shooting from the hip – Careca joins Brazil's coaching staff". Goal.com. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  4. "Careca" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  5. "ANTONIO FILHO DE OLIVEIRA 'CARECA'". Pianeta Azzurro (in Italian). Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  6. "CARECA (Antonio de Oliveira Filho)". Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport (in Italian). 2002. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  7. Marco Caiazzo (5 December 2015). "Careca vede un solo avversario: "Napoli stai attento alla Juve"" [Careca sees only one opponent: "Napoli beware of Juve"]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  8. "Careca: The Napoli striker who was better than Neymar". La Gazzetta dello Sport. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  9. Paul Doyle (27 October 2009). "Carling Cup: Barnsley v Manchester United – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  10. Careca at National-Football-Teams.com
  11. "Careca » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  12. "Brazil v Chile, 28 April 1983". 11v11. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  13. "Portugal v Brazil, 08 June 1983". 11v11. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  14. "Switzerland v Brazil, 17 June 1983". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  15. "Sweden v Brazil, 22 June 1983". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  16. "Brazil v Uruguay, 02 May 1985". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  17. "Brazil v Argentina, 05 May 1985". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  18. "Brazil v Bolivia, 30 June 1985". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  19. "Brazil v Peru, 01 April 1986". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  20. "Brazil v East Germany, 08 April 1986". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  21. "Brazil v Yugoslavia, 30 April 1986". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  22. "Brazil vs. Algeria". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  23. "Northern Ireland vs. Brazil". 11v11. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  24. "Brazil vs. Poland". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  25. "Brazil vs. France". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  26. "Brazil vs. Ecaudor". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  27. "Brazil vs. Venezuela". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  28. "Brazil vs. Venezuela". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  29. "Brazil vs. Chile". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  30. "Netherlands vs. Brazil". Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  31. "Brazil vs. East Germany". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  32. "Brazil vs. Sweden". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  33. "USA vs. Brazil". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  34. "Brazil vs. Germany". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  35. "Careca". Eurosport. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  36. "South American Team of the Year". RSSSF. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
External links