Paulo Roberto Falcão

Paulo Roberto Falcão (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpawlu ʁoˈbɛʁtu fawˈkɐ̃w]; born 16 October 1953), usually known as simply Falcão, is a Brazilian former footballer and football manager. He is universally considered one of the greatest Brazilian players of all time and one of the greatest midfielders in football history, and one of the best players in the world in his position at his peak in the 1980s.

Falcão is widely considered one of the best players in Internacional and Roma history, playing also for São Paulo. At one stage, he was the world's highest paid footballer.

Due to his success and performances with Roma, Falcão earned the nickname "the eighth King of Rome" from the fans, like Amedeo Amadei before him, and was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in 2013.

For the Brazil national team, Falcão was capped 34 times between February 1976 and June 1986. He appeared at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, playing in midfield alongside Zico, Sócrates and Éder, considered one of the greatest Brazilian national teams ever. He was named by Pelé one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards ceremony in 2004. Colombian forward Radamel Falcao's father was a footballer and football fan and named him after Falcão.

Falcão began his professional career at Internacional of Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul, where he played from 1972 to 1980, winning three Brazilian National Championships (1975, 1976, 1979) and reaching the finals of the 1980 Copa Libertadores, eventually losing to Nacional. During his time at Internacional, he was surprisingly left out of the Brazil squad for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, though he made the shortlisted pre-tournament 40.

Falcão won Golden Ball magazine's Placar twice as the best player in the Brazilian championships of 1978 and 1979. In 1979, Falcão achieved the highest score in the history of the Golden Ball.

In 1980, Falcão transferred to Serie A club Roma for £650,000. In his first season in Italy (1980–81), he was able to master the language and had his mother and sister living with him to help settle him in. He played well, scoring three goals in his 25 games as Roma finished second in Serie A to Juventus. This was a controversial championship, as Roma had a goal ruled out for an unclear offside against Juventus during a defining draw in Turin. Consolation came with a Coppa Italia win for Roma, beating Turin in the final on penalties – Falcão himself scored the decisive spot kick.

Although Roma slipped to third in his second season (1981–82), personally for Falcão it was better than the first, with six goals in 24 games, becoming one of the foreign stars in Serie A. At the end of this season, he was called up for the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain.

After the World Cup, Falcão inspired Roma to win their second league title ever during the 1982–83 season, scoring seven times in 27 games, and creating numerous others. Although Juventus's Michel Platini finished as top scorer in the league, and despite Juventus beating Roma in both league games, he was acknowledged as the star man in Serie A that season, also performing well as Roma reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. At the end of this season, Falcão had earned the nickname "the eighth King of Rome".

In 1983–84, Juventus won the title from Roma, who finished second, but it was only won on the final day of the season. Falcão scored five goals in his 27 games. Roma's main goal that season, however, was the European Cup, especially as the final was to be played at Roma's own Olympic Stadium. He played every game, as Roma swept past IFK Gothenburg, CSKA Sofia and Dynamo Berlin to reach the semi-finals against Dundee United.

In a previous Serie A game, Falcão injured his knee, so he missed the first leg of the semi-final, as Roma lost 2–0 in Dundee. He returned for the second leg as Roma won 3–0 to reach the final, but again injured his knee in the process. He was fit enough for the final against Liverpool, but played poorly as Roma were eventually defeated on penalties after a 1–1 draw, with Falcão declining to even take a spot kick. This was a marked turning point in his relationship with the club, and the beginning of the end of his time in Rome. Roma again won the Coppa Italia, but despite nearly winning the treble, the mood around the city was not a happy one.

Falcão then signed a contract with São Paulo.

While playing for São Paulo, Falcão won two titles. The first was a Campeonato Paulista in 1985 beating Portuguesa in the final with an aggregate score of 5–2, and the second one a Taça dos Campeões Estaduais Rio – São Paulo, also in 1985, where he scored his one and only goal for the club in the second leg against Fluminense.

Falcão retired from professional football after the 1986 World Cup. He is one of eleven members to have been inducted into the Roma Hall of Fame.

Falcão made 34 appearances for the Brazil national team between 1976 and 1986, scoring six goals. He was a member of the side that finished third at the 1979 Copa América, scoring his only goal of the tournament in the second leg of the semi-finals, a 2–2 draw against eventual champions Paraguay, although the latter nation advanced to the final 4–3 on aggregate. He was surprisingly left out of Brazil's 1978 World Cup squad, despite being included on the 40–player shortlist before the tournament. This happened because, influenced by national teammate Emerson Leão (who claimed to have done the same with Zagallo four years earlier), Falcão unsuccessfully demanded from manager Cláudio Coutinho a definition about his situation in the team.

Falcão was a key part of Brazil's celebrated 1982 World Cup team, playing along with Toninho Cerezo, Zico, Éder and Socrates in a 4–2–2–2 formation. The team is widely regarded as one of the best teams not to win the World Cup. Initially expected to serve as a substitute during the tournament, Falcão entered the starting lineup after Cerezo's suspension, winning 2—1 against the Soviet Union. Falcão went on to start in each match of the tournament and scored the fourth goal in the match against Scotland that ended 4–1 to the Brazilians, plus another goal in the decisive 4–0 win over New Zealand.

In the second phase of the World Cup, in the so-called "Group of Death," Brazil obtained a 3–1 win against the reigning World Champions and rivals Argentina, meaning that the Brazilians needed only a draw in their next game against Italy to advance to the semi-finals. However, Brazil were beaten by a Paolo Rossi hat trick as Italy won 3–2, advancing in their place. Falcão scored Brazil's second equaliser with a long-range strike that deflected off Italian defender Giuseppe Bergomi. The defeat and resulting elimination affected Falcão and several of his teammates heavily; after the match, he was said to be so distressed that he wanted to give up football. Nevertheless, Falcão was elected as the tournament's second best player, winning the Silver Ball.

Although his form had declined after an injury requiring surgery in 1985, Falcão was called up for the Brazil 1986 World Cup squad. During the World Cup in Mexico, Falcão played in two games, coming on as substitute against both Spain and Algeria. After Brazil's elimination in the quarterfinals, Falcão retired from football.

From 1990 to 1991, Falcão was the manager of the Brazil national team, leading the team to a second place finish at the 1991 Copa América, behind rivals Argentina. His second and longest coaching experience was with América from 1991 to 1993. He also coached Internacional in 1993. After a brief hiatus, in 1994, he was appointed manager of the Japan national team. In April 2011, after 16 years without managing a club, he was signed by Internacional, replacing Celso Roth. Following three consecutive defeats in the Brazilian league, he was sacked in July.

In February 2012, Falcão returned into management, signing an eleven-month deal as head coach of Bahia. He only returned to coaching duties in September 2015, being appointed manager at Sport.

Falcão returned to Internacional in July 2016, but was sacked after three losses and two draws, only one month later. On 17 November 2022, he joined Santos as a sporting coordinator.

On 4 August 2023, Falcão left his role at Santos.

An elegant and technically gifted player, with an eye for goal from midfield, and an ability to orchestrate his team's attacking moves, Falcão usually functioned in a holding role as a deep-lying playmaker (regista), although he was capable of aiding his team defensively, as well as creatively and offensively, due to his physique, work-rate, and tenacity. He was known in particular for his flair, control, vision, passing and long-range shooting ability, as well as his tactical intelligence, organisational ability and leadership. His role has also been likened to that of a metodista ("centre-half," in Italian football jargon), due to his ability to dictate play in midfield as well as assist his team defensively.

Falcão was born in Abelardo Luz, in the Southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. His father is Portuguese-Brazilian and his mother Azize has Italian origins, from Calabria.

In 1993, Falcão married attorney Rosane Leal Damazio, with whom he had a son, Paulo Roberto Falcão Filho, born on July 21, 1993. Since 2003, Falcão has been married to the journalist Cristina Ranzolin, with whom he has a daughter, the actress Antônia Ranzolin Falcão, born in the following year (2004).

In 1998, Falcão co-founded the Instituto da Criança com Diabetes do Rio Grande do Sul (ICDRS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. He has remained involved with the institution since its foundation and serves as President of its Board of Administration. In April 2026, Falcão participated in a retrospective videocast marking nearly three decades of the institute's work and discussing the importance of diabetes treatment and public awareness.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Falcão joined Zico, Júnior, Cerezo, Careca and other former Brazil internationals in a fundraising campaign supporting favela communities through the Central Única das Favelas (CUFA).

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1975, 1976, 1979

Campeonato Gaúcho: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978

Taça dos Campeões Estaduais Rio – São Paulo: 1985

Bronze ball South American Player of the Year: 1979

Silver ball South American Player of the Year: 1982