Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa

Who was Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa?

Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa, better known as Dida, was a Brazilian football player.

Dida is among the greatest players in Flamengo's history such as his idol Zizinho, Domingos da Guia, Leonidas da Silva and Zico. The skillful forward was the first great scorer of Maracanã. His delightful performances at the pitch made him an idol of idols as Zico, Júnior and Carlos Alberto. He led Flamengo to consecutive Carioca championships in 1954 and 1955.

Following his retirement, he remained with Flamengo, working for two decades with the club's youth teams, while staying out of the spotlight and refusing to give interviews.

On September 17, 2002, he died of cancer in a Rio de Janeiro hospital, at the age of 68.

Dida is the 2nd high scorer in Flamengo's history with 244 goals. He was capped six times for his country, including the 1958 World Cup, scoring four goals.