José Carlos Bauer

Who was José Carlos Bauer?

José Carlos Bauer, commonly known as "Bauer", was a former Brazilian football player and manager. Born in São Paulo, he was the son of a Swiss man and an Afro-Brazilian woman. He was normally a defensive midfielder, Bauer was one of the finest Brazilian midfielders of his generation.

In career he played for São Paulo and Botafogo. He won six São Paulo State Championship.

For Brazil national football team he played 29 matches, won Copa América 1949 and participated at two FIFA World Cup finals, in 1950 and 1954. His last match in this tournament is famous Battle of Berne.

After he retired he managed Ferroviária de Araraquara. Curiously, in a trip of Ferroviária in Mozambique, Bauer saw a young Eusébio. Very impressed with him, Bauer indicated Eusébio to São Paulo, which denied him. Then, he talked with his former coach in São Paulo, Béla Guttmann, about Eusébio. Guttmann, who was coaching Benfica at the time, brought him to the Estádio da Luz.

He died on February 4, 2007, in São Paulo.