José Leandro Ferreira

Who is José Leandro Ferreira?

Leandro, full name José Leandro de Souza Ferreira, is a former Brazilian footballer. He played for Flamengo during his whole professional career, first as a right-side defender and, from 1983 on, as a central defender. With Flamengo, he won four Brazilian national leagues, five Rio State championships, one Libertadores da América, and one Intercontinental Cup against Liverpool. He also played for the Brazilian national team in the 1980s, including the 1982 FIFA World Cup, along with Zico, Júnior, Falcão, Sócrates, and others. Leandro was capped 27 times for Brazil between September 1981 and May 1986. He was considered one of the best defenders ever in Brazil.

In 1982, he was the star-studded Brazilian team's unsung hero, a secret weapon capable of delivering decisive crosses to the forwards, or indeed taking a pop himself. He also had an ability to dribble past players and probably covered more ground than any other player in the team – he could often be found in the outside right position, yet would get back to defence when needed.

After several knee injuries and some surgeries in 1985, Leandro started to play as a centre back, also achieving much success and being called to the Brazilian national squad to play in this new position.