Cláudio Adalberto Adão, or simply Cláudio Adão (born in Volta Redonda

Volta Redonda

Volta Redonda is the name of a city in the Rio de Janeiro state of Brazil with 182.81 km² of area, located from 350m to 707m from the sea level and with a population of 259,811 inhabitants . The area around the city has nearly 700,000...

, RJ

Rio de Janeiro (state)

Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...

, July 2, 1955), is a former Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 player. A gifted forward

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

, Adão was the top-scorer of almost every championship he's played.

His first professional club was Santos FC

Santos Futebol Clube

Santos Futebol Clube is a Brazilian professional football club based in Santos, São Paulo They play in the Campeonato Paulista and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the highest professional leagues in São Paulo state and Brazil, respectively....

, where he arrived in 1972. When Pelé

Pelé

However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...

 left Santos in 1974, the club predicted a brilliant future ahead for Adão as Pelé's natural replacement. But they couldn't predict Adão would suffer a serious injury that would leave him off of the pitch for several months.

Physicians believed Adão's career to be prematurely ended when Flamengo

Clube de Regatas do Flamengo

Clube de Regatas do Flamengo , also known as Flamengo and familiarly as Mengão, is a Brazilian sports club based in the Flamengo bairro, Zona Sul, Rio de Janeiro, best known for its professional football team...

's coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

, Cláudio Coutinho

Cláudio Coutinho

Cláudio Pêcego de Moraes Coutinho was a Brazilian football manager that coached Brazil from 1977 to 1980 and Los Angeles Aztecs in 1981...

 (who was himself a physical fitness

Physical fitness

Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...

 expert) asked his club to sign Adão.

Santos let Adão go and, at Flamengo, he underwent intensive physical therapy

Physical therapy

Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...

. The results were fantastic and Adão quickly became an idol. Not only at Flamengo, but in every other club he has played for until he retired, hundreds of goals later, at almost 40 years old.

In Brazil, Adão played for Botafogo

Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas

Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas , also known as Botafogo and familiarly as Estrela Solitária, is a Brazilian sports club based in Botafogo, neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, best known for its football team. They play in the Campeonato Carioca, Rio de Janeiro's state league, and the Campeonato...

, Vasco, Fluminense

Fluminense Football Club

Fluminense Football Club is a sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in the beginning of the 20th century as a single-sport institution, Fluminense is today an umbrella organization for several teams in more than 16 different sport activities. The most popular endeavor of Fluminense,...

, Portuguesa-SP

Associação Portuguesa de Desportos

Associação Portuguesa de Desportos, usually called Portuguesa or Lusa, is a sports club, and a Brazilian football team from São Paulo in São Paulo state, founded on August 14, 1920 by the Portuguese population of the city.-History:...

, Corinthians

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, commonly just known as Corinthians , is a Brazilian football club based in the city of São Paulo. They play in the São Paulo state league, as well as the Brasileirão, Brazil's top national league...

, Bangu

Bangu Atlético Clube

Bangu Atlético Clube, or Bangu as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Bangu, Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro, founded on April 17, 1904...

, EC Bahia

Esporte Clube Bahia

Esporte Clube Bahia , known familiarly as Bahiaço, is a Brazilian professional football club, based in Salvador, Bahia. They play in the Campeonato Baiano, Bahia's state league, and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Brazil's national league. Bahia was a founding member of the Clube dos 13 group...

, Cruzeiro

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube is a Brazilian football team, from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Internacional. Founded on January 2, 1921, they are only one of three clubs to have participated in...

, Portuguesa-RJ

Associação Atlética Portuguesa (RJ)

Associação Atlética Portuguesa, or Portuguesa as they are usually called, is a traditional Brazilian football team from Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro, founded on December 17, 1924.-History:...

, Campo Grande-RJ

Campo Grande Atlético Clube

Campo Grande Atlético Clube, or Campo Grande as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Campo Grande neighborhood, Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro, founded on June 13, 1940.-History:...

, Ceará SC

Ceará Sporting Club

Ceará Sporting Club, or Ceará as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Fortaleza in Ceará, founded on June 2, 1914....

, Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz Futebol Clube

Santa Cruz Futebol Clube, or simply Santa Cruz is a Brazilian football club in Recife, Pernambuco.-Early history:On February 3, 1914, eleven young men aging from 14 to 16 years founded a football society...

, Volta Redonda FC

Volta Redonda Futebol Clube

Volta Redonda Futebol Clube, Volta Redonda or simply by its nickname Voltaço, as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Volta Redonda in Rio de Janeiro, founded on February 9, 1976....

, Rio Branco-RJ and Desportiva-ES

Desportiva Capixaba

Desportiva Ferroviária, usually known simply as Desportiva is a traditional Brazilian football club from Cariacica, Espírito Santo state.-History:...

.

His international career included FK Austria Wien

FK Austria Wien

Fußballklub Austria Wien is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. They are considered the most successful club in Austria, having won the highest Austrian Bundesliga 23 times, the Austrian Cup 27 times and the Austrian Supercup 6 times. They also reached the UEFA...

, Al Ain FC

Al Ain FC

Al-Ain Sports and Cultural Club is a professional association football and mult-sports club based in the city of Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates. The football section of Al Ain won the 2003 AFC Champions League competition with a 2-1 aggregate victory over BEC Tero Sasana of Thailand.Al Ain...

, Benfica

SL Benfica

Sport Lisboa e Benfica , commonly known as simply Benfica or occasionally as Benfica Lisbon, is a Portuguese multi-sports club based in Lisbon. Although they successfully compete in a number of different sports, Benfica is mostly known for its association football team...

 and Sport Boys

Sport Boys

Sport Boys Association is a Peruvian football club, playing in the port city of Callao. It was founded on Peru's independence day, July 28, 1927....

.

Adão further represented Brazil in the 1989

II Mundialito de Seniors

II Mundialito de Seniors was the second World Cup of Masters. This was an unsanctioned tournament, and players were not recognised with international caps. It was held, again, in January 1989 in Brazil...

 edition of the World Cup of Masters

World Cup of Masters

The World Cup of Masters, also known as the Pelé World Cup and Mundialito de Seniors was an event that ran every two years from 1987 until 1995. The tournament was for senior players. In 1990 the term "seniors" was replaced by "masters". The editions until 1991 were organized by Brazilian TV...

, scoring a hat trick in the final against Uruguay.

After retirement, he managed several clubs, CSA

Centro Sportivo Alagoano

Centro Sportivo Alagoano, is a Brazilian football team from Maceió in Alagoas, founded on September 7, 1913. It is the biggest club in the state of Alagoas, and the largest fan base....

, Ceará

Ceará Sporting Club

Ceará Sporting Club, or Ceará as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Fortaleza in Ceará, founded on June 2, 1914....

, Rio Branco-ES

Rio Branco Atlético Clube

Rio Branco Atlético Clube, usually known simply as Rio Branco, is a Brazilian football club based in the city of Cariacica in the Espírito Santo state of Brazil.-History:...

, and Volta Redonda FC

Volta Redonda Futebol Clube

Volta Redonda Futebol Clube, Volta Redonda or simply by its nickname Voltaço, as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Volta Redonda in Rio de Janeiro, founded on February 9, 1976....

, his current club. As Rio Branco-ES manager, he won the 2001 Campeonato Capixaba

Campeonato Capixaba

The Campeonato Capixaba is the football league of the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo.-History:From 1917 to 1929, it was disputed the Campeonato da Cidade de Vitória , a competition contested only by Vitória city clubs...

.