📍Quintino Bocaiuva, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1953 – 1971“Arthur Antunes Coimbra, known as Zico, was born in Rio de Janeiro in March 1953 and grew up in Quintino Bocaiúva, a lower-middle-class suburb in the city's North Zone, the youngest of six children of José Antunes Coimbra, a Portuguese immigrant from Tondela, and Matilde. The family was football-mad and devoted to Flamengo, and his older brothers, including Antunes and Edu, became professional footballers. The house in Quintino was full of football talk, and the street outside was his first pitch. He was a thin, small boy, but brilliantly skilful, and he played endlessly in the streets and on the futsal courts of the neighbourhood. His family nickname, Zico, came from his cousin's affectionate version of Arthurzinho. At fourteen, a radio reporter, Celso Garcia, saw him score nine goals in a futsal match and asked his father to take him to a trial at Flamengo, and in 1967 he joined the club's youth teams at Gávea. Because he was so slight, Flamengo put him through a special programme of weight training, extra food and vitamins under a physical education teacher, and he grew strong enough to compete. He made his first-team debut in 1971 and became Flamengo's greatest player, winning the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup in 1981. Known as the White Pelé, he starred for Brazil at three World Cups, and later helped build professional football in Japan. A 2018 documentary, Zico, o Samurai de Quintino, told the story of the boy from Quintino who became a legend.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today