FORMER Brazil great Socrates, the clever playmaker who captained Brazil at the 1982 World Cup, died yesterday. He was 57.

    Known for his elegant style on the field and his deep involvement with Brazilian politics, Socrates died of septic shock resulting from an intestinal infection, according to a statement by the Albert Einstein hospital.

    He had been rushed to the hospital Saturday and had been in critical condition in an intensive care unit, breathing with the help of a ventilator.

    Socrates was above average both on and off the field. He became a doctor after retiring from soccer and later became a popular TV commentator and columnist, always with unique and controversial opinions.

    With Brazilian club Corinthians, Socrates spearheaded a movement called the Corinthians Democracy, in which players protested against the long periods of confinement required by the club before matches. It quickly became a broader protest that coincided with Brazil’s fight to overturn a military regime in the 1980s.

    Socrates starred for Corinthians in the early 1980s, but he also played for Flamengo, Santos and Italy’s Fiorentina.

    He captained Brazil in the 1982 World Cup in Spain and was a member of the squad in 1986 in Mexico.

    (SD-Agencies)