Athletico 100 years: Adilson Batista, Pezão

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Supporter players are rare in the professional era of Brazilian football. Athletico has its own and among them, Adilson Batista, Pezão, is one of the biggest. In addition to being a champion player revealed at the base, he was a coach and is currently present in the Baixada stands, the upper sector of the Brasílio Itiberê sector, always wearing his retro shirt replica of the 1968 uniform.

Coming from Adrianópolis, Adilson arrived at Furacão in 1986 to try out for the youth team that was still training at PAVOC. His technique impressed coach Amilton Nofke, and he stayed. He came to be a midfielder, but became a defender (a red-and-black tradition) at the hands of Levir Culpi, who launched him, alongside a generation of good homegrown silverbacks, to win the 1987 Home Tournament. At this time, Adilson He began to be called up to the Brazilian youth teams and gained space in the main team.

The following year, he won the tournament again and was one of the pillars of the team led by Nelsinho Batista that became champion of Paraná over Pinheiros. In the final game, Adilson played heroically with a broken nose after being elbowed by his opponent, which he hit with a hat. Technical, tough and leader, Adilson scored goals and shone in that year’s national championship. To the point that, at the end of the season, he was traded to Cruzeiro, where he continued his successful career.

In 2011, he was coach of his favorite team, but the campaign was not good. Adilson resigned at the end of June, in an attempt to avoid relegation, which was completed at the end of the Brasileirão. At the time, he apologized to the fans, a request that was duly accepted, as Adilson Pezão, in addition to being a great player, is “our people”.