Athletico 100 years: Nivaldo Carneiro, the engineer

Wearing the red-black number 10 shirt, the left-handed and cerebral Nivaldo Ram He was my first idol in Furacão. He arrived at the club the year I was born, 1978, alongside midfielder Didi, with whom he had been champion for Grêmio de Maringá the previous year, in what was perhaps the first “ready-made play” signed by the club.

Nivaldo, like Sicupira, also played eight years at Furacão. During this period, he won three titles. In 1982, he scored a beautiful goal from outside the box in a 4-1 victory against Colorado. The following year, he was number 10 in the historic clashes against Flamengo in the Brazilian Championship and in the final Atletibas in Paranaense.

Already a veteran, he was part of the 1985 champion group, the last title of the old Baixada. This season, he is eternally grateful to the club and, in particular, to the then president Valmor Zimmermann. Nivaldo had started studying civil engineering in the interior of São Paulo in the 1970s and that year he had the opportunity to reopen his enrollment and complete the course at PUC (PR).

To do so, he went to speak to “seo Valmor”, saying that he wanted to remain in the group, but as he would not be able to train in the morning to attend classes, he preferred not to receive his salary. The president supported him, released the future engineer for his mornings studying calculus and maintained the payment.

At the end of the year, he scored the controversial goal for “Atletiba das Faixas”, a friendly match that ended in the first half after the confusion created by the rival to challenge the position (legal, it must be said) of number 10. Two players were sent off and the thighs thought the best thing to do was a bandeau to avoid the likely defeat. Nivaldo was one of the greats.