The Doctor who prescribed football with backheels and a touch of rock 'n' roll

He looked more like a rock star than a footballer, with a towering awkward frame, straggly hair - and, of course, the beard.

The 1980s image of Brazil midfielder Socrates is still plastered across retro T-shirts today, a la his hero Che Guevara, and his effect on a generation who fell in love with the Samba Boys is almost as revolutionary.

Tall order: Socrates (right) shakes hands with Argentina skipper Daniel Passarella ahead of their match at the 1982 World Cup finals

The Socrates that was taken to Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein Hospital last week still wore the same hirsute look, with occasional head band, albeit with greyness that comes with age and a premature frailty that resulted from overindulgence in alcohol.

His death at 57 leaves behind a wife - Katia Bagnarelli - six sons, and a legion of those who witnessed the majesty of Spain '82.

There he captained perhaps the most thrilling team to have been denied the World Cup. After Pele's last title in 1970, Brazil spent a decade in decline until they were saved by the delicious midfield quartet of Falcao, Cerezo, Zico and their skipper.

It was the birth of the free-flowing 4-2-2-2 formation that has seen only minor adjustments for the Canarinhas over the last 30 years.

Socrates scored Brazil's first goal of the tournament - and it has become one of the most replayed in World Cup history. 

Trailing to Andriy Bal's opener for the Soviet Union, the No 8 pounced on a poorly cleared corner. Thirty yards from goal, he shimmied past two defenders before launching a long-range effort across the goalkeeper from the edge of the box with 15 minutes to play. 

Eder added a similarly spectacular late winner and a legend was born.

Aided by the back-heels and genius pinpoint passing that became Socrates' trademark, Brazil went on to steamroller Scotland, New Zealand and Argentina before succumbing to a man in the form of his life.

Paolo Rossi scored a hat-trick in Barcelona as Italy won 3-2 to send Brazil home without a trophy, but with the adulation of millions.

By 1986 Socrates, then 32, had lost the captaincy, Brazil had lost some of their magic, and they were knocked out in the quarter-final by France in what was to be Argentina's year.

Socrates would later say: 'Titles are ephemeral. What matters in football is the passion, regardless of conquests.'

The cerebral son of Belem do Para often sounded more like his ancient Greek namesake than a humble footballer. And away from the game he was a qualified doctor and also a campaigner who named his youngest son Fidel after Cuba's revolutionary president.

The start of career was punctuated by his insistence of practising as a medical student while playing in the Botafogo first team. The unusual career path gave him the nickname O Doutor - The Doctor.
In 1978 he moved from Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo to join Corinthians, the club with which he became most associated. 

Aside from winning the Paulista title three times and earning the South American Footballer of the Year award with them, he also fought for players' rights off the pitch, winning freedoms and a say in club policy that was in contrast to the democracy denied to the wider Brazilian public.

Cool customers: Socrates with Zico relaxing in Mexico at the 1986 World Cup

Brandishing banners and wearing pro-democracy slogans on football shirts was one thing, but Socrates widened his fight in 1984 by joining the Diretas Já campaign, which demanded the direct election of presidents at a time when the country was under an authoritarian military regime.

An unhappy 18 months at Fiorentina in the mid-Eighties was his only spell outside of Brazilian club football until he briefly came out of retirement seven years ago to play for 12 minutes for Garforth Town in the eighth-tier Northern Counties East League.

In recent years he had written on many subjects, as well as turning his hand to colourful football punditry, and was working on a novel inspired by the 2014 World Cup being awarded to his homeland.

When signing up to analyse the Copa America for the Associated Press this year he insisted his musings would not be confined only to football. 

'It's not just about the game itself,' he said. 'Before anything, football is a psychological battle - the human aspect plays a significant role.'

Legend: Socrates (left) in his pomp and pulling pints on his famous trip to Garforth in 2004

Yet his medical background did not stop him indulging in vices. He was known as a heavy drinker and smoker, despite insisting less than a fortnight ago that alcohol was his friend rather than an addiction, and that he had been on the wagon for five months.

Socrates' decline was apparent in August when he was taken to hospital with a haemorrhage caused by high pressure in the vein that carries blood from the digestive system to the liver.

A recurrence of the same problem saw him spend another 17 days in hospital in September and he was in line for a liver transplant. 

Last Thursday he was to be admitted to the intensive care unit for the final time, after falling ill during dinner.

The man with 60 caps and 22 international goals died at dawn on the final day of the Brazilian league season, with his beloved Corinthians needing to beat Sao Paulo rivals Palmeiras to be crowned champions. 

The game - as all across the home of flamboyant football - will be preceded by a minute's silence in memory of one Brazil's most gifted sons. 

The Doctor. Golden Heel. The Big Thin One. 

Quite simply, Socrates.

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