César Sampaio

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Sampaio and the second or paternal family name is Campos.

Carlos César Sampaio Campos (born 31 March 1968), known as César Sampaio, is a Brazilian football pundit, coach and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is the current assistant coach of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Santos.

César Sampaio

Sampaio in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Carlos César Sampaio Campos
Date of birth	(1968-03-31) 31 March 1968 (age 56)
Place of birth	São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Santos (assistant)
Youth career
1983–1986	Santos
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1986–1991	Santos	229	(6)
1991–1994	Palmeiras	161	(17)
1995–1998	Yokohama Flügels	116	(13)
1999–2000	Palmeiras	34	(4)
2000–2001	Deportivo La Coruña	10	(0)
2001	Corinthians	9	(0)
2002	Kashiwa Reysol	26	(3)
2003–2004	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	55	(5)
2004	São Paulo	25	(1)
Total		665	(49)
International career
1987	Brazil U20	5	(0)
1990–2000	Brazil	47	(6)
Managerial career
2020–2022	Brazil (assistant)
2023–2024	Flamengo (assistant)
2025–	Santos (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Born and raised in Jabaquara, a district of São Paulo, César Sampaio was spotted by Lima and invited to join the youth sides of Santos in 1983.^[1] He made his first team debut in 1986, and subsequently established himself as a regular starter.

In July 1991, César Sampaio moved to Palmeiras for a fee of US$ 450,000, with Ranielli and Serginho Fraldinha moving in the opposite direction.^[2] An undisputed starter, he won several titles at the club.

In 1995, César Sampaio moved abroad and joined J1 League side Yokohama Flügels. In January 1999, after being close to a move to Vasco da Gama, he returned to Palmeiras,^[3] being team captain during the club's 1999 Copa Libertadores title.

In July 2000, César Sampaio joined La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruña.^[4] Rarely used and struggling with injuries, he returned to Brazil in October 2001, after being presented at Corinthians.^[5]

César Sampaio departed Timão on 7 December 2001,^[6] and returned to Japan six days later after signing for Kashiwa Reysol.^[7] He later represented Sanfrecce Hiroshima and São Paulo FC, retiring with the latter in December 2004, aged 36.^[8]

International career

César Sampaio joined the Brazil national football team during the Copa América in 1993, also took part at the 1995 edition of the tournament (where they finished as runners-up), but was not part of the team during the FIFA World Cup finals in neither 1990 nor 1994.

He was later also part of the Brazilian squad that won both the Copa América and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1997, and played for Brazil at the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals, where he made six appearances in the team's run to the final, which they lost to the hosts of the tournament, France.^[9] At the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals, he became remembered for scoring the first goal of the entire tournament in the 4th minute of Brazil's opening match against Scotland, a header from a corner by Bebeto on the left.^[10] He also scored a brace in Brazil's 4–1 victory against Chile in the round of 16 during the same tournament.^[11]

Sampaio is also remembered for helping Ronaldo when he suffered a convulsive fit in the night before the 1998 FIFA World Cup final.^[12]

Style of play

Sampaio has been described by FIFA.com as a "modern defensive midfielder who combined being an enforcer with playmaking from deep," and as a player who filled the void left by Dunga as the anchor in Brazil's midfield following his retirement after the 1998 World Cup, by dominating "the engine room." He is considered to be one of Palmeiras's greatest players ever.^[13][14]

Post-playing career

After retiring, César Sampaio worked as a director of football of Pelotas,^[15] Rio Claro and Mogi Mirim.^[16][17] On 4 November 2011, he returned to Palmeiras under the same role,^[18] departing on 21 January 2013, after the club's relegation.^[19]

César Sampaio was named the director of football of Fortaleza on 23 November 2016,^[20] but left his role on 3 March of the following year.^[21] In January 2015, he became the president of Comercial do Tietê.

On 22 December 2019, César Sampaio left Comercial to join Tite's staff at the Brazil national team, as his assistant.^[22] He was a part of the coaching staff during the 2022 FIFA World Cup,^[23][24] leaving with Tite in late 2022.

In October 2023, César Sampaio moved to Flamengo, again as Tite's assistant;^[25] the duo left nearly one month later. On 4 January 2025, he returned to his first club Santos, as permanent assistant coach.^[26]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			State league[a]		National cup[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Santos	1986	Série A	10	0	22	0	—		—		—		4	0
	1987		7	0	34	2	—		—		—		41	2
	1988		15	0	22	1	—		2[c]	0	—		39	1
	1989		16	0	22	0	—		2[c]	0	—		40	0
	1990		18	1	34	1	—		1[c]	0	—		53	2
	1991		17	1	—		—		—		—		17	1
	Total		95	2	134	4	—		5	0	—		234	6
Palmeiras	1991[27]	Série A	—		20	1	—		—		—		20	1
	1992[28]		18	2	21	5	6	0	—		—		45	7
	1993[29]		20	2	34	4	6	0	—		3[d]	0	63	6
	1994[30]		22	1	26	2	3	0	7[e]	0	—		58	3
	Total		60	5	101	12	15	0	7	0	3	0	186	17
Yokohama Flügels	1995	J1 League	32	0	—		2	1	—		—		34	1
	1996		27	5	—		2	0	—		14[f]	2	43	7
	1997		29	6	—		2	0	—		9[f]	1	40	7
	1998		28	2	—		5	0	—		0	0	33	2
	Total		116	13	—		11	1	—		23	3	150	17
Palmeiras	1999[31]	Série A	15	2	9	1	7	0	18[g]	0	4[h]	0	53	3
	2000[32]		0	0	10	1	1	0	12[e]	1	9[d]	2	32	4
	Total		15	2	19	2	8	0	30	1	13	2	85	7
Deportivo La Coruña	2000–01	La Liga	10	0	—		1	0	5[i]	0	—		16	0
Corinthians	2001	Série A	9	0	—		—		—		—		9	0
Kashiwa Reysol	2002	J1 League	26	3	—		0	0	—		6[f]	0	32	3
Sanfrecce Hiroshima	2003	J2 League	41	5	—		4	0	—		—		45	5
	2004		14	0	—		0	0	—		2[f]	0	16	0
	Total		55	5	—		4	0	—		2	0	61	5
São Paulo	2004	Série A	25	1	—		—		2[j]	0	—		27	1
Career Total			411	31	254	18	39	1	49	1	47	5	800	56

1. Includes Campeonato Paulista
2. Includes Copa do Brasil, Emperor's Cup
3. Appearance(s) in Supercopa Libertadores
4. Appearance(s) in Torneio Rio–São Paulo
5. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
6. Appearance(s) in J.League Cup
7. 11 appearances in Copa Libertadores, seven appearances in Copa Mercosur
8. Three appearances in Torneio Rio–São Paulo, one appearance in Intercontinental Cup
9. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
10. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana

International

^[33]

Brazil national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1990	1	0
1991	1	0
1992	5	0
1993	4	0
1994	2	0
1995	10	1
1996	0	0
1997	8	1
1998	9	4
1999	0	0
2000	7	0
Total	47	6

Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sampaio goal.

List of international goals scored by César Sampaio

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	9 August 1995	National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan	Japan	4–1	5–1	Friendly	[34]
2	12 December 1997	King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	1–0	3–0	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup	[35]
3	25 March 1998	Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, Germany	Germany	1–0	2–1	Friendly	[36]
4	10 June 1998	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Scotland	1–0	2–1	1998 FIFA World Cup	[37]
5	27 June 1998	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	Chile	1–0	4–1	1998 FIFA World Cup	[38]
6				2–0

Honours

Club

Palmeiras

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1993, 1994
• Campeonato Paulista: 1993, 1994
• Tournament Rio – São Paulo: 1993, 2000
• Copa Libertadores de América: 1999
• Copa Mercosur runner-up: 1999
• Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1999

Yokohama Flügels

• Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 1995
• Asian Super Cup: 1995
• Emperor's Cup: 1998

Deportivo

• Supercopa de España: 2000

Corinthians

• Campeonato Paulista: 2001

International

Brazil

• FIFA World Cup Runner-up: 1998
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997
• Copa América: 1997

Individual

• Brazilian Golden Ball: 1990, 1993
• Brazilian Silver Ball: 1990, 1993

References

1. "Relembre a passagem de César Sampaio pelo Santos" [Remember the stint of César Sampaio at Santos] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Revista Santista. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
2. "César Sampaio troca Santos pelo Palmeiras" [César Sampaio exchanges Santos for Palmeiras] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Acervo Santista. 11 July 1991. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
3. "Família e bagunça no RJ levam Sampaio de volta ao Palmeiras" [Family and mess in the RJ bring Sampaio back to Palmeiras] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Folha de S.Paulo. 14 January 1999. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
4. "César Sampaio é apresentado no La Coruña" [César Sampaio is presented at La Coruña] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Diário do Grande ABC. 5 July 2000. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
5. "Parado há 6 meses, César Sampaio chega e será titular do Corinthians" [Sidelined for 6 months, César Sampaio arrives and will be a starter of Corinthians] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Folha de S.Paulo. 16 October 2001. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
6. "César Sampaio é o 1º a deixar o Corinthians" [César Sampaio is the 1st to leave Corinthians] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Folha de S.Paulo. 7 December 2001. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
7. "César Sampaio retorna ao futebol japonês" [César Sampaio returns to Japanese football] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Folha de S.Paulo. 13 December 2001. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
8. "São Paulo dispensa cinco e anuncia aposentadoria de Sampaio" [São Paulo release five and announce the retirement of Sampaio] (in Brazilian Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 21 December 2004. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
9. César Sampaio Statistics FIFA. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
10. Goff, Steven (11 June 1998). "Own Goal Gets Brazil Off Scot-Free". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
11. Gildea, William (28 June 1998). "And the Brazilian Beat Goes On and On". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
12. Steinberg, Jacob (1 July 2018). "World Cup moments: Mystery surrounds Ronaldo in 1998". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
13. "Neymar, Pele and ten great graduates of the Santos academy". FIFA.com. 8 July 2002. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
14. "Football: Scolari applies the bruises to the beautiful game". The Independent. 28 November 1999. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
15. "César Sampaio explica a rescisão com o EC Pelotas" [César Sampaio explains the rescision with EC Pelotas] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Felleger Und Felleger. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
16. "César Sampaio tem experiência em gestão esportiva" [César Sampaio has experience in football management] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Lance!. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
17. "Rivaldo dispensa César Sampaio do Mogi Mirim" [Rivaldo release César Sampaio from Mogi Mirim] (in Brazilian Portuguese). O Globo. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
18. "César Sampaio é o novo gerente de futebol do Palmeiras" [César Sampaio is the new football manager of Palmeiras] (in Brazilian Portuguese). SE Palmeiras. 4 November 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
19. "César Sampaio deixa o cargo de gerente de futebol do Palmeiras" [César Sampaio leaves the role of football manager of Palmeiras] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
20. "Ex-Seleção, César Sampaio acerta como Diretor de Futebol do Fortaleza" [Formerly of the national team, César Sampaio signs as director of football of Fortaleza] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
21. "Descontentes, Ênio Mourão e César Sampaio deixam gestão do Fortaleza" [Unhappy, Ênio Mourão and César Sampaio leave Fortaleza] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
22. "César Sampaio deixa presidência de clube para assumir cargo na seleção brasileira" [César Sampaio leaves presidency of a club to take over role in the Brazil national team] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 22 December 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
23. "Cesar Sampaio wants the world to say a prayer for Pele". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
24. "How Europe Decides Who Wins the World Cup". The New York Times. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
25. "Como Cesar Sampaio chegou à comissão do Fla para primeiro trabalho no Rio" [How César Sampaio arrived in the coaching staff of Fla for the first job in Rio] (in Brazilian Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
26. "Santos anuncia César Sampaio como auxiliar da comissão fixa" [Santos announce César Sampaio as an assistant of the permanent staff] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 4 January 2025. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
27. "1991" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Futebol 80. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
28. "1992" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Futebol 80. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
29. "1993" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Futebol 80. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
30. "1994" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Futebol 80. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
31. "1999" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Futebol 80. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
32. "2000" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Futebol 80. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
33. César Sampaio at National-Football-Teams.com
34. "Japan vs. Brazil". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
35. "Saudi Arabia vs. Brazil". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
36. "Germany vs. Brazil". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
37. "Brazil vs. Scotland". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
38. "Brazil vs. Chile". National Football Teams. Retrieved 17 December 2024.

External links

• César Sampaio at National-Football-Teams.com
• César Sampaio at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)