The former Brazil captain Socrates has died at the age of 57.

He had been in a critical condition with an intestinal infection 腸道感染 since being admitted to intensive care on Friday at a hospital in Sao Paulo.

Socrates, whose full name was Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Sousa Vieira de Oliveira was widely regarded 被普遍認(rèn)為是 as one of the greatest ever midfielders. He played in two World Cups, won 60 caps 出場(chǎng) for his country between 1979 and 1986 and scored 22 goals.

He may be best remembered for being part of the so-called 被稱為 greatest team never to win the World Cup: the 1982 Brazil side which lost to Italy in the quarter final.

Socrates also scored 172 goals in 297 games for Brazilian club side Corinthians. On Sunday Corinthians won their first Brazilian league title 聯(lián)賽冠軍 for six years.

Fans held up several signs honouring 紀(jì)念 Socrates and players held their closed right hand up in the air during the moment of silence before the match, imitating his trademark celebration 招牌慶祝方式 after scoring.

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff 迪爾瑪?羅塞夫 said "On the field, with his talent and sophisticated touches, he was a genius. Off the field... he was active politically, concerned with his people and his country."

Socrates was unusual for a footballer in that he was a dedicated political campaigner as well as a qualified doctor. He also had an appetite for smoking and alcohol which would be looked down on 看不起，不贊同 in the modern game.

More than a decade after retiring, he joined non-League 地區(qū)聯(lián)賽 Garforth Town at the age of 50 on a one-month deal as player-coach, but managed just 12 minutes as a substitute.

Zico, a team-mate of Socrates in the iconic Brazil side of the 1970s said "As a player, there is not much to say; he was one of the best that I ever played with. His intelligence was unique.