The Boy from Brazil - Risky Business Part 1

We've got Mirandinha

Season 1987/88 was upon us and the Geordie supporters were not a happy bunch. Beardsley had followed Waddle out the door and the supporters were after blood. The "Magpie Group" campaign was getting into full swing and "sack the board" had become the most popular song on the terraces

Then with the new season a couple of weeks old Newcastle took the football world by surprise by becoming the first British club to sign a Brazilian. Twenty eight year old Francisco Ernami Lima de Silva - better known as Mirandinha - cost £575,000 from Palmeiras. He signed a three year contract reputed to be worth £1,250,000; United was his ninth club!

After the success of Ossie Ardilles and Ricky Villa at Tottenham, a number of players from South America had recently tried their luck in the Football League. But without fail all of them flopped miserably. Therefore it was not surprising that opinion was divided on whether this was an amazing coup or a foolish folly. Critics doubted whether the little Brazilian would adapt to the British weather and the physicality of the First Division.

But the manager who signed him - Willie Mcfaul - had no concerns; after all any player capped by Brazil must be at least half-decent. "I don't see any risk attached to it or I wouldn't have done it" anyway we've just "installed under soil heating" he added wryly"

Two years on and the critics seemed to have been proven right. United had been relegated, Mira had disappeared back to Brazil on a free and Mcfaul had been sacked and replaced (eventually) by Jim Smith. So unimpressed was the Bald Eagle with Mira that he greeted the little Brazilians departure with barely concealed delight; allegedly stating that he was happy to see him go home and "rot".

He's not from Argentina

Mira's move from Brazil to Tyneside involved a number of "key players". There was Brazilian student Humberto Silva who had visited Britain to learn English; He stayed in Worthing at the home of businessman Don Peckham. After he returned to Brazil Silva contacted Peckham stating that he had a footballing friend that wanted to play in Europe and asking if he could help

Peckham - who had no interest in football - contacted Brighton for advice but they did not want to know. Then Peckham was informed that former Newcastle legend Supermac owned a pub in Worthing and decided to approach him. Macdonald agreed to help and enlisted the help of Bev Walker to sort out the financial side of things.

Macdonald, who was aware that United were about to sell Beardsley, phoned SJP and offered Mirandinha to them. Mcfaul's mind was made up when Mira played against both Scotland and England (scoring the goal in a 1-1 draw) on Brazil's tour of Europe during the summer.

He's from Brazil

So what had United got for their money?. Supermac had no doubts about the players ability."He's got all the vital attributes of a scorer. He's quick; very, very fast on the turn..very powerful shot in both feet...for a little fellah gets up very well ...he sees a goal chance when the majority are thinking about passing". When asked how he would deal with British defenders his reply was succinct; "they won't be able to catch him to kick him"

Facts were a little less easy to come by and initial opinions were based on a mixture of rumour and conjecture. He had won 3 caps for his country and had allegedly scored more than 300 goals during his career including a mammoth 60 goals in his last season, but he also had a reputation for being selfish and a "hot-head" who did not get on well with other players. He was sent off in his final game for Palmeiras.

Mira's answer to the allegations was succinct; "I have been accused in the past of being selfish. Well if I'm scoring goals for Newcastle that's just what I intend to do". Nobody could say we hadn't been warned.

He's ******* brill?

In his first season Mira did score goals, but he was not as prolific as had been hoped and ended up with only 12 goals from 29(1) appearances. In his second season the return was very similar with 11 goals from 26(7) appearances; 5 of the goals coming from penalties.

It was not for the want of trying. Mira would shoot fro any distance and from every (in)conceivable angle. His Optima scores for shot completion would make interesting reading.

And that was the crux of it; his mazy dribbles and speed over the first few yards often got him into great positions from where he could have set up colleagues. But if he was anywhere in the penalty area at all it was odds-on he would shoot. It must have been very frustrating playing alongside him. The arm aloft in apology was a familiar site, but when the next chance came, the result was generally the same. Indeed, when striker Paul Goddard left United at the end of the season it was rumoured that his departure was partly due to his frustration with playing upfront with Mirandinha. He later denied that there was any bad feeling between the two but did admit that "he's extremely hard to play with".

He suffered his fair share of injuries while at the club. In 1987/88 He pulled his hamstring in only his tenth match and helpfully informed reporters that "my leg not very good". He got injured again in mid March and only made a couple of cameo appearances after that. In the following season he picked up an injury within 20 minutes of the season's start and was in and out of the treatment room thereafter.

In his autobiography Jim Smith gave his slant on it suggesting that he "was never the type of player you could hang your hat on" and that "he was often on the treatment table for one usually minor ailment or another, which he built up into something akin to career-threatening"

Once Mcfaul had been sacked, Mira's stock fell so low a that on occasions he was kept out of the side by the lamentable Frank Pingel and Rob McDonald. He was also subbed on no less than 13 occasions

Mira, Mira on the Ball

In hindsight the critics were right, overall the signing of Mirandinha had been an expensive mistake. Certainly Mira himself did not lose out. On top of his lucrative contract he was immediately swamped with commercial offers which had the potential make him a millionaire. He immediately signed a contract with boot manufacturers Hi-tec (the second best such contract in the country) and with a national newspaper. Meanwhile top builders were falling over themselves trying to offer him a house. His stated intention was to use the money he earned on Tyneside to buy a 500 acre pig farm on the outskirts of Sao Paulo.

In the short-term the club also did well out of the deal. There was intense national interest in the signing, there was a surge in season ticket sales and there were an additional 2000+ on the gate of his first few home matches. Also it did initially quell some of the anti-board feeling among the crowd. In the long-term his impact was negligible.

Whose the greediest of them all?

Before his debut at Carrow Road Mcfaul claimed that Mira "plays in a very similar style to Peter Beardsley". Mcfaul was well wide of the mark, but there was no doubting that in an era where the gloom was starting to descend on St James', Mira certainly did provide some light relief; below are some of the more memorable moments of his stay on Tyneside.

He became an instant hero when he opened his United account, in his third game, with two goals in a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford. The first a deflected free-kick, the second a brave diving header. And he almost scored a third when a shot from a ridiculous angle skimmed the Old Trafford crossbar.

After the FA Cup defeat at home to Wimbledon in 1987/88 he ran up behind future Toon 'keeper Dave Beasant and kung fu kicked him in the back of the legs before running away.

His provocative celebrations in front of the Kop after he scored the penalty to give us a 2-1 victory in 1988/89

The quickfire goal he scored against Liverpool at SJP in February 1989 and the amazing shot he produced from at least 35 yards which bounced off Grabbalot's post.

Another memorable goal celebration as he danced around the corner flag after scoring at SJP against Everton in March 1989. For a couple of games the Mirandinha magic returned and it was hoped - incorrectly - that the club could yet be saved from relegation