Waldemar Graciano
Waldemar Graciano (4 February 1938 in São Paulo - 6 December 2010 in Innsbruck), called Jacaré (Portuguese crocodile), was a Brazilian-Austrian football player and coach. He played as striker. After several teams in Brazil, he moved to Austria Wien in April 1962. He became the first Brazilian and the first dark-skinned player in Austrian professional football.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Waldemar Graciano | ||
| Date of birth | 4 February 1938 | ||
| Place of birth | São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| Date of death | 6 December 2010 (aged 72) | ||
| Place of death | Innsbruck, Austria | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| XV de Jaú | |||
| EC XV de Novembro | |||
| Ituano FC | |||
| 1962 | Sport Recife | ||
| 1963-1967 | FK Austria Wien | ||
| 1967-1968 | First Vienna FC | ||
| 1969 | Innsbrucker SK | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| 1979-1980 | FK Austria Wien assistance coach | ||
| 1991-1992 | SV Axams | ||
| 1996 | FC Tirol II | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
He played for EC XV de Novembro (Piracicaba) and Ituano FC in Brazil. A sports journalist, Alice Kaufmann, brought the 24-year-old to Austria for a transfer fee of 250,000 Schilling. Josef Argauer, then section head of Wiener Austria, was not amused by the rather slender player. The newcomer had not been able to be observed in advance and a giant was expected.
But he soon became a star. His first appearance in a friendly against Újpest Budapest was seen by 52,000 people in the the Prater Stadium. Over the years he has scored 50 goals for Austria. During his time in Vienna he was champion and runner-up once and won the cup twice with Austria.
Graciano became an Austrian citizen after his active career. He married a woman from Tyrol and moved to Innsbruck, where he ran a record business. In 1999 he suffered a stroke and has been in a wheelchair ever since.
In the 1960s there was not much of political correctness. Graciano was often referred to as Murli. He took this term with humor and often signed autograph cards with this name.