Bebeto: The World Cup Icon Who Helped Ignite 'Super Depor'

Bebeto captured the imagination of the wider world when he scored for Brazil against the Netherlands at the 1994 World Cup, rocking an imaginary baby back and forth as he wheeled away in celebration to mark the birth of his child just days earlier.

The image of him then facing the camera and crowd, rocking arms in synchronicity with teammates Romario and Mazinho, is one of football’s single most iconic moments of the 1990s.

Even now it remains an all-time classic goal celebration and has been replicated countless times.

Bebeto had already scored the winner in the last 16 of that World Cup against the United States, as well as one in a group stage win over Cameroon, while strike partner Romario netted five in total and Brazil went on to life their fourth trophy overall.

Their relationship, while strained off the pitch owing to drastically differing personal lives, produced one of the greatest double acts in the history of the national team. Romario once referred to Bebeto as the ‘stay at home’ type, while describing himself as a ‘street cat’.

Bebeto was at his peak over a four-year spell between 1992 and 1996, covering the World Cup run. He had already been a professional player for a decade by then, getting his first major break at Flamengo as a teenager in the early 1980s and going on to join Vasco da Gama in 1989.

It was with the latter where he really became the player who would be a superstar of the 1990s.

Bebeto wasn’t always known as a prolific goalscorer early in his career, often considered a more creative play-maker type who was perhaps the perfect partner for a natural predator, rather than the predator himself. But that changed at Vasco when he started to find the net more often and also make an impact at international level – he scored six at the 1989 Copa America alone.

In 1992, Bebeto traded South America for Europe, moving to Spain to sign with an ambitious Deportivo La Coruna. The club, whose journey over the last 30 years and has been a never ending rollercoaster, had only returned to La Liga in 1991 after nearly 20 years out of the top flight.

They were nearly relegated immediately in 1991/92, finishing 17th, but the following season signalled a new dawn and the emergence of the ‘Super Depor’ era that Bebeto and Brazil colleague Mauro Silva were a major part of building.

Off the back of a prolific final year with Vasco, Bebeto hit the ground running in La Liga and scored 29 times to take Deportivo from 17th to third in the space of just 12 months. Super Depor were only narrowly behind Real Madrid and the Barcelona ‘Dream Team’, while he was awarded the Pichichi Trophy as the league’s top scorer – only the second Brazilian winner in 25 years.

Bebeto’s years at Deportivo were the most consistent of his entire club career. By the end of his debut season he was already approaching his 30th birthday, but years of experience, combined with his natural speed, movement and agility, making up for a lack of physical presence, had honed a lethal and efficient goalscorer – the obvious modern day equivalent is Sergio Aguero.

Bebeto scored fewer goals in 1993/94, but Deportivo improved to second place in La Liga and were painfully close to glory. They led the standings for more than half of the season, only to draw three of their final four games and see the title remain at Camp Nou on head to head goal difference.

In 1994/95, after World Cup glory with Brazil, Bebeto score 16 times in La Liga for the second successive season as Deportivo again finished second, this time behind Real Madrid. But despite falling short in the league, Super Depor did win the Copa del Rey, a first ever major trophy.

The next season was Bebeto’s last with Deportivo and saw a return to his most prolific form, scoring 25 La Liga goals, third only to Juan Antonio Pizzi (31) and Predrag Mijatovic in the Pichichi race. But Super Depor as a club had lost momentum and fell away to mid-table.

Bebeto, by then 32, returned home to Brazil in the summer and re-joined Flamengo. He scored 86 La Liga goals in just four seasons and had helped transform a relative minnow into one of the best teams in Spain. Bebeto couldn’t take Super Depor all the way, but the foundations had been laid for the next generation to call Riazor home to go one better within a few short years.

Bebeto returned to Spain for a brief spell with Sevilla later in 1996 that lasted only five appearances, but his time with Deportivo is where his La Liga legacy really lies.

For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!