Carlos Alberto Dias

Carlos Alberto Costa Dias was born on 5 May 1967 in Brasília, in the Federal District of Brazil. Details of his parents and childhood have not been widely published. He was formed as a player in the youth categories of Sociedade Esportiva Matsubara, a club in the interior of Paraná state, where he began his senior career in 1985.

Dias learned the game in Matsubara's academy in Paraná and stood out in the state's interior, which brought him to the attention of Coritiba. Early in his career he also went to Japan, playing for Fujita Industries (now Shonan Bellmare) in the Japan Soccer League from 1986 to 1988, an experience that began a long connection with Japanese football. He was a right-footed, skilful attacking midfielder, sometimes listed as a striker, standing 1.78 metres.

At Coritiba (1988 to 1989, and again in 1998) Dias won the 1989 Paraná state championship in a team led by Tostão. Coritiba later called him a fundamental piece of that title.

He joined Botafogo in 1990 and played there until 1992, scoring 20 goals in 102 matches according to Portuguese Wikipedia. His winning goal against Vasco in the 1990 Carioca final at the Maracanã on 29 July 1990 gave Botafogo a second consecutive state title, and in 1992 he was part of the Botafogo side that finished runner-up in the Brazilian championship, losing the final to Flamengo. His form earned him a Brazil call-up in 1992 and he played in a friendly against Finland on 15 April 1992. Wikipedia and ge record one appearance for Brazil, while Diario de Pernambuco and Terra reported two friendlies.

At the end of 1992 he moved to Vasco da Gama, winning the Carioca championship in 1992 and 1993, the Taça Guanabara and the Taça Rio. He then played for Grêmio (1993), Flamengo (1994) and Fluminense (on loan from Coritiba in 1998), becoming one of only a small group of players to have represented Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco.

With Paraná Clube he played in 1994, 1996 and 1999 and won the 1996 state championship as part of the club's run of five titles in a row between 1993 and 1998. In Japan he scored 17 goals in 32 J1 League matches for Shimizu S-Pulse in 1995 and played for Verdy Kawasaki in 1997, later also playing for Shizuoka FC. He said he spent eight years in Japanese football in all. His other clubs included Ceará, Madureira, Sertãozinho, Operário Ferroviário, Nacional de Rolândia, Marcílio Dias and ABC. He retired in 2006, aged 39.

After retiring, Dias worked with young players in Curitiba, looking for future talent for Brazil and for Japanese clubs with which he had close ties. He began coaching with Castanhal of Pará, announced in December 2014. He coached Bacabal and Frei Paulistano, winning the second division of the Sergipe championship with Frei Paulistano in 2016. In February 2017 he took over Paragominas, and in October 2017 Gama of the Federal District hired him for the 2018 season, though he was dismissed after a single official match in January 2018. For 2019 he became director of football at Matonense in São Paulo state. He later coached Barra Mansa in Rio de Janeiro state and led Guaporé to second place in the 2025 Rondônia championship.

In January 2026 he left Humaitá of Acre a few days into pre-season for health reasons after a procedure to fit a heart stent. In July 2026 Ypiranga of Santa Cruz do Capibaribe, Pernambuco, appointed him to lead the team in the new Pernambuco championship, his first job in the state. He began work with the squad in September 2026.

Dias kept his family life private and the names of his relatives have not been published in the reports of his death. Clubs and tributes sent condolences to his family and longtime friends. After leaving Humaitá in early 2026 he returned to Rio de Janeiro to look after his health. Although he wore many shirts, he said Botafogo remained special to him.

As a coach, Dias believed in giving opportunities to young players from a club's own academy. On taking the Ypiranga job in 2026 he spoke of his pleasure at working in Santa Cruz do Capibaribe and of his aim to return the club to national competitions. He was frank about career regrets: in 1994 he had an offer to go back to Botafogo but followed his agent's advice and joined Flamengo, though, as he said, his wish was to return to Botafogo.

Dias is remembered above all for the goal that won the 1990 Carioca final for Botafogo, a moment that confirmed the club's revival after it had ended a 21-year wait for the state title in 1989. He was also one of the few players to represent all four of Rio de Janeiro's big clubs, and he won state titles in Paraná, Rio de Janeiro and, as a coach, Sergipe. Paraná Clube said he left his name in its history as one of the players of its most successful era, and Coritiba thanked him for writing an important chapter in its history.

Campeonato Paranaense: 1989 (Coritiba), 1996 (Paraná) Campeonato Carioca: 1990 (Botafogo), 1992 and 1993 (Vasco da Gama) Taça Guanabara: 1992 (Vasco da Gama) Taça Rio: 1992 and 1993 (Vasco da Gama) Copa Rio: 1992 and 1993 (Vasco da Gama) Brazilian championship runner-up: 1992 (Botafogo) Brazil national team: called up in 1992 As coach: Campeonato Sergipano Série A2 2016 (Frei Paulistano); Rondônia championship runner-up 2025 (Guaporé)

Footage of his 1990 Carioca final goal is widely shared by Botafogo supporters. On the 30th anniversary of the final, in July 2020, he gave a long interview to ge recalling the goal and the build-up to the match. He appeared on regional sports programmes and podcasts in later years, discussing his career with the four big Rio clubs and the Brazil team.

According to Ypiranga, Dias fell ill on Saturday 3 October 2026 with fatigue, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea and was given medication. On Sunday morning, with the symptoms persisting, he went to the emergency care unit (UPA) in Santa Cruz do Capibaribe, improved and was released. At around 10pm that night he felt unwell again with chest pain, returned to the unit and was sent to the Hospital Mestre Vitalino in Caruaru for cardiac assessment, where he died on Monday 5 October 2026, aged 59. The club said he had undergone a cardiac procedure about ten months earlier. The official cause of death was not made public.

Ypiranga announced his death and expressed solidarity with his family, friends, players and staff. Botafogo called him the midfielder marked in the club's history by the goal of the 1990 state title and wrote: rest in peace, craque. Vasco, Grêmio, Coritiba, Paraná Clube and Operário Ferroviário also paid tribute. Funeral details had not been published at the time of writing.