Jorge Veras

Jorge de Souza Veras was born on 28 May 1959 in Fortaleza, the capital of Ceará in north east Brazil. He joined the youth teams of Fortaleza Esporte Clube and stayed until he was too old for the junior ranks, then had spells with Ceará, Tiradentes and Coiguatu without making a breakthrough.

In 1982, playing for Coiguatu in a friendly at Iguatu against a mixed Ferroviário side, Veras scored and was immediately invited to join Ferroviário. Converted from centre forward to the left wing, he blossomed: in 1983 he was runner up in the scoring charts of the Ceará championship with 26 goals, and he played in the Brazilian Série A with the club.

Criciúma signed him in 1984. He was second highest scorer in the Santa Catarina championship in his first season with 18 goals and top scorer in 1985 with 21. He won the Campeonato Catarinense in 1986 and, after returning, in 1989, and in all played 182 games and scored 64 goals for Criciúma.

In March 1987 Grêmio paid 1.2 million cruzados to bring him to Porto Alegre as the replacement for Renato Portaluppi. On his Gre-Nal debut on 29 March 1987 he scored both goals in a 2 to 1 win over Internacional, and he scored in two more derby wins that year, earning the nickname Homem Gre-Nal. He played 15 Gre-Nais, with eight wins, five draws and two defeats, and won the Campeonato Gaúcho in 1987 and 1988.

He went on to play for Sport, Bandeirante, Avaí, Taubaté, Moto Club, Fortaleza and Quixadá. Back at Ferroviário he was top scorer of the 1992 Série C with nine goals, the first Ferroviário player to top the scoring in a national competition; in total he played 155 games and scored 65 goals for the club and was chosen for its Dream Team on its 80th anniversary. With 4 de Julho he won the Piauí championship in 1993 and 1994, and with Nacional the Amazonas championship in 1995. He retired as a player in 1997.

As a coach he led Ferroviário's first team in 72 matches between 2000 and 2006, with 30 wins and 17 draws, and won many youth titles. He then spent more than nine years in Fortaleza's academy, where he worked with players such as Edinho, Walfrido and Romarinho and briefly took charge of the first team in 2008, leaving in June 2016. He was assistant coach at Ferroviário in 2017 and later coached 4 de Julho, Floresta, River and Guarany de Sobral.

In later life Veras took up street running, competing in short distance races in Fortaleza. He kept close ties with his former clubs: in 2023 he was welcomed at Grêmio's Arena with Jardel as an idol of both Grêmio and Ferroviário, and in April 2026 the Criciúma squad visited him in Fortaleza and carried a banner of support before a match.

Veras was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2026. In a May 2026 interview with Globo Esporte he said he had never imagined going through such a situation, as a former athlete who trained almost every day, and that the affection he received had strengthened him. He died in the early hours of Thursday 22 October 2026 in Fortaleza, aged 67, from complications of the cancer. His family announced the death.

Ferroviário, Fortaleza and Floresta in Ceará, and Criciúma and Grêmio in the south, published tributes the same morning. Ferroviário said his story would always be remembered by the Nação Coral, and Criciúma asked for a minute of silence at its next home match, against Ponte Preta on 30 October.

Veras is remembered as one of the great players produced by football in Ceará, a scorer who became an idol in three states and is still celebrated by Grêmio supporters as the Homem Gre-Nal. His second career as a youth coach at Fortaleza and Ferroviário helped shape a generation of players in the region.