Sócrates may never have gone beyond the quarterfinals of the World Cup, but he remains one of the most iconic players in the history of the tournament. Instantly recognizable by his curly black hair, Che Guevara-esque beard, and the way he loomed over his opponents with his slender 6’4” frame, he looked every inch the revolutionary.

At Mexico ’86, where he missed a fateful penalty as Brazil went out to France in a shootout in the quarters, he wore the headband — improvised from a teammate’s sock — which has come to define him in the mind’s eye of millions. While he later added different slogans — “The People Need Justice,” “Yes To Love, No To Terror,” “No Violence” — his first was perhaps the most powerful. After the Mexico City earthquake the previous year, a disaster which killed thousands and exposed the bitter injustice within Mexican society, the host nation was deeply wounded. Sócrates came with a simple message: “México Sigue En Pie” — “Mexico Still Stands.”

Explaining the rationale behind the message later in life, Sócrates said: “When we got to Mexico, the disaster caused by a terrible earthquake that had struck the country before the start of the World Cup was the trigger that made up my mind to seize the opportunity, at a time when the whole world was watching the event, and to highlight some critical points of social reality.” He took inspiration for his headband after seeing a young girl wearing a tiara on television, making up his mind to protest against “the absurdities that exist in humanity on my forehead.”