Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira never won a World Cup. He never reached a final, never lifted football’s most prestigious trophy, never secured the kind of immortality that usually defines greatness in the game’s official mythology. And yet decades on, the Brazilian footballing legend remains one of the most important figures in World Cup history.

Hundreds of players have won the tournament, but there has only ever been one Sócrates. His legacy endures not because of awards or even his boundless ability but because he understood something football’s institutions would rather forget: that playing the game is itself a political act. Athletes, whether they like it or not, occupy a stage with enormous social power.