Nicknamed the "Black Diamond," Leonidas was Brazil's greatest contribution to the pre-war history of the World Cup.
An incredibly agile forward, Leonidas is credited with having the invented the bicycle kick, which he showed off on his Brazilian debut against Uruguay in 1932 with two goals.
Leonidas' tricks and ball skills amazed Europeans when he came to Europe for the 1934 finals in Italy, but an unforgiving knockout format meant the Brazilians' stay was short. Leonidas scored their only goal in a 3-1 first-round defeat by Spain.
Four years later in France, Leonidas stamped his mark more permanently on the tournament.
In Brazil's thrilling first round 6-5 win over Poland, he narrowly beat Ernst Willimowski to become the first player to score four goals in a World Cup game, playing for a short period of the game in bare feet.
In the second round, Brazil endured a brutal clash with Czechoslovakia, which went to a replay after a 1-1 draw in which three players were sent off and five players were injured. Leonidas got the goal, and then grabbed Brazil's first in a 2-1 win in the replay.
In a bizarre move, Brazil's over-confident coach Ademar Pimenta decided to rest his star player for the semifinal against Italy, claiming he wanted him fresh for the final.
Brazil was beaten 2-1 by the defending champion, and Leonidas instead was fresh for the third-place playoff against Sweden in which he scored twice in a 4-2 win to finish with eight goals for the competition.
