Former Brazil star Socrates on life support

SAO PAULO – Former Brazil captain Socrates is back in the hospital and on life support.

A hospital in Sao Paulo said the 57-year-old Socrates is suffering from septic shock resulting from an intestinal infection.

Socrates was last in the hospital in September. That was for a hemorrhage caused by high pressure in the vein that carries blood from the digestive system to the liver.

Socrates has acknowledged being a heavy drinker, even when he starred as a player in the 1980s.

The Albert Einstein Hospital said in a Saturday statement that Socrates is breathing with the help of a ventilator.

The former playmaker captained Brazil in the 1982 and ’86 World Cups and is a popular columnist and television commentator in the South American country.

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