Party animal who insisted on time off for every Rio carnival
national teammates Romario and Bebeto – who he publicly criticised – as well as coach Giovanni Trapattoni.
Eventually, he received a four -and-a-half-year sentence for the car crash, but was freed after appealing the decision and signed again for Vasco.
He soon found himself back behind bars after his appeal was rejected, but his freedom was restored following another appeal.
And it was around this time that he thought it wise to pose with a beer-swigging chimp.
Between 2000 and 2003 he had spells at Santos, Napoli, Cruzeiro, Tokyo Verdy and Urawa Red Diamonds, before returning to Vasco for a fourth time, which was cut short when he split the dressing room after refusing to take part in the ritual of pre-match prayers.
Custody
In the meantime, the Brazil Supreme Court upheld his prison sentence – but again he appealed and was spared spending any time behind bars.
Spells with four more clubs brought more arguments, and he returned to Vasco for a fifth and final fling in 2008.
Now working as a TV commentator, Edmundo is continuing to make headlines.
In June last year, he was arrested as a fugitive in relation to the 1995 crash and again briefly held in custody.
But owing to changes in the law, he is now free from any more charge, even if the feeling remains that The Animal will never be far from controversy.
As he said after the chimp incident in 1999: “I’ve done a lot of stupid things, but I’m trying to get better.”