Former Sampdoria and Sao Paulo star Cate tragically dies in car accident

The 38-year-old was driving on the ERS-122 highway in the town of Ipe, Rio Grande do Sul in his native Brazil, when he collided head on with a Scania truck at around 10am local time, according to Police.

The cause of the crash remains unclear, although there was heavy rain in the municipality at the time.

The driver of the truck came out unscathed while the ex-footballer died at the scene of the incident.

Cate, whose full name is Marcos Antonio Lemos Tozze, enjoyed a successful footballing career that saw him rise to stardom as part of the Sao Paulo team led by Tele Santana, which also had the likes of Rogerio Ceni, Juninho Paulista and Denilson.

His finest hour came during the 1992 Intercontinental Cup final when he contributed to the Brazilian club's famous 1-0 victory over Johan Cruyff's Barcelona as a tricky, diminutive right winger.

Cate also played in Serie A with Sampdoria during the 1998-99 campaign, scoring one goal in 15 appearances as the Blucerchiati were relegated to the Italian second division.