He began his career with
Palmeiras following a series of tryouts when he was 16 where he would be a part of the winning squad for the
1959 Campeonato Paulista despite being only a reserve without many opportunities to play. Around this time, he originally played as
midfielder, sometimes playing as a
left-back. Despite winning the
Torneio Rio–São Paulo in 1960, he never found a time to shine in the spotlight and was considering playing for another club within the São Paulo area. He would then be transferred to play for
Fluminense based in
Rio de Janeiro following invitation of club manager
Zezé Moreira as well as a salary of 600 thousand cruzeiros. Throughout his five years with the club, he would alternate with
Edmílson and
Íris as a midfielder until firmly establishing himself within the starting XI. His career with the club would end during the middle of the
1965 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A due to contractual disagreements as the management at Fluminense wouldn't accept to Oldair's new demanding salary price of 60 million cruzeiros. This would result in the club's qualification for the
1965 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, where Vasco would be runner-up in the tournament, also winning the 1966 Torneio Rio–São Paulo. In 1968, in an exchange involving midfielder
Buglê, Oldair would be transferred to play for
Atlético Mineiro. However, he would face difficulties during the late 1960s as he would enter into disagreements with the new club manager
Yustrich as he would soon be benched and removed from the starting XI. Despite this, Oldair continued to train, believing that he would soon enough have his old position restored. This would come in the
1970 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A as he was selected to become
captain by new manager
Telê Santana, winning that year's
Campeonato Mineiro. This success would continue into the
1971 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A with the club earning their first national title. He would also score the historic winning goal by 1-0 through a
free kick against
São Paulo in the final phase of the tournament, ensuring that the "rooster" played for a draw in the final match against Botafogo at Maracanã. Following two more seasons with the club, he would make 282 appearances and would score 61 goals. Oldair would then play for
CEUB in 1973 before returning to Minas Gerais to play for until his retirement in 1977. ==International career==