Nilton Santos, the encyclopedia of football : 1925-2013
by Alexandre Abreu Gontijo
“Tu, em campo, parecias tantos, e no entanto, que encanto!”
“Eras um só, Nilton Santos” (Armando Nogueira)
It was a little chilly on the evening of June 8, 1958 in Udevalla, Sweden. Curious fans, 17788 of them, crammed into the picturesque Rimnersvallen stadium to see the exotic Brazil take on Austria. The Brazilians took the lead thanks to a goal from Jose Altafini, but struggled with the rigid Austrian organization.
The game changed six minutes after the break: Nilton Santos, disobeying coach Vicente Feola´s orders to stick to his defensive duties, marauded forward and found himself face to face with Rudolf Szanwald, Austria´s goalkeeper. Calm and composed, as if a true striker, Santos dinked the ball into the net. “In those days, a full-back that crossed the halfway line was considered a madman,” Santos would comment later.
The classy strike highlighted some of the qualities that Nilton Santos had possessed since his childhood days at local amateur club Flexeiras: strength, speed, elegance and excellent mastery of the ball. Santos´ goal set Brazil on the way to a 3-0 victory over the Austrians and signaled the start to a memorable World Cup campaign, in which he starred in an outstanding full-back partnership with Djalma Santos. In the final Nilton Santos imperiously contained Swedish star winger Kurt Hamrin.
Santos must have felt a sense of redemption in Sweden after the previous World Cup in Switzerland had ended in utter acrimony. In the ‘Battle of Berne’ against the Mighty Magyars, Nilton Santos got involved in a brawl with right-half József Bozsik. English referee Arthur Ellis showed them both a red card and Brazil lost the violent quarter-final 4-2.
Santos didn’t lose his cool often. One such other occasion was against Stanley Matthews. Brian Glanville writes in the Guardian: ‘Then on 9 May 1956 at Wembley, the 30-year-old Santos found himself confronted by Stanley Matthews, recalled to the England team at the age of 41. Santos, who later professed immense admiration for Matthews, could make nothing of him that afternoon. England won 4-2, but even that score flattered Brazil. Matthews was one of the few wingers ever to embarrass Santos.’
Perhaps Nilton Santos was the Dorian Gray of a time when football was still an innocent sport. While a defender, his stately pose and overall class made him look like a gifted midfield. He caressed the ball with a certain tenderness, as if in an intense relationship.
His heart was always Alvinegro. Santos made his debut for Botafogo in March 1948 and would go on to play more than 700 games for his beloved club. He won the Carioca championship in 1948, 1957, 1961 and 1962. He never left Botafogo. More importantly, more so than his World Cup victories in 1958 and 1962, Nilton Santos was the true founder of the (Brazilian) school of attacking full-backs. He was a pioneer, setting an example Carlos Alberto Torres and others would follow later.
After he hung up his boots, Santos never became a regular in the Brazilian football circuit. Simple and gracious a man and having too much of an association with Botafogo, he would have perhaps evoked envy in the corridors of Brazilian football.
But what´s not in doubt is that Nilton Santos, part of the golden age of Brazilian football, was loved as much as Garrincha, and respected like Pelé.
Nilton Santos was born May 16, 1925 and died November 27, 2013 after suffering from Alzheimer´s disease.
