 Santos with theJules Rimet Trophy in 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Dejalma Santos | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1929-02-27)27 February 1929 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | São Paulo, Brazil | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 23 July 2013(2013-07-23) (aged 84) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Uberaba, Brazil | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Right-back | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1948–1959 | Portuguesa | 434 | (11) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1959–1968 | Palmeiras | 498 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1969–1970 | Atlético Paranaense | 32 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 964 | (23) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1952–1968 | Brazil | 98 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Djalma Pereira Dias dos Santos, known simply asDjalma Santos (Brazilian Portuguese:[diˈʒawmɐˈsɐ̃tus]; also spelledDejalma Santos; 27 February 1929 – 23 July 2013) was a Brazilianfootballer who starred for theBrazil national team in four World Cups and winning the1958 and1962 editions. Santos is considered to be one of the greatestright-backs of all time. While primarily known for his defensive skills, he often ventured upfield and displayed some impressive technical and attacking skills.[1]
Along withFranz Beckenbauer andPhilipp Lahm, he is one of only three players to be included into three FIFA World Cup All Star teams (in 1954, 1958 and 1962). He was unrelated to his frequent defensive partnerNilton Santos. He was named byPelé as one of thetop 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. He is also one of the few footballers to have madeover 1,000 professional appearances in his career.[2]
Djalma Santos made history in the three big clubs he played for. Djalma was an idol atPalmeiras, where he played 498 games for nine years and won several titles, atPortuguesa, where he emerged in professional football and played 510 games, and atAtlético Paranaense, where he ended his career. Known as an exemplary player, he was never sent-off from the field.[3]
Djalma Santos started his career in his hometown withPortuguesa. He initially played in the centre of defence, but was later moved to the right side of defense. He was part of one of the bestPortuguesa teams of all time, where alongside players like Pinga, Julinho Botelho and Brandãozinho he won the Rio-São Paulo Tournament in 1952 and 1955 and the Blue Ribbon in 1951 and 1953. He is the second largest record holder of games played by the club, 434 in total, between the years 1949 and 1958, second only to Capitão, with 496 games.
AtPalmeiras, with 498 games, he is the seventh player who wore most the "alviverde" {Green and White} jersey. He was featured in thefirst academy alongside stars such asAdemir da Guia,Julinho Botelho,Djalma Dias andVavá. It was at Palmeiras that he won the greatest number of titles of his career: thePaulista Championship in1959,1963 and1966; theBrazilian Championships of1960,1967 (Robertão) andBrazil Cup of1967. In addition, he won theRio-São Paulo Tournament in 1965.
ForAtlético Paranaense he played until the age of 42, another unusual brand for soccer players.
Despite having only defended three clubs in his career, Djalma Santos once wore the jersey of São Paulo, even though he belonged to Palmeiras at the time. On 9 November 1960, he played as an honor guest in the celebrations of the inauguration of the Morumbi Stadium, in the victory over Nacional do Uruguay, by 3–0, with goals from Canhoteiro and Gino.
Santos made 98 official appearances forBrazil between 1952 and 1968, and was in the squad for four consecutiveWorld Cups between 1954 and 1966. He made his first appearance againstPeru in thePanamerican Championship. The match was drawn 0–0. He also made two unofficial appearances for Brazil.[2]
Along with Argentina'sNéstor Rossi, he was the only player to be unanimously voted into the1957 South American Championship squad.[4]
Santos made his World Cup debut in a 5–0 win againstMexico, and played in all of Brazil's matches during the tournament. He scored his first goal for Brazil from the penalty spot in a 4–2 defeat againstHungary (also known as the "Battle of Berne").
Santos had lost his place in the side after being dropped in favour ofDe Sordi, and did not play until the final againstSweden. Brazil won the match 5–2, with Santos being one of the outstanding performers. As a result, despite only playing one match in the tournament, he was included in the tournament'sAll-Star Team.
Santos was once again a regular in the starting lineup, playing in all of Brazil's games. In the final againstCzechoslovakia he set up the final goal for Brazil. Noting that the Slovak goalkeeperViliam Schrojf was somewhat off his line, Santos lofted a long, massive, high arcing ball, into the goalmouth aided by the glare of the afternoon sun. Schrojf mishandled the cross, and Brazilian strikerVavá hammered the ball into goal.
Santos, now at the age of 37, was selected for a fourth consecutive World Cup. The inclusion of Santos in the squad was a surprise to some, withCarlos Alberto expected to be selected instead.[5] Santos played the first two games, but was dropped after the 3–1 defeat toHungary. Brazil were knocked out of the tournament in the next game againstPortugal.
After beginning his career inmidfield, Santos found much success as adefender due to his composure, as well as his excellent and consistent displays in this position, and is regarded as one of the greatestright-backs of all time; he was also capable of playing as acentre back.[6] Santos was a quick and physically strong defender, who was known for his stamina, marking, and tackling ability; he was also effective in the air.[2][3] In addition to his defensive ability as a right-back, which earned him the nicknameMuralha (the wall) from the Uruguayan writerEduardo Galeano, Santos was also known for his excellent technique and offensive capabilities, which saw him contribute to the development of the role; being gifted with excellent ball control, gooddribbling skills, creativity, and accurate distribution, he often took on opponents with the ball when under pressure in one on one situations, even in risky situations inside his own penalty area, and he was also one of the first full-backs to venture forward and make overlapping attacking runs down the flank in order to contribute to his teams' offensive plays.[2][3][7] Santos was also an accuratepenalty kick andset-piece taker, and was known for his ability to take longthrow-ins.[2][3] In addition to his ability as a footballer, Santos was also known to be an extremely fair and correct player, as well as an exemplary professional, who stood out for his work-rate, longevity, discipline in training, and correct behaviour; throughout his entire, extensive career, he was never once sent off.[3]
Santos died on 23 July 2013 in hospital in Uberaba, where he had lived for two decades.[6] He died due topneumonia and severe hemodynamic instability, culminating withcardiac arrest, having been hospitalized since 1 July 2013.[2][8]
Portuguesa
Palmeiras
Brazil
Individual
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Brazil squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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