Athletico 100 years: Djalma Santos, the myth

I have a friend who says that the red and black shirt has never worn anyone as well as Djalma Santos. I agree. Some of the best images from our centenary are of him posing or playing in our uniform. For Djalma was the incarnation of elegant supremacy at a time when we were the kings of world football.

Born Dejalma do Santosthe boy from São Paulo was born to play football, but he wanted to be in the air force, almost like his father, who was a soldier.

Motherless, he was raised by a sister in a small basement in the Parada Inglesa neighborhood, in São Paulo. As a teenager, he worked in a shoe factory and had an accident that left one of his hands deformed. That’s why he didn’t serve in the air force and chose football – which had already chosen him.

He began his career at Portuguesa in 1948 and played there until 1955. As soon as he started earning well as a player, he asked the sister who raised him to stop working and started supporting her. To this day, he is the second player who has worn the Portuguese shirt the most. He was transferred to Palmeiras, where he played from 1959 to 1968, and was captain, an idol of the team that became known as Academia.

In the National Team, Djalma Santos was in four consecutive editions of the World Cups 1954, 1958, 1962 and 1966. In the first Brazilian title, Djalma was not a starter in the white eleven that started the tournament – ​​Pelé and Garrincha were also not in the starting lineup. He only played in the final, but was chosen as the best right-back in the World Cup, as he had been in the previous one and would be in the next.

She had the physique of a “prize cow” to mark and support. Strength to beat the full-back from the penalty spot like no other player had done before him. With a juggler’s ability when dealing with the ball, he had a “signature move”: he received it with his back and gave a taquito to place the spin in the spherical balloon that covered his head and lay softly at his feet.

In 1963, he was received by the Queen of England at Buckingham Palace, as the Brazilian representative of the FIFA team.

To the eternal glory of CAP, he came to end his career in Baixada in 1968 in the team that competed in the Roberto Gomes Pedrosa Tournament alongside other renowned players hired by president Joffre Cabral e Silva who never saw Djalma play, as he died before his debut.

There were three historic years in Hurricane. The high point was winning the Paraná title in 1970. Sicupira, who loved him, told me many stories about him – too bad I can’t publish most of them. A great joker, Djalma was the king of reviews at all the clubs he visited.

In 1970, like all world champions with the team, Djalma won a concession to open a lottery in the center of Curitiba and made Sicupira, Nilson Borges and Valtinho his partners.

In January 1971, he decided to retire from a game that was a big event in the city. After the 0-0 against Grêmio, Djalma took an Olympic walk around Vila Capanema, took off his boots and handed them to Everaldo, the opposing winger who had been world champion with the team in 1970. The next day he took over as coach. Even with some good moments, he didn’t like his new role and retired for good years later.

One of the greatest prides of Athletico’s centenary is having been the last home of a world football legend called Djalma Santos.