Gylmar and Cláudio, two unforgettable goalkeepers | OneFootball

Guilherme Guarche, from the Memory Center

On August 22, 1930, in the Macuco neighborhood of Santos, was born the man who would later become the most renowned goalkeeper in Santos’ history: Gylmar dos Santos Neves, popularly known as “Girafa” (“Giraffe”).

The phenomenal goalkeeper began his career with the amateur Portuários team of Cia. Docas de Santos, then moved to Jabaquara and soon after went to play for a team from the capital of São Paulo, bought as a “counterweight,” since the club’s directors wanted to sign the midfielder Ciciá, and Jabaquara only agreed to the deal if the club took Gylmar as well.

He came to Santos in 1962, where he remained the starting goalkeeper until 1969, winning the most important titles in the history of the Alvinegro. Gylmar made his debut in goal for Santos on January 7, 1962, in Peixe’s 6–2 rout of Barcelona of Ecuador at Monumental Isidro Romero Stadium in Guayaquil, in a friendly match in which Coutinho scored four goals, while Zito and Pepe scored one each. Santos lined up as follows: Laércio (Gylmar), Olavo and Décio Brito; Lima, Calvet (Formiga) and Zito (Getúlio); Dorval, Tite (Mengálvio), Coutinho, Pelé (Pagão) and Pepe (Tite). The coach was Luiz Alonso Perez, Lula.

For the Alvinegro of Vila Belmiro, Gylmar played 331 matches from 1962 to 1969; for the Brazilian National Team, while a Santos player, he played 38 matches.

Titles with Santos: World Champion (1962/63) Copa Libertadores Champion (1962/63) Brazilian Champion (1962/63/64/65/68) Rio-São Paulo Tournament Champion (1963/64/66) Paulista Champion (1962/64/65/67/68) Intercontinental Recopa Champion (1968).

Also on August 22, but in 1940, another goalkeeper was born who left his mark defending the Santos goal: Cláudio César Aguiar Mauriz, who played 232 matches for Santos in 1965/68 and 1972/73.

During Gylmar’s time in goal for Peixe, the other goalkeepers who defended Vila’s net were Laércio, Carlindo, Peres, Élcio, Silas, Rosan and Cláudio. After the unforgettable Gylmar left, the goalkeepers who took over the Santos goal were Aguinaldo and Jair Estevão; then, in the 1970s, Joel Mendes and Edevar; and finally the Argentine goalkeeper Cejas, who became the starter and guardian of Santos’ citadel.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.