Leônidas' debut for Tricolor | OneFootball

The Historical Archive recalls the Black Diamond’s first match for Tricolor, played on May 24, 1942, against Corinthians.

THE PREPARATION

After the unforgettable reception he received from the fans on April 10, 1942, Leônidas had a lot of work ahead of him to get back into playing shape. Director Roberto Gomes Pedroza had hired, shortly after the idol’s arrival (on the 14th), the Uruguayan Conrado Ross as the team’s coach. The Tricolor board, in fact, set up a whole new technical staff, overhauling the medical department, promoting lectures and scientific competitions, and even hiring a nutritionist, something still new among football clubs in Brazil at the time.

Sergeant Ariston de Oliveira was in charge of the players’ physical training. In January 1942, Ariston had in fact established a series of strict rules as the season’s work plan, with topics regulating training, lodging, medical resources, hygiene, discipline, socio-educational measures regarding smoking and drinking, and even extra pay according to performance in activities outside matches.

The novelty and investment were justified because Leônidas, as was to be expected (despite the speeches), was out of shape and far from ready to debut for the club so quickly. The staff then drew up a schedule, a target plan, and a special diet to restore the athlete’s fitness so that he could debut from the second half of May onward. For more than a month, the star underwent intense conditioning, which even included training in heavy wool clothing and a controlled diet under close supervision.

On April 14, Feola led the team for the last time before Ross took over (the Uruguayan still needed clearance from the National Sports Council – CND – to work, since he was a foreigner), and Tricolor thrashed SP Railway 6–1. Before the match began, Leônidas was officially introduced to the São Paulo fans at Pacaembu Stadium.

After a quick round trip to Rio de Janeiro (he needed to settle his last pending matters there and bring his family to São Paulo), Leônidas held his first training session with Tricolor on the 23rd, at the Municipal, under Conrado Ross, who was also making his debut there. The activity for the star was individual, consisting only of light exercise.

At that moment, Leônidas weighed 71 kilos and wanted to lose six. The technical staff, on the other hand, was working with the goal of getting him down to 66 or 67. As the player was 1.65 meters tall, his body mass index did in fact indicate excess weight (BMI of 26.07).

Also present at that session was Waldemar de Brito, who returned to Tricolor after eight years (and who had been the “Black Diamond’s” strike partner on the Brazilian National Team in 1934 and at Flamengo between 1938 and 1939); Doutor, a goalkeeper signed from Ypiranga; and Pardal, a winger who had come from Pelotas, in Rio Grande do Sul, at the end of 1941. The three were the club’s other major bets for the season.

However, and very quickly, Leônidas’s physical shape and diet began drawing attention and generating jokes from rivals and the press. With only two daily exercises completed by the player up to that point, the newspaper O Esporte, on April 25, joked about the athlete’s “forced” diet: “A device capable of capturing thought waves recorded the phrase Leônidas did not say: ‘I only want to eat this lard.’”

Leônidas really did suffer quite a bit to readapt and get match-fit, but he managed it. By May 7 he was already capable of carrying the reserve team on his “back” in matchups against the starters (on that occasion, a 2–2 draw, with both goals scored by him). From that date on, in fact, the idol could have built better chemistry with the squad by playing in smaller matches.

The club even invited Atlético Paranaense for a friendly on May 13, but everyone involved wanted to show right away that Leônidas was fully fit, and nothing was better than a derby to erase any lingering doubts or suspicions about the player’s quality and commitment. The friendly was therefore canceled on the 10th, and the Paraná side, so as not to waste the trip, ended up facing Ypiranga at Pacaembu.

With the cancellation, expectations grew that Leônidas would debut in the next match, scheduled by the Paulista Championship table for Sunday, May 24, against Corinthians. After the collective training session on the Thursday afternoon before that match, São Paulo’s technical staff informed the press that yes, at last, the forward would play his first match in the Tricolor shirt in the derby!

THE PRE-MATCH ATMOSPHERE

It did not take much publicity for the best tickets available to the public for the match at the Municipal to sell out quickly. It is also striking that even in 1942, a common problem that plagues stadium surroundings today was already happening and causing astonishment and outrage: ticket scalping. With the approach of the match of the decade, the long-awaited debut of Leônidas in a “São Paulo versus Corinthians” derby at Pacaembu, ticket scalping reached its peak.

“The interest that the São Paulo-Corinthians meeting has been arousing and the debut of Leônidas had the effect of stirring our football enthusiasts, and this immediately drew the attention of ticket agents and scalpers, who organized a perfect ‘trust,’ perhaps with the collaboration of some prestigious figure in sporting circles.

“What was most astounding was not the activity of the scalpers and the greed shown in the premium with which they enriched themselves from reselling tickets, but the incredible speed with which they acted, buying, in less than an hour, at various points, all the stock put on sale.

“And once the stadium was sold out, the scalpers, in an orgy of unbridled profiteering, went so far as to increase the prices of the seats tenfold when offering them to the public...

“Profiteering in the sale of football ground tickets goes back a long way, since the days of ‘brown amateurism,’ without the advisable measures ever having been taken to extirpate this cancer.”

If neither the event organizers nor the public authorities foresaw or reversed this serious situation, it is also fair to imagine that they would have problems with the huge influx of people to Pacaembu, with or without tickets, hours before the contest began.

Aware of the stadium’s overcrowding, the board of the Municipal, the Paulista Federation, and the Public Force issued a joint statement to the press warning that “in order to make it possible to accommodate the greater attendance expected for today’s sporting spectacle, in the general admission area and in the parts of the terraces where there are still no benches, spectators must remain standing throughout the match.”

On match day there were still tickets on sale. Two ticket windows for the terraces and two for general admission, intended for club members, were opened at 8:30 a.m. on Pacaembu Avenue. As Corinthians was the home team, the rival was entitled to a free social quota intended for club members whose internal obligations were up to date, according to the regulations of the time. São Paulo members, as supporters of the visiting team, were charged the normal ticket prices.

At 10 o’clock, the other Municipal ticket windows were opened to the general public, with the following prices by ticket type (80,000 were printed and put on sale):

Terraces– Regular: 5$000 (five thousand réis);– Children, ladies, and military personnel: 2$000 (two thousand réis);

General admission– Regular: 3$000 (three thousand réis);– Children, ladies, and military personnel: 1$000 (one thousand réis);

The only section “sold out” days before the match was the numbered seat section, which cost 20$000 (twenty thousand réis), but shortly before the stadium gates closed it reached 200$000 (two hundred thousand réis) in the hands of scalpers on the street, with the “unsuspecting” buyer bearing the risk that those tickets might be fake. There had been talk of installing seats in front of the stadium’s acoustic shell for the occasion, but the idea was dropped as impractical.

As expected, in the early morning hours Pacaembu was already buzzing with people everywhere. It was not uncommon for people to take advantage of the good weather to have a snack and even a picnic right there. At 10 o’clock the Municipal gates were opened for the fans to enter, and the crowd swelled between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Records show that by around 1 p.m. it was already practically impossible to find a good spot to watch the match, scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m.

The crowd waiting for the match was entertained by preliminary games while the main event was still some time away. At 11:30 a.m., Corinthians’s and São Paulo’s amateurs faced each other, and the black-and-whites won 3–2. Two hours later, it was the turn of the professional Paulista Championship match between Comercial, from the capital, and Espanha, from Santos, which ended in a 4–2 win for the former.

As time passed, space disappeared. Pacaembu was full an hour and a half before the match began, and the gates were closed. “Only those who climbed all the way up to the Olympic athlete statue were missing, although even the pedestal had also been taken!” The then-empty hills around the stadium were also packed with people, although it is not known whether it was possible to see anything from there.

The home team took the field dressed entirely in black. São Paulo, meanwhile, after being welcomed with a shower of confetti and streamers by Grêmio Sampaulino, lined up in its traditional kit: white shirt and shorts with the tricolor stripes, and predominantly black socks. Before the ball rolled, the São Paulo players paid tribute to Porphyrio da Paz, who had been promoted from lieutenant to captain.

LEÔNIDAS ON THE FIELD

At 3:50 p.m., referee Jorge Gomes de Lima, Joreca (who would be Tricolor’s coach the following year), blew the whistle and Leônidas made the first touch of the ball, starting the match.

The São Paulo side chosen by Conrado Ross took the field with Doutor in goal; Fiorotti and Virgílio in defense; Záclis, Lola, and Silva in midfield; and an attack made up of Luizinho, Waldemar de Brito, Leônidas, Teixeirinha, and Pardal.

The match was fiercely contested and lively, and Corinthians took the lead after just ten minutes, with a goal by Jerônimo, thanks to a rebound given up by goalkeeper Doutor. The opponent continued to press in attack, forcing São Paulo’s defense to repel the advances as best they could. Tricolor’s first attacking actions came through Luizinho, in moves combined with Leônidas, but the new center forward, always tightly marked by Brandão, could not pull off the feats everyone expected.

Until, at the 30-minute mark, Leônidas found room to unbalance the match: Luizinho took a corner, the “Black Diamond” headed it on, and the ball fell to Lola at the edge of the box, who picked his spot and struck it perfectly into the goal to score São Paulo’s first of the game. 1–1 on the scoreboard, which was how the first half ended.

In the second half, Corinthians found a goal just three minutes in, through Servílio, but the tricolors did not lose heart. At 15 minutes, Leônidas, under heavy marking, started a move with Pardal inside the area. That forward quickly returned the ball to the “Black Magic,” who feinted a dribble but instead struck hard at goal with the little space he had. Corinthians midfielder Dino intercepted him, deflecting the ball for a corner. From that set piece, Pardal found Luizinho by the post. The attacker did not waste it and, with a header, bulged the net: 2–2 on the scoreboard!

“The stadium erupts once again.”

With the equalizer, the match became even fiercer, and both teams pushed forward, taking risks at the back. For Tricolor, the combinations between Leônidas and Pardal stood out, though Pardal missed some chances. After so much pressure, São Paulo’s forward line broke through the rival block in the 36th minute: Luizinho got free down the right flank and found the “Rubber Man” through the middle. The star controlled the ball, lifted his head, picked his corner, and struck accurately, but goalkeeper Joel managed to reach it, though without holding on. Bouncing in the six-yard box, the ball found winger Teixeirinha’s feet, and he had no difficulty at all turning the game in São Paulo’s favor! 3–2 at Pacaembu!

“The Tricolor supporters go wild.”

Despite the lead on the scoreboard, the São Paulo side became shorthanded on the field. With a little less than ten minutes left, forward Waldemar de Brito was injured and had to leave the match (at the time, substitutions were not allowed in championship games). Under heavy pressure, São Paulo’s back line could not withstand Corinthians’s offensive push. In the 43rd minute, after a miscommunication between Doutor and Fiorotti, the ball fell to Servílio, who nodded it in and once again scored for the opposition. 3–3 in the contest.

The final minutes were dramatic, because of the number of players on the field and the physical disadvantage that situation created. To make matters worse, referee Joreca added five and a half minutes of stoppage time. Even so, the final scoring chances belonged to Tricolor, with Pardal and Leônidas denied at the decisive moment. And that was that.

May 24, 1942. Paulista ChampionshipSão Paulo (SP), Municipal Stadium of São Paulo – PacaebuSport Club CORINTHIANS Paulista 3 x 3 SÃO PAULO Futebol Clube

SPFC: Doutor; Fiorotti and Virgílio; Waldemar Zaclis, Lola, and Silva; Luizinho, Waldemar de Brito, Leônidas, Teixeirinha, and Pardal. Captain: Fiorotti. Coach: Conrado Ross. Goals: Lola, 30/1; Luizinho, 15/2; Teixeirinha, 36/2

SCCP: Joel; Agostinho and Chico Preto; Jango, Brandão, and Dino; Jerônimo, Milani, Servílio, Eduardinho, and Hércules. Coach: Rato. Goals: Jerônimo, 10/1; Servílio, 3/2; Servílio, 43/2

Referee: Jorge Gomes de Lima “Joreca”Gate: Rs 244:414$000Attendance: 71,281 paid

POST-MATCH

The Municipal Stadium, which had been packed with more than 70,000 people, then gradually emptied into the dusk of the night, with the crowd of supporters leaving without clashes or confusion. The massive attendance set a record:

“Here is the human anthill that Pacaembu Stadium seemed to be […]. More than 70,000 people watched the clash between Corinthians and São Paulo F.C., that is, the largest attendance ever recorded at football matches held in Brazil.”

The number of people present at the match on that May 24 is also the highest attendance at Pacaembu Stadium to this day. The gross box office revenue, also a national record, reached 244:414$000 (two hundred and forty-four contos and four hundred and fourteen thousand réis), and the net revenue was 151:857$500 (one hundred and fifty-one contos and eight hundred and fifty-seven thousand five hundred réis), to be divided equally between the two clubs.

Thus, with just one match, São Paulo brought in 38% (75:928$700 – seventy-five contos and nine hundred and twenty-eight thousand seven hundred réis) of what it had invested in signing Leônidas da Silva: 200:000$000 (two hundred contos de réis).

Despite Leônidas’s good debut, in terms of movement and involvement in goals (he was important in creating all three!), part of the press condemned both the star’s performance and signing. The headline from the tabloid A Hora quickly spread around the city, printed in capital letters saying that the forward was a “200-contos streetcar” and that, for that reason, Tricolor had been duped and fallen into a kind of scam. Rival supporters also wasted no time joking and mocking that if Leônidas was a black diamond, it had been stolen and found in the pocket of Brandão, the Corinthians defender.

The newspaper O Esporte, meanwhile, argued that Leônidas was supposed to be “the phenomenon, the magician of the ‘pitch,’ the fakir who would swallow the ball only to place it in Joel’s net, like the host with which one would take communion before the crowd,” but that he was, in reality, merely “a good player.” However, it also saw some other positive traits:

“Leônidas was brave like few others. He exposed his legs so they could be attacked by kicks, and if Brandão had not been a master footballer, but rather a butcher-footballer, yesterday the butcher shops would also have had ‘Leônidas legs’ for sale. Leônidas fought, insisted, tried to be useful. He just did not do everything that can fit inside 200 contos.”

This general reaction upset Leônidas so much that he kept a deep grudge inside, promising himself that he would never again be questioned because of a match against that rival. In his own words: “If, on the one hand, those criticisms hurt me, they certainly also served as greater stimulus, touching my pride as an athlete and as a man and making me react in order to prove the unbelievers wrong and justify the trust of those who had hired me.”

No sooner said than done! Until his retirement from the game, Leônidas played in 19 more derbies against Corinthians, winning ten of them, drawing four others, and scoring 11 goals!

On the Monday after the match, another noteworthy highlight came from the newspaper A Gazeta Esportiva, 503 which ran on its front page the headline “Majestic Clash!”, in reference to the match, because either team could have won that contest, played with gallantry, competitiveness, and lead changes. It is worth noting that this was the first time the encounter between São Paulo and Corinthians was referred to in this way.

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