Pelé's Santos lift the Teresa Herrera Trophy | OneFootball

Gabriel Pierin, from the Memory Center

On that memorable Sunday, June 21, 1959, when football and art seemed to go hand in hand, Pelé’s Santos defeated Garrincha’s Botafogo 4–1 in the Teresa Herrera Trophy final.

The traditional tournament was created by the City Council of La Coruña, Spain, with the aim of raising funds for the Dolores Hospital. The institution had been founded at the end of the 18th century by Teresa Margarita Herrera y Posada, who was born in La Coruña on November 10, 1712. Known for devoting much of her life to helping those most in need, Teresa died on October 22, 1791, at the age of 78. Still held to this day, the Teresa Herrera Trophy had its first edition in 1946, won by Sevilla of Spain.

The roughly 45,000 fans who packed Riazor Stadium had more than enough reason to be there. The presence of the two Brazilian giants generated the highest revenue in the history of the charity competition: more than 600,000 pesetas, the equivalent of one million cruzeiros. On Spanish soil, the ball had rarely been treated with such refinement.

Under coach Lula, Santos took the field with Lalá, Pavão (Formiga) and Mourão; Getúlio, Ramiro and Zito; Dorval (Alfredinho), Jair Rosa Pinto (Álvaro), Afonsinho (Coutinho), Pelé and Pepe. Botafogo, coached by João Saldanha, played with Ernani, Tomé and Aírton (Pampolini); Chicão, Borges and Nilton Santos; Garrincha, Didi, Paulo Valentim, Waldir and Zagallo.

The match featured no fewer than seven players from Brazil’s 1958 World Cup-winning national team in Sweden. For Botafogo, there were Nilton Santos, Garrincha, Didi and Zagallo. For Santos, Zito, Pelé and Pepe.

The victory reinforced Santos’s status as one of the great football powers of the time. Just over a month earlier, the club had already won the 1959 Rio-São Paulo Tournament. Although Botafogo had more players from the Brazilian national team, Santos showed greater cohesion and balance as a unit.

The match began at a lively pace, with chances for both sides. In the 10th minute, Pelé even found the net, but Spanish referee Blanco Perez called offside and disallowed the play. As time went on, Santos took control of the match. In the 18th minute, Afonsinho left the field injured, making way for the young Coutinho.

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