Did you know? Paulão fainted vs São Paulo three years before his debut | OneFootball

By the name Paulo Frederico Benevenute, you might not recognize him, but just mention his nickname, Paulão Desmaio, and you'll immediately think of him as one of the most well-known defenders of São Paulo of all time.

No, Paulão is not a fan idol for his football skills. Nor did he win titles or have great moments on the field. Far from it. He played only 33 games for the club in a short stint that lasted 10 months between 1999 and 2000.

But what explains Paulão's fame in the São Paulo imagination, even having a fan group named after him and banners at games? The folkloric event during his official presentation, where he fainted during an interview after being bought from Mogi Mirim. And which added the word ‘faint’ to his nickname for posterity.

On July 26, 1999, Paulão became Paulão Desmaio. The player had a hypoglycemia attack during his presentation after going more than ten hours without eating, due to the rush of medical and physical exams and the nervousness of arriving for the first time at a big club. And he fell onto a bench at the Barra Funda training center in a somewhat, let's say, elegant manner, with his hand in his pocket.

“What Paulão experienced was something relatively normal. He underwent strenuous exams in the morning, then had to fulfill some bureaucratic commitments and ended up neglecting his diet. Moreover, there was the tension of arriving at São Paulo. That's why he fainted,” explained the club's doctor, José Sanchez, at the time. “Any of us who don't eat properly and go through a tense moment can suffer from this kind of problem. Tomorrow Paulão will even be able to train.”

ALREADY HAD A HISTORY

The images of Paulão Desmaio went around the world and in a way always followed him whenever he was announced as a new signing at a club.

But what few people know is that fainting, Paulão, and São Paulo were not an unprecedented combination in 1999. Three years earlier, on March 24, 1996, the player had already given a scare. This time due to a much more serious problem.

Tricolor and Mogi Mirim were playing at the Bruno José Daniel stadium, in Santo André (Greater ABC), for the 14th round of the first phase of the Paulista Championship. At 38 minutes of the second half of São Paulo's 2-1 defeat, Paulão jumped to deflect a cross into his area and ended up violently hitting his head on the left post.

The shocking moment can be seen below, highlighting the sound of the moment the defender hits the metal. The player falls instantly unconscious on the field.

What followed were tense scenes. The players themselves, led by Zetti, who crossed the field, began first aid, such as cardiac massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The quick action of players and doctors from both teams prevented a greater tragedy. And even before being assisted, Paulão woke up and regained consciousness. As a precaution, he could not continue on the field, which was met with protests from the player.

The episode almost led to something more serious off the field. The Paulista Football Federation and the Civil Police of Santo André launched a joint investigation to investigate the stadium's medical responders, who instead of approaching Paulão with the ambulance, waited for him to be taken to the vehicle's stretcher, a few meters away.

According to the ‘Diário do Grande ABC‘, the fact that Paulão did not suffer any sequelae from the incident and refused to press charges led to the case being archived.

HISTORY

After São Paulo, Paulão only played for Vasco, in 2006, in a club considered big. In a 5-1 defeat of the Cariocas by Tricolor, he was on the bench and was applauded (ironically) by those present.

Otherwise, he played for more modest teams, such as Santa Cruz, Juventude, Guarani, Atlético Sorocaba, Barueri, and ended his career in 2009, after playing the Carioca Championship for Madureira.

Since 2015, he has been trying to stand out in his coaching career, but so far has only worked with youth teams. After so much time since the incident that made him famous, Paulão takes the nickname Desmaio in stride and philosophizes when asked about it.

“People still remember because the internet helps (laughs). I take it as a joke, I have friends and people who ask about it. But my career wasn't just about the fainting. You have to know how to take it, and take it with joy, because if you can't smile at the small things, you won't know how to smile at the big ones,” he said to the portal ‘Globo Esporte‘.

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