Guga, the top scorer | OneFootball

Guilherme Guarche, from the Memory Center

With contributions from Wesley Miranda, of Assophis.

Born on June 14, 1964, a Sunday, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Alexandre da Silva, known as Guga, turns 62 today. Living on the beautiful Ilha Grande, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Guga takes tourists on trips aboard his schooner, called Pavarotti, and reminds everyone who comes on board of the great moments of his career, especially at Santos Futebol Clube. After all, Jacqueline’s husband, father of Thainara, Thaiane, and Thaian, and grandfather of Catarina and Maya has plenty of stories to tell.

Signed at the end of 1991 from Internacional de Limeira, Guga arrived promising to be the new top scorer at Vila Belmiro. With fellow striker Paulinho McLaren, owner of the number 9 shirt, the mythical number 10 went to the new arrival.

Coach Rubens Minelli’s dream was to field, on the same team, two of the biggest scorers of 1991: Paulinho McLaren, the top scorer of the Brazilian Championship with 15 goals, and Guga, who came from Inter de Limeira, where he was runner-up top scorer in the Campeonato Paulista with 18.

But with technical and physical characteristics that were almost identical, it was difficult for the two to play together, although, when needed, Guga would come off the bench to score his goals and provide assists.

After McLaren left for Porto in Portugal, Guga inherited the number 9 shirt and became the focal point of the attack. With timely help from right back Índio and right winger Almir, the striker managed to deliver on what he had promised: to be the new top scorer at Vila Belmiro.

With an excellent sense of positioning, great leap, and outstanding heading ability—one of the best ever to wear the sacred shirt—Guga scored many headers. Altogether, between 1992 and 1994, he scored 74 goals in 156 matches and was the top scorer of the 1993 Brazilian Championship with 14 goals, an achievement that earned him the Bola de Prata Placar and the Charles Miller Award. When he left Vila, he went to play for Botafogo FR.

The highest scorer against Corinthians after the Pelé era, it was against this rival that Guga made his mark in Santos history and in the hearts of the fans, scoring eight goals and claiming three victories against his biggest victim.

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