João Paulo, Vila's golden boy | OneFootball

Guilherme Guarche, from the Memory Center

It was on a Saturday, June 15, 1957, that João Paulo de Lima Filho was born in São João de Meriti (RJ), the “Anthill of the Americas,” known in the football world as “Papinha da Vila” (a nickname he earned in reference to Pope John Paul II).

His parents, João Paulo, a bus driver, and Mrs. Gabriela Guerreiro de Lima, were very proud of young Joãozinho, who in his childhood lived in his hometown, helped the family with household expenses by working at dawn on the port docks, and used his free time to kick a ball around in the street with other boys from the neighborhood.

At the beginning of the 1970s, he tried out for Pavunense FC, and his skill drew the interest of representatives from São Cristóvão de Futebol e Regatas, the club for which he played on the youth team in 1972.

In 1976, he signed his first contract with the team from Rua Figueira de Melo and successfully played in the Rio state championship, attracting the attention of representatives from América Mineiro, who offered 450,000 cruzeiros for his transfer. However, the board led by Modesto Roma moved first and signed the young athlete for 500,000 cruzeiros.

The quick and nimble left winger, who dazzled with bewildering dribbles, wore the Santos shirt for the first time on June 5, 1977, in a 1–1 draw against Botafogo in the city of Ribeirão Preto, in a match valid for the Campeonato Paulista. The black-and-white team lined up with Willians, Zé Maria, Marçal, Alfredo Mostarda and Fernando; Zé Mario and Aílton Lira; Nílton Batata, Juary (Bianchi), Jorginho Maravilha (Calú) and João Paulo. The coach was Oto Glória, and Juary scored Santos’s goal.

João Paulo was a crafty and intelligent winger who headed the ball effectively, delivered precise crosses, and had a powerful shot. He was 1.69 meters tall and had impressive speed, covering 25 meters in three seconds, to the despair of his markers.

The best spell the skillful left winger enjoyed at Peixe was in the 1978 Campeonato Paulista, which ended in 1979 and gave Santos its 14th São Paulo state title. João was part of the attack made up of Nílton Batata, Aílton Lira, Juary, Pita, and João Paulo, with the team managed by Francisco Ferreira de Aguiar, known as Chico Formiga.

The star wore Peixe’s number 11 shirt from 1977 to 1983, returning later in 1992, and played his last match on May 9, 1992, in Santos’s 2–1 defeat to Cruzeiro at Vila Belmiro, in a Brazilian Championship match. In that game, Santos’s goal was scored by Guga, and Peixe, coached by Geninho, lined up with: Sérgio, Dinho, Marcelo Fernandes, Luiz Carlos and Marcelo Veiga (Índio); Bernardo, Axel and João Paulo (Guga); Almir, Paulinho McLaren and Cilinho.

João Paulo played 412 matches for Peixe and scored 104 goals, alongside Serginho Chulapa. For the Brazilian national team, while at Santos, he played five matches and scored no goals.

“Papinha da Vila” won the following titles with Alvinegro Praiano: champion of the Torneio Vencedores da América in Uruguay and the Torneio Cidade de Pamplona, both in 1983, in addition to the 1978 Campeonato Paulista, when he was one of the standout players of the generation that became known as the “Meninos da Vila.”

When he left Vila Belmiro in 1984, João Paulo transferred to Corinthians, where he stayed until 1989, and then had a short spell at Palmeiras. João Paulo also played for Yamaha in Japan, São José, and Grêmio Maringá, before returning to Santos in 1992 and later ending his career at Náutico.

João Paulo worked for a few years in the youth divisions of Alvinegro Praiano, and like several former Santos players, he chose the city of Santos as his home, living there with his wife Maria Elizabeth, his daughters Thais, Tatiane, and Talita, his grandsons Matheus, Diogo, and Daniel, and his sons-in-law Jeferson and Marcelo Guedes, who followed his father-in-law’s profession and plays professionally in faraway Australia.

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