Léo, a star on and off the pitch, celebrates his birthday today | OneFootball

Guilherme Guarche, Memory Center

The most successful Santos player after the Pelé era celebrates his birthday today. Born in Campos dos Goytacazes on July 6, 1975, Leonardo Lourenço Bastos, the left-back known as the Warrior of Vila, winner of eight official titles with Santos from 2002 to 2012, turns 51 well-lived years old. With 456 matches and 24 goals for Peixe, the club he defended in the years 2000/05 – 2009/14 and 2016.

Curiously, Léo is not the only star in Santos history to have been born in that city in the north of the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The first was his great-uncle Augusto Vieira de Oliveira, the late Tite, who shone in Santos’s attack in the 1950s and 60s and passed away on August 26, 2004, in Santos. Interestingly, the two only met when Léo arrived at Vila Belmiro in 2000.

At Santos, a successful careerLéo began playing for the youth team of his hometown club, Americano Futebol Clube. In 1995 he was promoted to the professional squad, staying with the “Glorious One from the Park” for two more years until being transferred, along with two other players, to União São João de Araras, in the interior of São Paulo state.

In 1999 he had a brief spell at Palmeiras, but he was not used by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and left the club without even playing an official match. The following season he transferred to Santos.

At Vila Belmiro his career would reach a new level and consecrate him in Santos’s number 3 shirt, to the point that Santos fans came to regard him as one of the best full-backs in the team’s history.

At 25, he made his debut for the team coached by Antônio Gilberto Maniaes, Giba (who passed away in São Paulo on June 24, 2014). In a match at Vila Belmiro against the team that had previously rejected him, Palmeiras, Léo played in a lineup of Carlos Germano; Michel (Júlio César), Preto, Sangaletti (Valdo), and debutant Léo; Claudiomiro, Renato, Robert (Aílton), Caio Ribeiro; Edmundo and Dodô.

On that Sunday, August 27, 2000, when only 7,315 paying fans watched the derby, Santos lost 3-2 (Edmundo scored Peixe’s goals), but in an interview after the match, Léo made a statement that pleased the supporters:If it depends on me, I’ll give my blood to make Santos champions.Despite being only 1.65m tall, the full-back made up for his lack of height with tremendous determination and mobility. When he carried the ball, crossing midfield and driving into the opposing defense, he became a giant in the eyes of his opponents.

Second generation of Meninos da VilaThe great triumph came in 2002, when Santos, after 18 years without a major title, won the long-dreamed-of Brazilian Championship. With coach Emerson Leão in charge, the team became famous as the second generation of Meninos da Vila, as it featured many young players from the youth ranks, such as stars Robinho and Diego.

The stage for this victory was Morumbi, on a summer Sunday, December 15, 2002, when the Vila Belmiro team defeated archrival Corinthians and won its seventh Brazilian Championship title. Robinho, Elano, and Léo scored in the 3-2 win that secured Santos the beautiful trophy, now on display at the Memorial of Achievements.

It fell to the left-back to score the goal that sealed the result, in the 47th minute of the second half, in the last play of the game. Robinho received a pass from Léo himself, beat Kléber and Vampeta, the ball ricocheted to Léo, who had followed the play, he cut inside, moving the ball from his left foot to his right, and from the edge of the box unleashed a thunderbolt that made the stadium erupt and kicked off the Santos celebration.

The Brazilian champion side lined up with Fábio Costa; Maurinho, Alex, André Luís, and Léo; Paulo Almeida, Renato, Elano, and Diego (Robert) (Michel); Robinho and William. The referee was Carlos Eugênio Simon.

In Santos’s eighth Brazilian title win, in 2004, Léo was the player with the most appearances in the campaign, with 43 matches. That year, repeating his feat from 2001 and 2003, he was voted the best left-back in the Brazilian Championship, winning Placar magazine’s Bola de Prata award.

Standout at BenficaHis football caught the attention of the directors of Portuguese side Benfica, who signed him in mid-2005 for the considerable sum, for the time, of €250,000 (two hundred and fifty thousand euros). His committed football won over Benfica supporters and earned their admiration. With the Portuguese team he won the Dubai, Guadiana, and Guimarães tournaments.

He received the title of best left-back in Portuguese football in three seasons: 2005/06, 2006/07, and 2007/08. At the start of 2009 he terminated his contract with the Eagles and returned to Brazil, signing a two-year deal with Santos, renewed in 2011.

More titles with SantosUpon his return to Vila Belmiro, he won six more significant titles: three São Paulo State Championships, in 2010, 2011, and 2012; a Copa do Brasil in 2010; a Recopa Sudamericana in 2012; and the most important of all, the 2011 Copa Libertadores, achieved with a 2-1 victory over Peñarol at Pacaembu on the night of June 22, 2011.

Of those years after his return, the most remarkable was 2010, as he was part of a team that played joyful, engaging, highly attacking football, led by Neymar, Paulo Henrique Ganso, and Robinho.

At Vila’s centenary, one half for each teamWhen Urbano Caldeira Stadium completed its first century of existence, Santos organized a celebratory match, inviting Benfica, and took the opportunity to pay tribute to the Warrior of Vila, who bid farewell to the pitch by playing one half for each of the two great teams he represented in his career.Held on Saturday, October 8, 2016, the match ended in a 1-1 draw, with Santos’s goal scored at the end by center-back Noguera (with it, Peixe maintained the taboo of never having lost to the traditional Portuguese side).

Managed by coach Dorival Júnior, Santos played with Vanderlei, (John later João Paulo), Victor Ferraz (Daniel Guedes), Luiz Felipe (Noguera), David Braz (Lucas Veríssimo), and Zeca (Caju); Thiago Maia (Léo Cittadini) (Fernando Medeiros), Renato (Yuri) (Matheus Oliveira), Jean Mota (Paulinho later Joel), and Elano (Vecchio) (Walterson); Ricardo Oliveira (Giovanni later Rodrigão and Léo) and Copete (Rafael Longuine).

Léo was honored by Peixe with his name being given to the new structure at the Rei Pelé Training Center, dedicated to the youth categories and women’s football.

The modern, multifunctional space is the result of a partnership with NR Sports, Lightwall, and ModuLight. The new building was named ‘Leonardo Lourenço Bastos’.

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