Santos legend Pepe turns 91 🎉 | OneFootball

Eternal idol of Santos, Pepe turned 91 this Wednesday. José Macia, known as the "Cannon of Vila" for his powerful left-footed shot, is the second-highest scorer in the club's history, with 405 goals in 741 matches, second only to Pelé.

The former forward often jokes that he is the greatest "human" scorer of Peixe, since, according to him, Pelé "was from another world".

Santos paid tribute to the idol on social media. "Today is the day of the greatest human scorer in our history... With a unique charisma, the black-and-white legend reaches 91 years of age, always with great humor and an aura of someone who contributed intensely to the history and construction of Brazilian football. A timeless legacy," wrote the club.

"Long live the heroes of our Santos Futebol Clube. Black-and-white greetings, Mr. Pepe," the post concluded.

Achievements with Santos

Pepe was a two-time champion of the Copa Libertadores da América (1962 and 1963), won 11 Campeonato Paulista titles, six Brazilian Championships, two Club World Cups, and four Rio-São Paulo tournaments. Thus, he became the player with the most titles for a single club in the history of Brazilian football.

For the Brazilian National Team, he played 40 matches, scored 22 goals, and was a champion of the World Cups in 1958 and 1962. Throughout his career, he also received the Belfort Duarte Award, given to athletes who were never sent off the field.

Career as a Coach

As a coach of Santos, he had five stints and led the team in 371 matches, being the third coach to manage the club the most times. Among his main titles as a coach, the 1973 Campeonato Paulista, the 1986 Brazilian Championship with São Paulo, and the Paulista of the same year with Inter de Limeira stand out.

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