''Os Santásticos'' (, ''The Santastics'') is the nickname for the group of Santos Futebol Clube players coached by Lula and Antoninho that won a total of 25 titles between 1959 and 1974, including two

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

. Often considered one of the strongest teams ever assembled in any sport, scoring over 3000 goals during this period, with an average of over 2.5 goals per match. Also known as ''O Balé Branco'' (, ''The White Ballet'') or ''Time dos Sonhos'' (, ''Dream Team''), they dominated Brazilian football and became a symbol of '' Jogo Bonito'' thanks to figures such as

Gilmar Gylmar dos Santos Neves (; 22 August 1930 – 25 August 2013), known simply as Gilmar, was a Brazilian footballer who played goalkeeper for Corinthians and Santos and was a member of the Brazil national team in three World Cups. He was elect ...

, Mauro, Mengálvio, Coutinho,

Pepe Pepe is a pet form of the Spanish name José (Josep). It is also a surname. * People Mononyms * Pepe (footballer, born 1935), real name José Macia, Brazilian footballer *Pepe (footballer, born 1983), real name Képler Laveran Lima Ferreira ...

and the iconic

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...

. Pelé made Santos FC famous around the world in this revolutionary era, therefore his lesser-known teammates are best known as "Pelé's friends."

The beginning

In 1956,

Waldemar de Brito Waldemar de Brito (, 17 May 1913 – 21 February 1979) was a Brazilian Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward for several clubs in Brazil and Argentina, as well as for the Brazil national football ...

took Pelé to Santos, an industrial and port city in the state of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, to try out for professional club Santos Futebol Clube telling the directors at Santos that the 15-year-old would be "the greatest football player in the world." Santos were at the time the top team in São Paulo, having just won two consecutive State champions when Pelé joined. Aged 15, Pelé made his debut for Santos on 7 September 1956, scoring one goal in a 7–1 friendly victory over Corinthians de Santo André. When the 1957 season started, Pelé was given a starting place in the first team and, at the age of just 16, became the top scorer in the league. Just ten months after signing professionally, the teenager was called up to the

Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team ( pt, Seleção Brasileira de Futebol), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' (‘Canary Squad’, after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the B ...

. After the World Cup in 1962, wealthy European clubs such as Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United tried to sign the young player, but the government of Brazil declared Pelé an "official national treasure" to prevent him from being transferred out of the country. Pelé won his first major title with Santos in 1958 as the team won the

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional association football, football league in the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. Run b ...

; Pelé would finish the tournament as top scorer with an incredible 58 goals, a record that stands today. A year later, ''O Rei'' would help the team earn their first victory in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo with a 3–0 over Vasco da Gama. However, Santos was unable to retain the Paulista title.

1961: Brazilian champions

In 1960, Pelé scored 33 goals to help his team regain the Campeonato Paulista trophy but lost out on the Rio-São Paulo tournament after finishing in a disappointing 8th place. Another 47 goals from Pelé saw Santos retain the Campeonato Paulista. The club went on to win the Taça Brasil that same year, crushing

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

in the finals; Pelé finished as top scorer of the tournament with 9 goals. The victory allowed Santos to participate in the

, the most prestigious continental club tournament in the South America. In March 1961, Pelé scored the ''gol de placa'' (goal worthy of a plaque), against

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

at the Maracanã. Pelé received the ball on the edge of his own penalty area, and ran the length of the field, eluding opposition players, and fired the ball beyond the goalkeeper.Remembering Pele's gol de placa
''FIFA'' Retrieved 10 May 2011 The goal was regarded as being so spectacular that a plaque was commissioned with a dedication to ''the most beautiful goal in the history of the Maracanã''.

1962: The first treble in the world

Santos' most successful club season started in 1962;Anibal Massaini Neto (Director/Producer), (2004). ''

Pelé Eterno ''Pelé Eterno'' (in English: ''Pele Forever'') is a 2004 Brazilian documentary film directed by Anibal Massaini Neto. It traces the life and career of the Brazilian soccer star Pelé, one of the greatest footballers of all time, from his poor c ...

'' ocumentary film Brazil: Anima Produções Audiovisuais Ltda. International: Universal Studios Home Video. the team was seeded in Group 1 alongside

Cerro Porteño Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Primera División titles and is one of the most popular football clubs in Paraguay. Its presi ...

and

Deportivo Municipal Club Centro Deportivo Municipal, commonly known as Deportivo Municipal, is a Peruvian football club based in Lima, Peru. They are among Peru's most recognizable clubs and enjoy considerable popularity. The bulk of their success was won a few ye ...

, winning every match of their group but one (a 1–1 away draw vs Cerro), with Pelé scoring his first goal in a brace against Cerro. Santos defeated Universidad Católica in the semifinals and met defending champions

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

in the finals in which Pelé scored another brace in the playoff match to secure the first title for a Brazilian club. Pelé finished as the second best scorer of the competition with 4 goals. That same year, Santos would defend, with success, the Campeonato Paulista (with 37 goals from Pelé), the Taça Brasil (Pelé scoring four goals in the final series against Botafogo), and win the 1962 Intercontinental Cup against Benfica.Intercontinental Cups 1962 and 1963
''FIFA'' Retrieved 5 May 2011 Wearing his iconic number 10 shirt, Pelé produced one of his best ever performances and scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in Lisbon, as Santos beat the European champions 5–2.

Squad

38 players were used throughout the season, with Lima being the most used by playing in 74 matches.

1963–1965: ''Pentacampeão''

Santos tried to defend their title again in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

but they were thoroughly beaten in both legs of the semifinals by Independiente. Santos won again the Campeonato Paulista, with Pelé netting 34 goals. The club also shared the Rio-São Paulo title with Botafogo and win the Taça Brasil for the fourth consecutive year. The ''Santistas'' would try to resurge in 1965 by winning, for the 9th time, the Campeonato Paulista and the Taça Brasil. In the 1965 Copa Libertadores, Santos started convincingly by winning every match of their group in the first round. In the semifinals, Santos met Peñarol in a rematch of the 1962 final. After two legendary matches, a playoff was needed to break the tie. Unlike 1962, Peñarol came out on top and eliminated Santos 2–1. Pelé would, however, finish as the topscorer of the tournament with eight goals.

1963 Squad

36 players were used throughout the season, with Dorval being the most used by playing in 61 matches.

1964 Squad

32 players were used throughout the season, with Lima being the most used by playing in 68 matches.

1965 Squad

42 players were used throughout the season, with Geraldino being the most used by playing in 67 matches.

1966: A forgettable season

In 1966, Pelé and Santos also failed to retain the Taça Brasil as ''O Reis goals weren't enough to prevent a 9–4 routing by Cruzeiro (led by

Tostão Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade (born 25 January 1947), generally known as Tostão, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward or attacking midfielder. Tostão was an intelligent, hardworking and prolific left-footed f ...

) in the final series. Although Santos won the Campeonato Paulista in 1967, 1968 and 1969, Pelé became less and less a contributing factor to the ''Santistas'' now-limited success.

1967–1969: Rejuvenation of the ''Balé Branco''

On 19 November 1969, Pelé scored his 1000th goal in all competitions. This was a highly anticipated moment in Brazil. The goal, called popularly ''O Milésimo'' (The Thousandth), occurred in a match against

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...

, when Pelé scored from a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

, at the Maracanã Stadium. Huellas de Pelé

Pelé states that his most beautiful goal was scored at Rua Javari stadium on a

match against São Paulo rival

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

on 2 August 1959. As there is no video footage of this match, Pelé asked that a computer animation be made of this specific goal. In 1967, the two factions involved in the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

agreed to a 48-hour

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

so they could watch Pelé play an

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

1970–1973: The last years

After poor investments made by the club's board, Santos had to sell their best players to end their debts. The club also spent the following campaigns with long tours to Africa and Asia to raise funds, while a "reserve" squad played the most of the national tournaments. In 1973, the club won their last trophy with Pelé, the

; after a 0–0 draw against Portuguesa, Santos was ahead on the shoot-out when the referee Armando Marques ended the match after miscalculating the score. Shortly after, the title was split between both clubs. Pelé subsequently announced his retirement in the end of the 1974 season.

Footnotes and references

Filmography

* Aníbal Massaini Neto, ''Pelé Eterno'', 2004. * Carlos Hugo Christensen, ''O Rei Pelé'', 1963. * Eduardo Escorel and Luiz Carlos Barreto, ''Isto é Pelé'', 1974. * Mercado Livre, ''Santos, Especial'', 2011. * Paulo Machline, ''Uma história de futebol'', 1998.

External links