Rildo da Costa Menezes (23 January 1942 – 16 May 2021), also known as ''Rildo'', was a Brazilian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a defender.

Club career

Rildo was the last of Santos Golden Era players, which included

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, ...

, Pepe,

Coutinho Coutinho is a Nobility, noble Portuguese language surname. It is a diminutive of Couto (Couto means 'enclosed pasture'). It is from Late Latin ''cautum'', from the past participle of ''cavere'' ‘to make safe.' It may refer to: Artists *Afrânio ...

, Clodoaldo and many others. His career began in 1959 when he signed a youth contract with Botafogo. In 1961 he began his senior career with Botafogo, two times winner in 1961 and 1962, and Brazilian Championship in 1963. In 1967, he transferred to Santos FC. Three time winner of Săo Paulo State Championship he captained the team that won (1967, 1968, 1969). From 1963 to 1970, he played for the Brazil national team. In 1977, he joined Pelé with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. In 1978, he played for the

Southern California Lazers The Southern California Lazers were an American soccer club based in Torrance, California that was a member of the American Soccer League. History The Lazers were formed in 1978 as an ASL expansion franchise in suburban Los Angeles and owned by ...

of the American Soccer League and was selected to the ASL all-star team that season. In 1979, he played for the

California Sunshine The California Sunshine was an American soccer club based in Fountain Valley, California that was a member of the American Soccer League. The team was owned by Dr. Robert Everakes and his wife Alexandra, who was the general manager. Their home game ...

. On 16 April 1980, he signed with the Cleveland Cobras of the American Soccer League.

International career

Rildo earned 49 caps, scoring one goal, with the Brazil national team from 1963 to 1969. He was a member of the Brazilian team at the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...

where he scored his lone national team goal in a 3–1 loss to Portugal.

Coaching career

In 1990, Rildo coached the California Emperors. In 1993, he coached the

Los Angeles Salsa The Los Angeles Salsa was an American soccer team based in Los Angeles that played in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and the USISL Pro League. The club played on the campus of California State University, Fullerton at Titan Stad ...

of the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

. In October 1993, he resigned after the team lost the championship game. In 1995, he coached the San Fernando Valley Golden Eagles of the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. Rildo was an assistant coach with the Marlborough High School soccer team where he oversaw the junior varsity. He assisted professional British Head Coach Gareth Pashley to their most successful season in the High School's history.

Death

Rildo died in Los Angeles on 16 May 2021, aged 79.

Honours

;

Botafogo FR Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Port., Rio de Janeiro State Championship), was started in 1906 and is the annual football championship in the state of Rio de Janeiro, B ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

* Torneio Rio-São Paulo:

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

; Santos FC *

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 ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana ( pt, CONMEBOL Recopa Sul-Americana), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club association football, football compe ...

Intercontinental Champions' Supercup The Intercontinental Champions' Supercup, commonly referred to as the Intercontinental Supercup or Recopa Intercontinental, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested by the past winners of the Intercontinental Cup. Th ...

. * Campeonato Brasileiro:

; New York Cosmos * NASL:

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rildo 1942 births 2021 deaths Footballers from Recife Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Brazil men's international footballers 1966 FIFA World Cup players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players California Sunshine players Cleveland Cobras players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players Santos FC players Southern California Lazers players Sport Club do Recife players Brazilian football managers American Professional Soccer League coaches USISL coaches Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States