Heleno de Freitas (12 February 1920 – 8 November 1959) was a Brazilian

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 lea ...

who played as a forward.

Early life

De Freitas was born into a rich Brazilian family in São João de Nepomuceno, in the state of Minas Gerais, on 12 February 1920. Prior to becoming a footballer, he was looking to pursue a career as a lawyer, and even obtained a law degree. He began playing beach football in amateur tournaments. He was signed by Botafogo at the age of 15.

Club career

De Freitas spent most of his club career with

Botafogo 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 ...

, scoring 209 goals in 235 matches for the club, most with his head. In 1948 he transferred to

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

in Argentina, but returned to Brazil the following year, winning the

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

with Vasco. He also had a spell in Colombia with

Atlético Junior Club Deportivo Popular Junior F.C. S.A. (), commonly known as Junior de Barranquilla, by its old name Atlético Junior or simply as Junior, is a Colombian professional football team based in Barranquilla, capital of the department of Atlantic ...

, before ending his career with América in Rio, after a very short stint at Santos; he played only one match for America, on 4 November 1951, during which he was sent off after only 25 minutes of play for insulting his teammates, and it was his first and last game in the Maracanã.

International career

De Freitas scored 19 goals in 18 appearances for

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

between 1944 and 1948 (a rare average of more than one goal per game) as the team finished runners-up in both the

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

and

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

championships. He was joint top goalscorer in the 1945 edition of the tournament, alongside Argentine

Norberto Doroteo Méndez Norberto may refer to: *Norberto Alonso (born 1953), former Argentine football midfielder * Norberto Araujo (born 1978), Argentine football central defender * Norberto Aroldi (1932–1978), Argentine film actor and screenwriter *Norberto Barba (bor ...

, with six goals. He was left off of the Brazilian team that took part at the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the 4th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. It was the first Wo ...

on home soil, however, as he was considered to be past his prime.

Style of play

Described as a "tall and elegant striker" by Christopher Atkins of ''

Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...

'', and as "Brazil's

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

in the 40s" and "the prince of Rio" by Jonathan Wilson of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', De Freitas is regarded as one of the most talented footballers of all time, and was known for his entertaining playing style, although he was also a perfectionist and a highly competitive player, who often served as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Despite his temperament, he struggled to cope with pressure at times, and had difficulties with controlling his nerves and temper, which occasionally led him to commit rash challenges; moreover, he was notorious for his lack of discipline, poor work-rate, inconsistency, and rebellious character, which caused him problems with his managers, teammates, opponents, and officials, and as a result, he was frequently sent off and suspended throughout his career due to his involvement in several controversial incidents and altercations. His problems in his personal life and

bohemian lifestyle Bohemianism is a social and cultural movement that has, at its core, a way of life away from society's conventional norms and expectations. The term originates from the French ''bohème'' and spread to the English-speaking world. It was used to ...

off the pitch also had a negative impact on his performances in his later career. He started out playing on the beach as a hard–tackling central defender or as a central

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

in his youth; however, during his time with the

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club () is a Brazilian sports club based in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest football club in the state since its foundation in 1902. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, th ...

youth side, his manager Carlo Carlomagno decided to deploy him as a

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

, in order to limit his possibility of committing fouls and being booked. He excelled in this new attacking role, due to his speed, technique, vision, passing, intelligence, positioning, ability to read the game, heading, and accurate finishing ability with his feet, which made him a prolific goalscorer. Although he primarily played upfront, he was often known for dropping into

midfield In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...

in order to retrieve the ball, as he preferred to play with the ball at his feet. He was also known for his ability to lose his markers and get into positions from which he could receive the ball and shoot, as well as his ability to play with his back to goal. Heleno was later nicknamed ''The Cursed Prince''.

Personal life and death

De Freitas was married to Ilma; the pair eventually split, and she went on to marry Heleno's best friend. Throughout his career, he was notorious for his turbulent lifestyle off the pitch; he was known to be a womaniser, and would often stay out all night and spend the evenings in

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...

s. He also smoked, drank, and was known for gambling. Moreover, he struggled with drug addiction as well as mental health issues. He died from complications related to late-stage, untreated syphilis in 1959 in a sanatorium in Barbacena, at the age of 39.

Legacy

A biography of de Freitas, ''Nunca houve um homem como Heleno'' (''There was never a man like Heleno''), by Marcos Eduardo Neves, was first published in 2006. The title of is a reference to his mocking nickname "Gilda". He was nicknamed after

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer, and Pin-up model, pin-up girl. She achieved fame in the 1940s as one of the top stars of the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of ...

's iconic character in the eponymous film due to his good looks and hot temper; the poster for the film included the caption "There never was a woman like Gilda". During his time playing in Colombia, De Freitas met

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian writer and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th centur ...

, who was a young journalist at the time; regarding De Freitas, Márquez commented: "As a football player, Heleno de Freitas could blow hot and cold. But he was more than just a centre-forward. He was a permanent opportunity for others to speak ill of him." In

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

a Colombian writer and sports reporter Andrés Salcedo wrote a Book namely ''El día en que el Fútbol Murió: Triunfo y tragedia de un dios'' (meaning: "The day when football died: Triumph and tragedy of a god") including Heleno de Freitas as the main character. In 2012, Brazilian

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

José Henrique Fonseca released a film based on the life of Heleno de Freitas. The film was titled '' Heleno'' and stars

Rodrigo Santoro Rodrigo Junqueira Reis Santoro (; born 22 August 1975) is a Brazilian actor. He is known in Brazil for his appearance on local telenovelas and internationally for his portrayal of Persian King Xerxes I of Persia, Xerxes in the film ''300 (film), ...

as Heleno de Freitas. The film's focus is more on Heleno de Freitas' personal life, particularly his decline into ether addiction and mental illness, rather than presenting his achievements on the football field.

Honours

Club

Botafogo * Torneio Inicio: 1947 * Campeonato Carioca de Aspirantes: 1944, 1945 * Campeonato Carioca de Amadores: 1944, 1943, 1944 * Copa Burgos: 1941 * Taça Prefeito Dr. Durval Neves da Rocha: 1942 Vasco da Gama * Rio de Janeiro State League champion:

* Campeonato Carioca de Aspirantes: 1949 Santos * Quadrangular de Belo Horizonte: 1951

International

Brazil *

Roca Cup The Roca Cup () was a football competition contested between Argentina and Brazil national teams from 1914 to 1976 on irregular basis. The Copa Roca was the first trophy, official or unofficial, ever won by a Brazil national team. History The c ...

champion: 1945 * Rio Branco Cup champion: 1947 *

runner-up:

Individual

* Campeonato Carioca top-scorer:

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

* Copa América top-scorer:

References

External links

Heleno (2011)
A Biographical Film directed b
José Henrique Fonseca

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Lover, Fighter, Jogador: The Unbelievable Life of Heleno de Freitas
*
Article on Heleno, www.museudosesportes.com.br
*
archive

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freitas, Heleno de 1920 births 1959 deaths Men's association football forwards Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian men's footballers Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Boca Juniors footballers CR Vasco da Gama players Atlético Junior footballers Santos FC players America Football Club (Rio de Janeiro) players Argentine Primera División players Categoría Primera A players Brazil men's international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia People from São João Nepomuceno 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen