Santos Futebol Clube - History

The Golden Years

The club enjoyed its peak in the sixties, having players like Pelé, Coutinho, and Pepe. The club's popularity, nation-wide, was enormous.

In its golden years it won 9 state championships; two Libertadores cups; 6 (out of 10) Brazilian championships; and played exhibition games worldwide, showing the best Brazilian-style football at its moment of glory.

Unfortunately, however, the end of the club's golden age coincides with the substitution of the Taça Brasil with the Campeonato Brasileiro, which it would take the club 30 years to win.

Stopping War

It is really true that the club's popularity was so great that it could halt a war so that people could watch it play. The mythical event (which many dismiss as an urban legend) occurred in 1969 in the Congo. The Kinshasa (the former Belgian Congo) and the Brazzaville (the former French Congo) governments were engaged in a war when Santos arrived at the Kinshasa airport heading to Brazzaville, where it would play against the Congo National Team.

Instead of sending them away, the Kinshasa government gently produced a brief truce, escorted them to the border and back in safety. After playing their previously arranged match (19/1/1969), the team returned to Kinshasa (again escorted by the militia) and met the Congolese president, who told them that they would only be allowed leave if they played against a local team.

On January 21, 1969 Santos played against a quickly-assembled Congolese juvenile national team and won 2-0. The Congolese president wanted a rematch and, on January 23, 1969 Santos played against Kinshasa Leopards, "losing" 3-2. After that, they were allowed to take off.

In the meantime the war had been in a halt in both sides of the border, but it started over as soon as their plane left.

Santos After Pelé

The end of the golden age also coincided with the retirement of Pelé from professional soccer, in 1972, after a low-profile participation in the first Brazilian Championship.

From 1972 onwards Santos only won three important titles: the 1978 and 1984 São Paulo state championship, and the Copa Conmebol international title - the precursor of the actual Copa Sudamericana - in 1998. It was also the runner-up in the Brazilian championships of 1983 (won by Flamengo) and 1995 (won by Botafogo). However, since the late eighties, the club was seen as decadent, and many believed its glory days were over.

The Recent Years

The "resurrection" of Santos started when President Marcelo Teixeira, having spent several million reais on expensive player transfers, decided to try a new management formula to run the soccer team during those extremely tough financial years, that basically was to stick to the players coming up the club's ranks, hire the discredited Leão as coach in an attempt to develop new emerging talents for the professional league. Superstitious, Marcelo Teixeira also decided to put a statue of Modesto Roma, who was one of his greatests idols, inside the Vila Belmiro Stadium. Roma, called "Gigante da Vila" due to his body dimensions, was the greatest club executive director of all times, running the club during the golden age, and was the man responsible for keeping the amazing team together during the 60s, declining several international offers to sell Pelé. Modesto Roma once stated to the press his famous dictum "Da bola para a bola", meaning that all money received to play should be reinvested to keep and hire the best players of that age. The club would undergo a long process of rehabilitation, including the renewal of its stadium (increasing its capacity), the hiring of important players and, most important of all, a strong investment in infrastructure (training fields, medical and physiotherapical facilities) and the formation of players.

This rehabilitation policy proved effective and the club was soon replenished with numerous young talented players (among them Robinho, Diego, Elano, Léo and Renato). In 2002 Santos were national champions for the first time since 1968, and in 2004 won the league again. The club has also performed well in most tournaments in which it takes part and is seen as a major favourite for the current league.

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