Telê Santana: father of the Brazilian football revival
[photo=teletete.JPG id=137 align=right]His career as a player was not great, although his rather small and thin body was compensated by a good technical ability and game intelligence. He only became famous as a coach, the one who certainly was at the origin of the new take off of the Brazilian football, discrete for too long on the international stage, as much with clubs as with the Seleção.
Telê Santana Da Silva was born on July 6th, 1931 in the mining city of Itabairito, Minas Gerais. He started to play football at the end of the 40s with América Recreativo de São João Del Rey, which president and coach was no other than his own father. Then he moved to Rio and signed with Fluminense, for which he played as a striker, grabbing the 51 and 59 Rio championships on the way, aswell as the 57 and 60 Rio-São Paulo tournaments. Eventually, he wore Guarani and Vasco da Gama’s jerseys before pursuing a coach career.
He started as such in 1969 with Fluminense and had a triumphal victory in the carioca championship that very year. Then he left Rio for his state of birth where he took charge of the Atlético Mineiro (1970 – 1976) with who he won two Minas Gerais championships in 1970 and 1988. He then coached Grêmio in Porto Alegre and was Rio Grande do Sul champion in 1977.
He discovered the Paulist football in 1980, in charge of Palmeiras for two unsuccessful seasons. Nevertheless his seriousness and offensive football ideas seduced the executives of the CBF, who were looking for a replacement for the Cláudio Pecego and Moraes Coutinho duo. The 1982 world cup in Spain was approaching and Brazil had been seeking a fourth world title since 1970. He took charge in 1980 and won his first game at the Maracanã, a friendly versus Mexico. After a couple of games of the same kind the Seleção went to Uruguay to play the "Mundialito", where it inflicted a 4-1 defeat upon Germany, but lost in final to the home team. Anyway the most important was how Tele Santana’s Seleção had played, with some similarities with its 1970 predecessor.
That made the Brazilian people dream about a possible fourth crown in Spain. Brazil arrived in very good shape after playing six satisfying preparation games, among which four victories including two against Germany. The attack had scored 16 goals in total and only 4 had been conceded. Brazil who was the clear favourite of this World Cup had a brilliant first round with three straight victories, then swept Argentina 3-1 but stumbled upon Italian efficiency. It was Paolo Rossi who scored a hat-trick in the 3-2 victory that ruined Tele Santana and all of Brazil’s hopes.
[photo=teletrofeu.JPG id=137 align=left]He resigned after this defeat. Nevertheless, the joint history of the Seleção and Tele Santana was to make another episode in the following World Cup, that took place in Mexico in 1986. He took Evaristo’s place and started his second term facing Bolivia on june 2nd, 1985 for the South-American eliminatories. Brazil naturally managed to qualify and found itself taking headquarters in Guadalajara, where sixteen years before Pelé, Gerson and Carlos Alberto had taken part in one of the best histories of the World Cup.
Following Tele Santana’s recommendations, the auriverde managed without much seduction to pass the first group stage, then in eight of final sent Poland back home. In the quarter-finals they met France in what might be the nicest game of the tournament, unfortunately punctuated with a fatal penalty shooting contest. This was to be Telê’s last game as national coach. In 52 games as such he obtained 37 victories, 10 draws and 5 defeats.
After this period he headed for Saudi Arabia where he ran Al Ahly’s team, winning the Gulf Cup in 1983 and a Saudi Arabia championship in 1984. On October 12th, 1990, Telê Santana came back to Brazil to take charge of São Paulo FC, which he had already done in 73, but with no success. This time was a lot better since he met exceptional players like Cafu, Leonardo, Muller, Palinha or Rai. During the 1990/1993 period with those he won two paulist championships (91, 92), one national championship (91), two "Libertadores" cups (92, 93) and two Intercontinental Cups (92, 93).
A Brazilian team had not won the very much desired Libertadores Cup since Porto Alegre’s Grêmio in 1983. The two victories in the Intercontinental Cup were obtained vs Stoichkov’s Barça in 92 and Fabio Capello’s Milan in 93. Other various trophies grabbed within that period were two South-American Recopas, in 92 (won vs Cruzeiro) and 93 (won vs Botafogo) and a Conmbebol cup in 95 (vs Uruguay’s Peñarol).
After this golden career, he had to quit being a coach for health problems. He went back to Palmeiras in 96 a general manager, but was forced to retirement that same after suffering a stroke, which cause a large emotion throughout the country. In the heart of millions Brazilians, Telê Santana is the man who sent back to life the real offensive and stylish football that is the trademark and the strength of Brazil. He certainly deserves some credits for today’s good results from the Seleção and the Brazilian clubs.
Recommended links:
The Telê Santana card
All about São Paulo FC
The special week of São Paulo in sambafoot.com:
The spectacular right foot of goalkeeper Rogério
Paulo Autuori aims for world club championship victory
Morumbi: a football temple which looks towards the future
The world advent of São Paulo FC
