Gilmar

Gilmar
	Gilmar and Pelé (crying) after Brazil won the 1958 World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Gylmar dos Santos Neves
Date of birth	22 August 1930
Place of birth	Santos, Brazil
Date of death	25 August 2013 (aged 83)
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1945–1951	Jabaquara
Senior career*
Years	Team
1951–1961	Corinthians
1961–1969	Santos
Total
National team
1953–1969	Brazil
Honours
Men's Football
Representing Brazil
FIFA World Cup
Copa América
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Gylmar dos Santos Neves (22 August 1930 – 25 August 2013)^[2] was a Brazilian football player. He has played for the Brazil national football team. Listed by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics as one of the best goalkeepers of the twentieth century, with the Brazilian national team he won the World Cup in 1958 and 1962; he is the only goalkeeper to have managed to win two editions of the World Cup. Before him, only Guido Masetti had won two world titles in 1934 and 1938, but as the third goalkeeper called up. He was elected the best Brazilian goalkeeper of the 20th century. He is remembered for his sober style on the pitch and his peaceful personality.

He is considered the most complete goalkeeper in Brazilian football of all time, reactive extreme goalkeeper of classic style, he had very quick reflexes, was agile and possessed of remarkable acrobatic qualities. He played until he was 39. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time.

He played in legendary teams such as Corinthians in the 1950s, Santos in the 1960s and in the Brazilian team that won twice the world. Gilmar had at least one title in each competition he played.

Early years

Gilmar was born on August 25, 1930 in Santos to his parents Gilberto and Maria, he began playing as a goalkeeper for Jabaquara in 1945, his coach was impressed with his goalkeeping ability and his great saves. He became renowned as one of the finest shot-stoppers ever for the club.

Club career

Gilmar switched from Jabaquara to Corinthians in 1951, where he immediately won the Campeonato Paulista, repeating it in 1952 and 1954. In 1961 he went to Santos with star players Pelé and Coutinho for $3000. With Santos he won the state championship five times and the national title five times. In 1962 and 1963 he won the Copa Libertadores with Santos against Peñarol and Boca Juniors respectively. In the same years won the Intercontinental Cup against Eusébio's Benfica Lisbon and AC Milan. At club level, Gilmar won the World Cup for club teams twice with Santos, among other things. He ended his career in 1969.

International career

He made his debut for the national team on March 1, 1953 in Lima in a match against Bolivia. In 1954 he had a chance to play for the 1954 FIFA World Cup but he wasn't selected along with Garrincha, Zizinho, Ademir, Canhoteiro, Barbosa, Danilo, Jair and Bigode. In 1956 he went on a European tour with the Seleção and played against Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Italy, England and Turkey and made a good impression here. The competition in the national team was fierce, other positions were not always certain except for the defending pair Djalma Santos and Nílton Santos. Due to his good performances in Europe, Gilmar was preferred to Carlos José Castilho at the FIFA World Cup in Sweden in 1958, who started the tournament with shirt number 1, while Gilmar was given number 3. Only in the semi-finals against France Gilmar let in the first goals, from Just Fontaine and Roger Piantoni.

Gilmar was put out of the squad after Brazil lost one point to Argentina in the South American Championship in 1959. He had also been sidetracked at Corinthians. It was only after his change to the successful Santos that he was included in the national team again. He also played at the World Cup in Chile, where the title was extended. He was given the jersey number 1. After star player Pelé was sidelined in the group stage, Brazil had to do the job defensively and not offensively. He conceded five goals and again became world champion. He is so far the only goalkeeper to become world champion twice as a starting player. In the election of goalkeeper of the century, he was in first place in Brazil and fourth in South America. In 1965 he had to give way to goalkeeper Manga, but was given another chance at the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England. He played against Bulgaria and Hungary, but was replaced by Manga for the third group match against Portugal. He achieved a total of 14 World Cup appearances in goal, playing his last game on 12 June 1969 in a 2-1 win against England. In total, Gilmar played 94 matches for Brazil.