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On Friday, at the age of 74, one of the best Brazilian national team coaches of all time, Tele Santana, passed away in the intensive care unit of Belo Horizonte hospital after battling an intestinal infection for a month.
T. Santana, who led Brazil in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups and won the Libertadores Cup twice in a row with "Sao Paulo", was respected for his honorable style of play and refusal to use tactics based on rough play.
"Football is an art, enjoying it, not just kicking the ball forward. I would rather lose a match, but I would never tell my players to cheat, foul opponents, or score a goal by illegal means," the coach once said.
One of the first to honor the strategist was the Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: "Tele always said that football should be played elegantly, technically, and with respect for opponents. The artistic football promoted by the 'master' should inspire future generations."
"He was a great man, a great friend, and was like a father to us, constantly giving good advice," said Brazil's captain Cafu, who Santana trained at the beginning of his career at the "Sao Paulo" club.
The current coach of the Brazilian national team, Carlos Alberto Parreira, also joined in honoring Santana: "Tele left an amazing legacy. He was an example to follow, not only as a coach but as a person. He was strict when needed, but he also knew when to listen to what the players had to say. In history, he will remain one of the best Brazilian coaches of all time."
In the 1982 World Cup, with Santana coaching the Brazilian national team, which featured legends like Zico, Socrates, Falcao, Junior, and Eder, they took football to a new level, but unexpectedly lost to Italy in the second stage group stage with a score of 3-2 in one of the most memorable matches in the history of sports, forcing them to withdraw from the tournament.
After working in Saudi Arabia for some time, Santana returned to work with the Brazilian national team and led them in the planet's championship in Mexico after four years, where the "sorcerers of the ball" had to acknowledge France's superiority in the quarterfinals after a penalty shootout.
In the beginning of the last decade, the coach took over the reins of "Sao Paulo" and won the South American Libertadores Cup and the Club World Cup twice with the team. In his earlier career, Santana trained many other Brazilian clubs such as "Fluminense", "Flamengo", "Palmeiras", "Gremio", and "Atletico Mineiro".
In 1996, T. Santana suffered a stroke and was forced to end his career, and three years later his left leg was amputated below the knee due to ischemia - a blood supply disorder caused by blocked blood vessels.
