“THE ENCYCLOPEDIA”

In Literature I found The Encyclopedia, so Nilton Santos created a Neologism because it is called “The Encyclopedia”, perhaps “The Encyclopedio” and deserves, therefore, in Football and even outside of it he gathered a considerable amount of knowledge, a player of remarkable knowledge, a walking football dictionary.

Two passages or three confirm the work:

1 – World Cup in Switzerland, in 1954, striker goes after Nilton already inside the area, Nilton Santos makes the foul and when he hears the whistle he takes an imperceptible step leaving the penalty area, arms raised with saying nothing I did, I was here, the Referee goes there and thinks it was really out,  only foul mark (thankfully there wasn’t this monster called V.A.R that should be just for the ball to go in or not).

2 – Game at Maracanã, full-backs didn’t support, Nilton picks up the ball and advances, the Coach from the Mouth of the Tunnel shouts: Nilton comes back, Nilton Santos continues, the Commander yells Nilton back!!! Nilton moves quickly towards the opponent’s area, the desperate Coach howls Nilton Santos back!! He enters the area getting away from the opponents and scores the goal. In a whisper the Chief murmurs: good Nilton!

3 – Collective Training at Botafogo, in General Severiano, starters against reserves, at the end of the training session the Coach calls a young man who, with his old boots under his arm, crooked legs, had asked for an opportunity (he had already been to other clubs that denied it, he said – he had come from afar, he was from Pau Grande). He ordered the Left Back of the National Team Nilton Santos to enter the field, and he was the Left Back of the National Team. Story Short: At the end of the training session, Nilton snorts and heads to the Coach At the end of the training session, Nilton snorts and heads to the Coach And he says: I think it’s better to sign this guy because if he goes to another club and plays against me I won’t be able to score, no one will. He was right, it was Mané, Garrincha, because he was from a rural area and liked birds, his sister nicknamed him Garrincha, a local bird, Mané Garrincha, who dribbled many Johns around the world.

The word “encyclopedia” has an interesting etymological origin. It comes from the Classical Greek ἐγκύκλιος παιδεία (transliterated as “enkyklios paideia”), which literally means “circular education” or, more broadly. Perhaps hence the explanation for his upbringing, he lived on the Island, in the neighbourhood of Flexeiras, with few inhabitants at the time, everyone knew each other, in football everyone played against everyone, accumulating natural abilities since childhood. He had a twin brother, Nilson Santos, identical, also a Left Back, some said (as is common for Brothers who play football and one being more famous) that he played more than Nilton… he was very good, he played in a similar way, but one was a two-time world champion, Nilson played in a great Cocotá team and I remember it very well: he arrived an hour before everyone else and started to tie the bandages, between some turns and others, he sat down…, rested, but on the field he was active and good, safe in defence and effective in attack.

In ’71 and ’72, in the interval between classes, those of us who liked Soccer from the Physical Education Class would go to Gen. Severiano, nearby to watch the Training, which was almost half of the way up the Botafogo of F.R. He had a twin brother, Nilson Santos, identical, also a Left Back, some said (as is common for Brothers who play football and one being more famous) that he played more than Nilton… he was very good, he played in a similar way, but one was a two-time world champion, Nilson played in a great Cocotá team

and I remember it very well: he arrived an hour before everyone else and started to tie the bandages, between some turns and others, he sat down…, rested, but on the field, he was active and good, safe in defence and effective in attack.

In ’71 and ’72, in the interval between classes, those of us who liked Soccer from the Physical Education Class would go to Gen. Severiano, nearby to watch the Training, which was almost half of the way up the Botafogo of F.R. of the Brazilian National Teams, and C.T.  from whom we learned a lot. Nilton Santos’ class stood out, technical, tall for the Left Back, sober and intelligent.

A few years later, I saw him play in Pelada Veteranos do Zumbi, owned by his friend Carlinhos Zarur, who turned 75 in 2024, a Guinness Book record. They say that the game was being played and he, who had stopped playing, was traveling around the island on his bicycle. He stopped, watched, liked the technical level and the atmosphere and asked to play! He never left; he was brilliantly honoured at the 75th Anniversary Party at the Jardim Guanabara Yacht Club.

In the mid-70’s, the famous and long-lived Pelada VZ (Veterans of the Zombie) that wandered all over the Island, used the facilities and the field of the Esporte Clube Cocotá, on Saturday mornings the ball ran round and soft from foot to foot to the back of the nets. Celinha, the dear wife of Nilton Santos,

She was always there to appreciate and accompany him, smiling, happy.    Eventually, when I was free on those days and times, I also went, because the level was high, some former professionals, others who were not professionals because they didn’t want to be or something happened, and also my Physical Education classmate and former resident of the last house of Bananal, in Praia, Espezim, Manoel Espezim Neto, Journalist, Teacher, Dr., Coach and much more, Reasonable Right Back. He would sit next to Nilton’s Beloved and we would proselyte. Friendly and attentive, she knew about the scratch. I knew her and I knew Nilton Santos a little, because my Director and Technician at Cocotá, one of the greatest people I’ve seen, a disciplinarian to whom I owe a lot, was Nilton Santos’ Partner in a Sports Equipment Store on Voluntários da Pátria Street where I always went to buy material, or visit them. Once, Seo Joca ordered Nilton, who went to Switzerland to play in honour of Pelé, a pair of gloves for me, because the national gloves were big and my hands were small, the gloves looked like meat kneading boards. I brought a pair of gloves in the right measure, white, leathery, with those red rubbers like ping pong rackets, when they are I started to use that equipment. I still have them today! Thank you, Switzerland, Pelé, Nilton Santos and Seo Joca da Ribeira.

Many years later, in 2024, through my friend and great Coach João Carlos Lopes (Joca), I received an invitation from the kind Carinhos Zarur (who encouraged me to write this humble Ode to Nilton, sending several photos of him) to VZ’s 75th birthday party. They play again at Cocotá, but the grandiose party with pelada and Churrasco Do Serginho at I. C. Jardim Guanabara, of the Moraes Brothers. I accepted, honouring the Invitation (also made to Mestre Lazaroni, Mestre Américo Faria, Dr. Runco and other Personalities) but I refused to play (I knew the level was high and I hadn’t played a game for 10 years – I always got hurt or exhausted). Joca, knowing me, recommended that I take the material, if one was missing, he knew I would enter, obediently, I did. I thought: I’m going to arrive with the game already in progress, around the second half. The island looked like the mouth of a volcano, a new field, artificial, a great level. And I didn’t see the first ride, me talking to Bolão, Cesar, Joca, the Moraes and some who had played. At the very end, Carlinhos Zarur (later I found out that in the Rio de Janeiro Children’s Championship, he scored a goal against me, who played for Olaria – if only I had known before… Just kidding, I was happy like Andrada when he conceded Pelé’s thousandth goal) comes close and says: Julinho, there’s no one else to come in, 4 are tired, one is feeling sick, is already leaving and there are still 10 minutes to go. I ran to the locker room, put on the old Society boots without socks, I didn’t even take off my swim trunks and diapers, I put on my shorts, I waited at the gate near the midfield, Carlinhos gave me his shirt and said come in, what was bad is already out… I entered, saw my team defending, stealing the ball, being thrown long by the skilful Carlos Fernando, son of one of the greatest peladeiros of the Island, Carlos Alberto, I was lucky, dominated and scored. I am proud to have played and scored a lightning goal in the Longest-Lived Pelada, where “The Encyclopedia” or Encyclopedio, Gerson, Sabará and many other stars played.

Nome completo	Nilton dos Santos Apelido: Nilton Santos
Data de nascimento	16 de maio de 1925
Local de nascimento	Rio de Janeiro (DF), Brasil
Nacionalidade	brasileiro
Data da morte	27 de novembro de 2013 (88 anos)
Local da morte	Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brasil

Some famous encyclopedias

Great Portuguese and Brazilian Encyclopedia (1935-1960)

Luso-Brazilian Encyclopedia of Culture (1963-1995)

Encyclopedia Verbo Edition XXI Century

Barsa Encyclopedia

Caldas Aulete Encyclopedia

Enciclopedia Delta-Larousse

Great Larousse Cultural ENCYCLOPEDIA

Encyclopaedia Britannica (1768-1771)

Mirador Encyclopedia (1979)

Timeline – Origin and Evolution

Nilton Santos – In football

Ancient Age – Works of an encyclopedic nature, written for an erudite audience, encompassing all the knowledge of the time: metaphysics, logic, mathematics, literature, ethics, politics, etc.

In Ancient Greece, there were already collectors of books intended for the education of students, and the idea of compiling knowledge into a comprehensive work dates back thousands of years¹². Therefore, the encyclopedia is a collection of texts that seeks to describe as best as possible the current state of human knowledge, covering all the sciences and arts of the human domain¹. Interesting, isn’t it? 😊

“The Encyclopedia” does not exist in Literature except for Nilton Santos!

By Jucele

Julio Leal

May, 13th, 2024