Gylmar dos Santos Neves

Gilmar

Gilmar and Pelé (crying) after Brazil won the 1958 World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Gylmar dos Santos Neves
Date of birth	(1930-08-22)22 August 1930
Place of birth	Santos, Brazil
Date of death	25 August 2013(2013-08-25) (aged 83)
Place of death	São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1945–1951	Jabaquara
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1951–1961	Corinthians	486	(0)
1961–1969	Santos	266	(0)
Total		752	(0)
National team
1953–1969	Brazil	94	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Gylmar dos Santos Neves (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʒiwˈmaɾ duˈsɐ̃tus ˈnɛvis]; 22 August 1930 – 25 August 2013) known simply as Gilmar (with an i), was a Brazilian footballer who played goalkeeper for Corinthians and Santos and was a member of the Brazil national team in three World Cups. He was elected the best Brazilian goalkeeper of the 20th century and one of the best in the world by the IFFHS. He is remembered for his sober style on the pitch and his peaceful personality.

In the book by Alex Bellos, Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life, it is reported that Gilmar is named after his parents, Gilberto and Maria. Gilmar was the starting goalkeeper for Pele's world-famous Santos and Brazilian national teams of the 1960s. Therefore, he's famous around the world as "Pele's goalkeeper." In 1998, he was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit.

Gilmar, born in Santos, São Paulo, started his career playing for club Jabaquara from Santos, but transferred to Corinthians in 1951. With this club he was State Champion in 1951, 1952 and 1954.

In 1961, he signed to play for Santos, where he was part of one of the best football teams in the history of the sport, and probably the best football team of the era. In that team he played along with sport legends like Pelé, Pepe, Zito, Mengálvio, Lima and Coutinho, among others. With Gilmar between the posts, Santos conquered almost every championship they competed in: they won five São Paulo State Championships (1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968), five National Championships (1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965), two Libertadores Cups (1962 and 1963) and two Intercontinental Cups (1962 against Eusébio's Benfica and 1963 against Milan).