Coutinho

Antônio Wilson Vieira Honório (11 June 1943 – 11 March 2019), nicknamed Coutinho, was a Brazilian coach and footballer who played as a forward for Santos Futebol Clube, where he was a teammate and one of the best partners of Pelé, and became a member of the Brazil national team that won the 1962 FIFA World Cup. He is considered one of the greatest strikers in the history of Brazilian football with 368 goals in 457 matches One year later he became part of the Santos' lower division.

Club career Coutinho debuted on Santos' professional team on May 17, 1958, still at the age of 14, in a match in Goiânia, against Sírio Libanês Futebol Clube. Coincidentally, the score was the same as the debut of his legendary partner Pelé, which had happened almost two years before: a 7–1 victory for Santos. And, like Pelé, Coutinho also scored one of Peixe's goals in his first match for the club's adult squad.

In a game at the Olympic Stadium, journalists and people at the stadium reported seeing one of the most beautiful goals in the history of football. Pelé received the ball in the midfield on his head and quickly passed it to Coutinho, who also with his head, gave it back to Pelé. And after a few more head-only passes the attacking players approached the opponent's box, without the ball touching the pitch. In the final moment, with only the goalkeeper in front of him, Coutinho could have finished the amazing combination himself with a goal, but he saw Lima coming from behind and adjusted to pass, once again with his head, and allowed Lima to score. This goal left the opponents Grêmio fans standing up, applauding a majestic goal combination between two maestros of the ball.

Coutinho, in addition to resembling Pelé with his style of playing, also had physical characteristics similar to Pele. Therefore, a legend arose that the player started to wear a white ribbon on one of the arms, to help distinguish them. Regarding this urban legend, Coutinho said this: "For a short while, when I made a beautiful move, they said it was Pelé, when I missed a pass or a shot, it was Coutinho". In 2007, in an interview on the TV show "Juca Entrevista" (ESPN), with the journalist Juca Kfouri, he revealed why he used the prop: "I had a small wrist injury and started wearing a band for a while of adhesive tape. But as soon as the pains ended, I took it off."

From 1958 to 1970, he wore the shirt of Santos, winning 19 titles and scoring 368 goals in 457 matches. In this period, he won alongside Santos FC five Taça Brasil and seven Campeonato Paulista titles, two Copa Libertadores, and two Intercontinental Cups.

Coutinho has been named the greatest Santos' player after Pelé, with whom he formed an effective attacking duo with 1461 goals scored (370 by Coutinho). Coutinho also holds a mark of respect against one of Santos' main rivals, Corinthians. In 12 years of classics he played, he never lost a game. In the year that the taboo was broken, in 1968, Coutinho no longer worked for Santos.

After his tenure at Santos, he also played for Vitória of Bahia, Portuguesa of São Paulo, and Atlas of Mexico.

Career statistics +ClubSeasonCampeonato PaulistaTorneio Rio – São PauloCampeonato Brasileiro Série AInternational CompetitionsTotalCopa LibertadoresIntercontinental CupAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSantos FC19592728875340381960121081 - -20111961232011956393519622132 - -576622344719631613544343303223196413119943002623196516132331322419196689200010919672000201968 - -00 - -Total13813645332623131152227205

Honours Club Santos FC Taça Brasil: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 Campeonato Paulista: 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967 Torneio Rio–São Paulo: 1959, 1963, 1964, 1966 Torneio de Paris: 1960, 1961 Taça das Américas: 1963 Torneio Pentagonal do México: 1959 Taça Tereza Herrera (Espanha): 1959 Torneio de Valência (Espanha): 1959 Torneio Dr. Mario Echandi (Costa Rica): 1959 Torneio Giallorosso (Itália): 1960 Quadrangular de Lima (Peru): 1960 Torneio Itália 1961 (Itália): 1961 Torneio Internacional da Costa Rica (Costa Rica): 1961 Pentagonal de Guadalajara (México): 1961 Torneio Internacional da Venezuela (Venezuela): 1965 Hexagonal do Chile (Chile): 1965 Torneio de Nova York (Estados Unidos): 1966

International Brazil FIFA World Cup: 1962 Taça do Atlântico: 1960 Copa Roca: 1963 Copa Bernardo O'Higgins: 1961 Taça Oswaldo Cruz: 1961, 1962

Individual Copa Libertadores Top Scorer: 1962 1961 Taça Oswaldo Cruz (3 goals) 1961 Torneio Rio–São Paulo Top Scorer (9 goals) 1962 Campeonato Brasileiro Top Scorer (7 goals) 1964 Torneio Rio–São Paulo Top Scorer (11 goals)