Heleno de Freitas

Heleno de Freitas (12 February 1920 – 8 November 1959) was a Brazilian footballer who played as a forward.

Early life De Freitas was born into a rich Brazilian family in São João de Nepomuceno, in the state of Minas Gerais, on 12 February 1920. Prior to becoming a footballer, he was looking to pursue a career as a lawyer, and even obtained a law degree. He began playing beach football in amateur tournaments. He was signed by Botafogo at the age of 15. he played only one match for America, on 4 November 1951, during which he was sent off after only 25 minutes of play for insulting his teammates, and it was his first and last game in the Maracanã. and as "Brazil's Pelé in the 40s" and "the prince of Rio" by Jonathan Wilson of The Guardian,

He started out playing on the beach as a hard–tackling central defender or as a central defensive midfielder in his youth; however, during his time with the Fluminense youth side, his manager Carlo Carlomagno decided to deploy him as a centre-forward, in order to limit his possibility of committing fouls and being booked.

He excelled in this new attacking role, due to his speed, technique, vision, passing, intelligence, positioning, ability to read the game, heading, and accurate finishing ability with his feet, which made him a prolific goalscorer. Although he primarily played upfront, he was often known for dropping into midfield in order to retrieve the ball, as he preferred to play with the ball at his feet. He was also known for his ability to lose his markers and get into positions from which he could receive the ball and shoot, as well as his ability to play with his back to goal.

Personal life and death

De Freitas was married to Ilma; the pair eventually split, and she went on to marry Heleno's best friend. During his time playing in Colombia, De Freitas met Gabriel García Márquez, who was a young journalist at the time; regarding De Freitas, Márquez commented: "As a football player, Heleno de Freitas could blow hot and cold. But he was more than just a centre-forward. He was a permanent opportunity for others to speak ill of him."

In 2012, Brazilian filmmaker José Henrique Fonseca released a film based on the life of Heleno de Freitas. The film was titled Heleno and stars Rodrigo Santoro as Heleno de Freitas. The film's focus is more on Heleno de Freitas' personal life, particularly his decline into ether addiction and mental illness, rather than presenting his achievements on the football field. Copa América top-scorer: 1945