Guilherme Santa Graça Espirito Santo, best known as Espírito Santo (born 30 October 1919 in Lisbon) is a Portuguese former football player and athlete. He played as a forward center or as a right winger. He is notable for his run with Portuguese giants SL Benfica

SL Benfica

Sport Lisboa e Benfica , commonly known as simply Benfica or occasionally as Benfica Lisbon, is a Portuguese multi-sports club based in Lisbon. Although they successfully compete in a number of different sports, Benfica is mostly known for its association football team...

. Espirito Santo is of Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

n descent.

Career

He started his career at SL Benfica

SL Benfica

Sport Lisboa e Benfica , commonly known as simply Benfica or occasionally as Benfica Lisbon, is a Portuguese multi-sports club based in Lisbon. Although they successfully compete in a number of different sports, Benfica is mostly known for its association football team...

 in 1936. In the late 1930s, a game was particularly memorable in Espirito Santo's career, after losing to FC Porto in the first leg of the Portuguese Cup Semi-final (1-6), in the second leg benfica was winning by 6–0 with two goals from Espirito Santo. A humiliated Porto squad decided to leave the field at the 75-minute of the game.
Espirito Santo spent two seasons away from the game due to serious illness (from 1941 to 1943). He ended his career in 1950.

National team

He was a Portugal National Football Team

Portugal national football team

The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...

 player for 8 times and scored a goal.

Playing style

Espirito Santo, was the typical African player. He was fast, agile, and had a lot of technique. Fellow national team player, and club rival Peyroteo, said that in spite of scoring less goals than him, Espirito Santo was a more complete player.

Athletics

He also represented SL Benfica in High jump

High jump

The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....

, Long Jump

Long jump

The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...

 and Triple Jump

Triple jump

The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...

 athletics competitions. For 20 years (1940–1960) he was the Portuguese recordist of high jump. He used to train all by himself without coach assistance, and he used to enter these competitions just for fun. At one point the SL Benfica board didn't allow Espirito Santo to practise athletics anymore since they wanted him exclusively in Football.

Honours and awards

SL BENFICA FOOTBALL
4× Portuguese Liga

Portuguese Liga

The Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...

 1936/37, 1937/38, 1944/45 and 1949/50

3× Portuguese Cup 1939/40, 1943/44 and 1948/49

SL BENFICA ATHLETICS
Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 High Jump

High jump

The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....

 Record - (1,88m) from 1940-1960

Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 Long Jump

Long jump

The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...

 Record - (6,89m) from 1938–1940

Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 Triple Jump

Triple jump

The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...

 Record - (14,015m) from 1938–1940

External links