Osmar Santos is a Brazilian

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 and journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

. He was a very successful radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 and television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 sports commentator

Sports commentator

In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...

 in the 1980s

1980s

File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...

 and early 1990s

1990s

File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...

, known for his outstanding verbal fluency (estimated at over one hundred words per minute) and for his numerous catchphrases, which still punctuate Brazilian football culture. Throughout his career, Osmar Santos worked alongside major sportscasters and media personalities, such as Galvão Bueno

Galvão Bueno

Carlos Eduardo dos Santos Galvão Bueno, known as Galvão Bueno , is a Brazilian on-air personality and nationwide play-by-play announcer for Rede Globo, where he hosts Formula One races, Brazil national football team matches, key Brazilian football championship matches and top sporting...

, Fausto Silva and João Saldanha

João Saldanha

João Alves Jobin Saldanha was a journalist and football manager. He coached the Brazil national football team during the South American Qualifying to the 1970 FIFA World Cup....

. He also worked as TV host in a number of shows. Osmar Santos publicly supported Diretas Já

Diretas Já

Diretas Já Now) was a civil unrest movement which, in 1984, demanded direct presidential elections in Brazil.-Participants of the movement: The movement brought together diverse elements of Brazilian society. Participants came from a broad spectrum of political parties, trade unions, civil,...

, a political movement for direct suffrage in Brazilian presidential politics.

In 1994, Osmar Santos suffered a grave car accident

Car accident

A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...

 traveling from Marília

Marília

Marília is a Brazilian city and municipality in the midwestern region of the state of São Paulo. Its distance from the state capital is by highway, by railway and in a straight line. It is located at latitude 22º 12'50 "south and longitude 49º 56'45" west, with an altitude of 675 meters...

 to Lins

Lins, São Paulo

Lins is a municipality in the western part of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2006 is 69,721 and the area is 527.98 km². The elevation is 437 m...

, when he was hit by a drunk truck driver

Truck driver

A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...

. He underwent extensive brain damage

Brain damage

"Brain damage" or "brain injury" is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors...

, having acquired right hemiplegia

Hemiplegia

Hemiplegia /he.mə.pliː.dʒiə/ is total paralysis of the arm, leg, and trunk on the same side of the body. Hemiplegia is more severe than hemiparesis, wherein one half of the body has less marked weakness....

 and Broca's aphasia, which rendered him unable to utter more than a limited selection of words. Osmar Santos then took up painting, and his art brut works are highly valued by collectors.

He is commemorated by Troféu Osmar Santos

Troféu Osmar Santos

Troféu Osmar Santos is an award given by the Brazilian newspaper Lance! to the winner of the first turn of the Série A. The trophy honors Osmar Santos, who is a former sports commentator. The award was created in 2004.-Winners:-Titles by team:...

, a football award given out annually. Two of his brothers and a cousin work as sportscasters.