Telê Santana
Telê Santana da Silva, known simply as Telê Santana (July 26, 1931 – April 21, 2006), was a Brazilian football manager and former player. He was born in Itabirito, Minas Gerais.
As a player, Telê was a right winger who started his career as a goalkeeper. He played mainly for Fluminense from 1951 to 1960 and also spent time with clubs like Vasco da Gama and Guarani.
His coaching career began in 1967 with Fluminense’s youth team. He led Atlético Mineiro to its first Brazilian championship in 1971 and later managed several big clubs, including São Paulo, Flamengo, Palmeiras, and Fluminense, as well as the Brazil national team in 1980–1982 and 1985–1986.
Telê is best remembered for building Brazil’s famous 1982 and 1986 World Cup teams. The 1982 squad, featuring players such as Zico, Sócrates, Falcão, Júnior, and Toninho Cerezo, is often considered one of the greatest teams ever, even though they did not win the World Cup. He also achieved great success with São Paulo (1990–1996), coaching stars like Zetti, Cafu, Raí, and Leonardo. The team won the Brazilian league in 1991, the Libertadores Cup in 1992 and 1993, and the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo in 1992 and 1993, making São Paulo world champions.
Telê helped popularize the “jogo bonito” — playing beautifully and attacking football — and emphasized training fundamentals through repetition. He retired in 1996 after a stroke and later had part of his left leg amputated in 2003 due to ischemia. He died on April 21, 2006, in Belo Horizonte from an abdominal infection. He left behind his wife Ivonete and their children and is remembered as one of Brazil’s most influential football managers.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:07 (CET).