Nílton Santos
Brazilian association football player (1925-2013)
- Fame58.3
- Momentum21.9
- Brazil rank#244
Source-basedBreakout
- Fame58.3
- Momentum21.9
- Brazil rank#244
- Footballers rank#174
- Wikipedia13.9K
Lived 1925–2013, aged 88Brazil
BrazilSummary
Updated 2026-06-09
Brazilian wingback who anchored two World Cup-winning sides and made Pelé's all-time 125. Played left, Djalma Santos played right — same surname, no relation, same backline for a decade.
Biography
About
Nílton dos Santos was born 16 May 1925 and built his career as a wingback before the role had a name, pushing forward when most defenders stayed home. He won the World Cup with Brazil in 1958, then again in 1962, forming half of a defensive partnership with Djalma Santos that confused commentators for years — the two were unrelated. Pelé named him to the top 125 living footballers at a 2004 FIFA ceremony, and in 2009 he received the Golden Foot Legends Award. He was later voted into the World Team of the 20th Century, a fixture on every list of the greatest defenders the game has produced. He…
Gallery
Photos
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Deep cuts
Teams
Low confidence
- Brazil men's national football team1949–1962
- Botafogo F.R.1948–1964
19481964
Deep cuts
Season stats
Low confidence
| 1949–1962 | 75 | 3 |
| 1948–1964 | 723 | 11 |
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By the numbers
Score breakdown
The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.
Fame
Rising58.3
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum21.9
Historical23.2
Source confidence65.0
Completeness75.0
Receipts
Sources
- WikidataHigh confidencewikidata · wikidata.org
- WikipediaHigh confidencewikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Pantheon 2.0High confidencedatabase · pantheon.world
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