Santos, Fausto dos

Fausto was born in the city of Kodo in the state of Minas Gerais in a poor family. When he was still young, his mother Rosa, who raised her son alone ^[1] , moved to Rio de Janeiro ^[2] . In 1926, he started playing football at the Bangu Club. On March 28, he made his debut as a member of the team in a match with Vila Isabel, in which his team won 2: 1. On May 2 of the same year, the player scored the first goal for the club, hitting the gate of “ America ” (3: 4) ^[3] . Initially, the football player played on the left in the attack, and then was transferred to midfield ^[1] . Fausto spent three years at Bangu, having played 53 matches and scored 6 goals ^{[4] [5] [6]} . The last match of the football player was held on October 21, 1928 against the club " Sirio " ^[7] . In 1928, in one of the matches, Fausto was noticed by the head coach of Vasco da Gama , Harry Welfer , who invited the player to the club. Especially since the midfielder, who led an active bohemian life, was very friendly with Tinocco , the Vasco player, who also called him to the team. The main argument of Tinocco was that in this club "he would get more fame" ^[2] . In Vasco, Fausto created one of the most famous middle lines in the history of the team, consisting of Fausto, Tinoco and Moloy ^{[8] [9]} , who in 1929 led the club to win the Rio de Janeiro State Championship ^[2] . In 1931, Fausto was diagnosed with tuberculosis , which is why he later often missed many matches ^[2] . In 1931, Vasco made a tour of Europe , in which he won 6 games, made one draw and suffered two defeats.

After the tour, Fausto and Jaguare remained in Europe, signing a contract with Barcelona , becoming the first Brazilians in the history of the club. The debut game of both players was the match against Athletics (5: 1). In the club, the player spent one season, where he played only in the matches of the Catalan Championship and the regional cup , not speaking at official meetings because of the rules that did not allow foreign players to play for the club in the first year of the contract ^[10] . This period of a football player’s career was also accompanied by private racist jokes and statements from teammates ^{[11] [12]} . In total for the club, he spent 46 matches and scored 7 goals ^[10] . He then moved to the Swiss club “ Young Fellows ”, where he spent only two months ^[2] , while simultaneously treating the disease ^{[1] [13]} . In 1934, Fausto returned to the Vasco da Gama camp, where he spent two seasons. In 1935 he moved to the Uruguayan " Nacional ". Initially, the player was the leader on the field ^[2] , but when the Uruguayans learned that the player had tuberculosis, he was taken out of the team ^[14] .

In 1936, he moved to Flamengo , where he debuted on April 2 in a match with Portugal Desportos (3: 2). In the first year, the footballer was a solid player in the base team. But in 1937 a new head coach came to the club, Isidor Kurshner , who applied the 3-2-2-3 game scheme in the new team, which was based on the very strong physical shape of the players. Fausto never had good results in "physics". He asked to terminate the contract with Flamengo, but he was refused ^[2] . As a result, in 1937, the midfielder had only 3 games for the club. However, in 1938, Fausto published an open letter, in which he praised the scheme of the game, invented by Kurshner ^[2] . He returned to the lineup, where he already played in the center of defense ^[12] . But he was again prevented by tuberculosis: during one of the match, he felt unwell and began to cough up blood. December 15, 1938 Fausto played the last match in his career; in it, Mengo played a draw with America 2: 2. In total for the club, he spent 79 matches (46 wins, 16 draws and 17 defeats) and scored 1 goal.

In 1939, Fausto wanted to return to the field, but the Flamengo doctors were against it. The club sent him to the San Sebastián Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, and then a sanatorium in the city of Santos Dumont in the state of Minas Gerais ^[1] . The last days of his life he spent under the care of the nun Katharina in room number 301. She taught him Christianity and helped as best she could ^[2] . At the age of 34, Fausto was gone. He was buried nearby in a simple grave with a wooden cross and without mentioning the name and dates of life ^[2] .

• Champion of the State of Rio de Janeiro : 1929, 1934
• Catalanian Cup Winner: 1932

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