Nijinho

Nizhino was born to a large family, in which, in addition to him, there were still two siblings Ninao and Orlando, as well as a cousin Ninino who played the left forward . All four started playing “Palestra” from Belo Horizonte (now Cruzeiro ) in the 1920s. Nizhigno joined the team in 1926 , but he wasn’t allowed to play on the field for a long time, as a result of which he debuted in an official match only in 1929 . In the year of debut, as well as a year earlier, "Palestra" became the champion of the state of Minas Gerais , and in 1930 won the third consecutive title.

At the end of 1931, the Fantoni brothers received an offer from Italy from the Roman “ Lazio ”, where they transferred in 1932 . The quick transition to the Italian team was due to the fact that Fantoni was Italian by origin, the so-called Oriundi . Fantoni very soon became the idols of Tiffozi "Lazio", from the fans they even got their serial numbers: Ninao became Fantoni I, Ninino - Fantoni II, Nijinho - Fantoni III, and Orlando - Fantoni IV. For three seasons in Lazio, Nizhigno played 26 matches, scoring 9 goals. In 1935 , the Fantoni brothers were forced to flee Italy - the call for military service, extended to Oriundi, and Italy prepared for the war in Ethiopia ^[2] .

Returning to Brazil, Nijigno spent the rest of the year at Atletico Mineiro , from his native Minas Gerais, where he debuted on July 16 with America from Rio de Janeiro . In 1936, he moved to the São Paulo “ Palestra Italy ”, which, at the end of the season, only 2 points were missing from Santos before winning the state championship , but didn’t see the end of the championship, Nijinho did not return to the Cruzeiro ".

The season of 1937 in the Rio Nizhigno Championship began in Vasco da Gama , and in the very first year he became the best sniper with 25 balls (almost a third of 84 goals scored by Vasco in the championship), ahead of Kaksambra and Hercules , and his team took 3rd place. The brilliant game of Nijinho encouraged the coaches of the national team to invite the player to the national team of the country (in which he debuted all the same in 1936, December 27 from Peru , where Nizhinho scored the winning goal in the first match 3: 2), for which he scored 2 goals. The following year was not very successful for Nijinho, he scored few goals, and Vasco divided the 3-4 place in the Cheypionate with Fluminense . Nizhigno took the 6th place with 6 goals scored in the classic confrontation between Vasco da Gama and Flamengo .

Nizhigno went to France in the 1938 World Cup as a backup for the magnificent Leonidas . In the match with Italy , when it became clear that Leonidas would not be able to participate in the game, the coaching staff wanted to release Nijigno on the field, but Benito Mussolini himself intervened, who had launched a protest from the Italian Football Federation and FIFA, denied Nizhigno the opportunity to play against Azzurra Squadra. . So on the field Nizhigno in the World Cup matches did not come out.

In 1939, while on vacation in Belo Horizonte, representatives of Cruzeiro contacted Nizhigno and offered many years later to return to their home team, which the player did, speaking for Cruzeiro for another 7 years and winning with the team 4 titles state champion. In total, Nizhigno spent 272 matches for Cruzeiro, scoring 207 goals (the third result in the team’s history). In 1947, at the age of 34, Nijinho ended his career.

Team

• Champion of the state of Minas Gerais : 1928, 1929, 1930, 1940, 1943, 1944, 1945
• Champion of São Paulo State : 1936

Individual

• Top scorer of the state of Rio de Janeiro : 1937 (25 goals)
• Minas Gerais State Scorer: 1940 (7 goals), 1943 (15 goals)

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