Santos 1955

The 1955 Santos was São Paulo state champion and ended a 20-year drought without the state title, last won in 1935. The team was led by Lula and brought together names such as Zito and Pepe, who would be key players for Santos in the following decades.

History

The 1955 São Paulo Championship marked Santos' return to the top of state football. The club had won its first São Paulo state title in 1935 and only returned to win the competition twenty years later. The team was managed by Lula (Luís Alonso Pérez), a coach who would remain in charge of Santos for more than a decade. The squad already featured Zito, at the club since 1952, and Pepe, who arrived in 1954, in addition to forwards such as Del Vecchio. The 1955 title is seen as the starting point of the generation that would dominate Brazilian and world football in the years to come. Pelé would only arrive at Vila Belmiro in 1956, but the foundation and confidence built in 1955 paved the way for the state titles and continental conquests that would follow.