Born in Belo Horizonte, Geninho started with Palestra Itália (now Cruzeiro), defending the club from 1938 to 1940.
Nicknamed "architect" for his great ability to distribute balls in play, in September 1940, he was traded to Botafogo, a club he defended until 1955, making 422 appearances and scoring 115 goals.
[1] [2] Geninho, now referred to as Ephigênio de Freitas, managed Botafogo even before retiring on a few occasions.
[3][4] Due to his job as a police officer, he ended up not coaching the team in the final, and returned to Rio de Janeiro the following year.
Ephigênio served in the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in 1944, interrupting his football career, alongside another Botafogo player (Walter).