Os Santásticos

Os Santásticos (Brazilian Portuguese: [us sɐ̃ˈtastʃikus], The Santastics) is the nickname for the group of Santos Futebol Clube players coached by Lula and Antoninho that won a total of 25 titles between 1959 and 1974,[1][2] including two Copa Libertadores.

After the World Cup in 1962, wealthy European clubs such as Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United tried to sign the young player, but the government of Brazil declared Pelé an "official national treasure" to prevent him from being transferred out of the country.

In 1960, Pelé scored 33 goals to help his team regain the Campeonato Paulista trophy but lost out on the Rio-São Paulo tournament after finishing in a disappointing 8th place.

Santos defeated Universidad Católica in the semifinals and met defending champions Peñarol in the finals in which Pelé scored another brace in the playoff match to secure the first title for a Brazilian club.

[17] Wearing his iconic number 10 shirt, Pelé produced one of his best ever performances and scored a hat-trick in Lisbon, as Santos beat the European champions 5–2.

[23] In 1966, Pelé and Santos also failed to retain the Taça Brasil as O Rei's goals weren't enough to prevent a 9–4 routing by Cruzeiro (led by Tostão) in the final series.

[16] The goal, called popularly O Milésimo (The Thousandth), occurred in a match against Vasco da Gama, when Pelé scored from a penalty kick, at the Maracanã Stadium.

[16] Pelé states that his most beautiful goal was scored at Rua Javari stadium on a Campeonato Paulista match against São Paulo rival Juventus on 2 August 1959.

The club also spent the following campaigns with long tours to Africa and Asia to raise funds, while a "reserve" squad played most of the national tournaments.

In 1973, the club won their last trophy with Pelé, the Campeonato Paulista; after a 0–0 draw against Portuguesa, Santos was ahead on the shoot-out when the referee Armando Marques ended the match after miscalculating the score.