João Leite da Silva Neto

João Leite da Silva Neto, known simply as João Leite (Pitangui, October 13, 1955), is a former Brazilian football goalkeeper who played for Atlético Mineiro in the decades of 1970, 1980 and 1990.

João Leite
João Leite in 2014
Personal information
Full name João Leite da Silva Neto
Date of birth (1955-10-13) October 13, 1955
Place of birth Pitangui
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1976–1988 Atlético Mineiro
1988–1989 Vitória de Guimarães
1989 Guarani
1990 América Mineiro
1991–1992 Atlético Mineiro
National team
1980–1981 Brazil 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

João Leite started and spent most of his career at Clube Atlético Mineiro, for which he holds the record for most appearances and most trophies won. João Leite first played for Atlético in 1977, substituting Ortiz. He also played in the Campeonato Brasileiro, with his team finishing the championship at second place after losing to São Paulo in the finals.[1] In the 17 years that he played for the club, João Leite played a total of 684 matches,[2] won twelve Campeonato Mineiro and one Copa CONMEBOL.[1][3]

He also played for Vitória de Guimarães, Guarani and América Mineiro, before returning to Atlético Mineiro and ending his career.

He was selected for the Brazil national team during the 1980 Mundialito[4][5][6] and the 1979 Copa América,[7] and played 5 official games in total with the Seleção between 1980 and 1981.

João Leite was one of the precursors of the Atletas de Cristo ("Christ's Athletes") movement, and he used to give bibles to the opposing players, becoming known as Goleiro de Deus ("God's Goalkeeper").[1]

Nowadays João Leite is state deputy in Minas Gerais, and has been since 1995.[8]

Honours

Club

Atlético Mineiro

Individual

References
  1. "João Leite". UOL. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  2. "Recordistas do Clube Atlético Mineiro". Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  3. "Ídolo do Galo, João Leite relembra título da Conmebol 92: 'Uma batalha'". SporTV.com. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  4. "Confederação Brasileira de Futebol - Mundialito 1980". leballondrond.fr. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  5. "João Leite - En Sélection Nationale". leballondrond.fr. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  6. "Mundialito 1980 (Montevideo, Uruguay)". rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  7. "Copa América 1979". rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  8. "Conheça os Deputados da 17ª legislatura" [Meet the Members of the 17th Legislature]. almg.gov.br. Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais. Retrieved 5 January 2014.


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