Tributes to Brazilian footballer Antônio Lima dos Santos who played with Pelé for Santos and national side

Antônio Lima dos Santos, who was 83, was a defensive midfielder, who could also operate in any defensive position. He played for Brazil at the 1966 World Cup in England, earning some of his 14 caps.

Known as Lima, he started his football career at Juventus-SP in Brazil, before moving to Santos in 1961, taking the right-back berth as club captain Zito was the side’s first choice midfielder.

Santos have paid tribute to his decade-long service with a post on social media that reads: “Your story will be remembered, your legacy will be honored, and you will be forever missed. The time has come to meet your great friends again and make everyone happy up there. Our eternal Joker of the Village.”

Lima eventually moved into the Santos midfield and left the club in 1971 after playing 696 times and scoring 65 goals. He won every club honour possible, including the Intercontinental Cup of 1962 and 1963.

After Santos he moved to Jalisco in Mexico for four years, before returning to Brazil with Fluminense in 1974. He saw out his career in the US with the Tampa Bay Rowdies and then Portuguesa Santista back in Sao Paulo.

Pele died in 2022 aged 82.

Santos have also been in the football headlines recently for re-signing Neymar, ending his ill-fated spell in Saudi Arabia.