Antônio Wilson Vieira Honório


Antônio Wilson Vieira Honório, nicknamed Coutinho, was a Brazilian coach and footballer who played as a forward for Santos Futebol Clube, where he was a teammate and one of the best partners of Pelé, and became a member of the Brazilian national team that won the 1962 FIFA World Cup. Coutinho is Santos' third all-time top goalscorer.

Club career

Born in Piracicaba, State of São Paulo in 1943, Coutinho was spotted at the age of 13 by Santos' coach Luís Alonso Pérez. One year later he became part of the Santos' lower division. At the age of 13 years and 11 months, Coutinho debuted as a professional player a record never broken for any other players. His professional career at Santos took place from 1958 to 1968 and in 1970, periods during which Santos won, among other titles, five Taça Brasil and seven Campeonato Paulista titles, two Copa Libertadores, and two Intercontinental Cups. Coutinho has been named the greatest Santos' player after Pelé, with whom he formed an effective attacking duo with 1461 goals scored.
After his tenure at Santos, he also played for Vitória of Bahia, Portuguesa of São Paulo, and Atlas of Mexico.

International career

At the international level, Coutinho earned 15 caps and scored 6 goals with the Brazil national football team between 1960 and 1965. He was meant to be a starter in the 1962 FIFA World Cup squad, but he was sidelined by injury just before the tournament and did not appear, even though he remained in the squad. Brazil went on to win the title.
In his book, Coutinho, o Gênio da Área, Carlos Fernando Schinner states that João Saldanha tried to convince Coutinho to return to Brazil national football team few months prior to the 1970 FIFA World Cup in order to replace Tostão who was Brazil's main centre-forward at that time and had suffered a major injury putting in doubt his participation on that World Cup. Coutinho, who at that time was semi-retired and overweight, refused the invitation.

Death

Coutinho died on 11 March 2019 in Santos, São Paulo. His death was caused by a myocardial infarction due to diabetes and hypertension. Coutinho's health had been deteriorating in recent months, and in January he had been hospitalized for pneumonia.

Honours

Club

;Santos FC
;Brazil