April 26 is Goalkeeper's Day
April 26 is Goalkeeper's Day, in honor of Aílton Corrêa Arruda, better known as "goalkeeper Manga", renowned as one of the best goalkeepers in history!
Manga was born on April 26, 1937 and played for teams such as Sport do Recife (where it all started, in fact), Botafogo, Porto Alegre, Coritiba, Grêmio, among others. With so much talent, of course he couldn't help but play for the Brazilian National Team, in friendlies and in World Cups.
The idea of creating National Goalkeeper's Day came about in 1975, from an initiative of the teachers of the Physical Education School of the Army of Rio de Janeiro, Raul Carlesso and captain Reginaldo Pontes Bielinski. Carlesso was the physical trainer of the Brazilian National Team during the 1974 World Cup and was the pioneer in developing a special training program for goalkeepers in Brazil.
Did you know??