Ely (footballer)
In 1945, Eli moved to the Vasco da Gama club, where he became one of the leaders of the team, which was nicknamed the "Victoria Express", which won 5 state championships and the Libertadores Cup in 1948, Eli formed the central midfield axis in this team, along with Danilo and Jorge, who was considered one of the strongest in those years in Brazilian football. In 1955, Eli was bought by the president of the Sport Recife club, Adelmar da Costa Carvalho, the club celebrated its 50th anniversary that year and the Brazilian football star was supposed to help the club win the state championship. "Sport", together with " Nautico ""finished the championship with the same number of points, it was decided, by mutual agreement, to hold three decisive matches, in the first "Sport" won 2:0, and in the second with a score of 0:0, Eli was seriously injured - Ivanildo hit his head above the eye, as a result of which his face was covered with blood, the doctor of "Sport" suggested the player to go to the locker room, but the player refused and courageously played the match to the end. In the third game, Ivanildu, with a score of 1: 1, again injured the best player of "Sport" Eli, breaking his head with his elbow, he could not even play for some time, but soon returned to the field with a bandage on his head and finished the match, in the end, with the score 2:2, scoring the winning goal. After the game, Sport fans carried Eli in their arms.