Ephigênio de Freitas

Ephigênio de Freitas Bahiense (10 September 1918 – 21 June 1980), also known as Ephigênio de Freitas or by the nickname Geninho, was a Brazilian professional footballer and manager, who played as a midfielder.

Geninho
Personal information
Full nameEphigênio de Freitas Bahiense
Date of birth(1918-09-10)10 September 1918
Place of birthBelo Horizonte, Brazil
Date of death21 June 1980(1980-06-21) (aged 61)
Place of deathRio de Janeiro, Brazil
Position(s)Midfielder
Youth career
Palestra Itália-MG
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1938–1940Palestra Itália-MG
1940–1955Botafogo442(115)
Managerial career
1949Botafogo
1950Botafogo
1955Botafogo
1956–1957Botafogo
1959–1960Bahia
1962Palmeiras
1962–1963Cruzeiro
1964–1965Botafogo
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 February 2024

Career

Born in Belo Horizonte, Geninho started with Palestra Itália (now Cruzeiro), defending the club from 1938 to 1940. Nicknamed "architect" for his great ability to distribute balls in play, in September 1940, he was traded to Botafogo, a club he defended until 1955, making 422 appearances and scoring 115 goals.[1]

[2]

Managerial career

Geninho, now referred to as Ephigênio de Freitas, managed Botafogo even before retiring on a few occasions. In 1956 he officially took over the team for the first time. He then coached Bahia, becoming state champion and one of the coaches of the 1959 Taça Brasil winning campaign alongside Argentine Carlos Volante.[3][4] Due to his job as a police officer, he ended up not coaching the team in the final, and returned to Rio de Janeiro the following year. In 1964 he was the champion manager with Botafogo in the Rio-São Paulo Tournament, and also coached Cruzeiro and Palmeiras.

Personal life

Ephigênio served in the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in 1944, interrupting his football career, alongside another Botafogo player (Walter). He embarked for Italy, but only served in medical groups. After retiring as a player in 1955, he became a police officer.[5][6]

Honours

Player

Botafogo

Manager

Bahia
Botafogo

References

  • Geninho at ogol.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese)