Leônidas da Silva (6 September 1913 – 24 January 2004) was a Brazilian football player. He played for Brazil national team. Leônidas was famous for his bicycle kicks and possessed good dribbling and pace. His nickname was the "Rubber Man" and "Black Diamond" because of his incredible agility. He is regarded as one of the most important football players in the first half of the 20th century and he is considered one of the greatest strikers of 1930s and 1940s.
Early life
Born in São Cristóvão on September 6, 1913, he was the son of Manoel Nunes da Silva and Maria da Silva. He was a simple boy from São Cristóvão, a neighborhood in the residential and commercial area of Rio de Janeiro, where his mother lived in the house of his adoptive parents, a fan of Fluminense ,delighted that he was with the three-time champion carioca team from 1917-18 and 1918-19. Although he completed his primary studies and high school in schools in that neighborhood, Leônidas wanted to dedicate himself to football. At a very young age, he began to practice the sport, then an amateur in Brazil, in the nudes at Ponte dos Marinheiros. At the age of 13, he stood out as a juvenile of São Cristóvão. In 1926, he also started to defend other clubs in the neighborhood, such as Havanesa, then Barroso and Sul-Americano, in order to earn some money.
Club career
In 1929, he played for Syrio and Libanez. In 1931, Leônidas moved to Bonsucesso, where he began his semi-professionalization by signing his first contract, for which he would receive four hundred thousand réis per month. At Bonsucesso, Leônidas also played basketball, having won the championship in this sport. A year later, he was already featured in Carioca football, having been called up to play in the Carioca National Team in a friendly against Ferencváros TC, then Hungarian champion, and scored a goal in the match. Also in 1931, he won the Brazilian State Team Championship. Still in 1934, he transferred to Peñarol, where he could not shine because of a knee injury. He returned to Rio de Janeiro to play for Vasco da Gama, who played one season and helped the club win the 1934 Campeonato Carioca. The following year, he changed clubs again, going to play for Botafogo, where he won Carioca that season. In 1936, he transferred to Flamengo, where he played until 1942, becoming Rio champion in 1939. This transfer would be remembered by Botafogo leader Carlito Rocha, more than thirty years later: "Leônidas gave an interview in Rio Grande do Sul, stating that he was Flamengo at heart. When he returned, he confirmed the statements. I sent him away immediately and fixed the price of the pass at five contos [de réis], which was how much he owed the club's treasury. The next day, Flávio Costawent to the club and took Leonidas to Flamengo. I couldn't admit to Botafogo an athlete who publicly said that under his white shirt, a red-black heart beat. The mood in Flamengo was deteriorating, however. In early 1941, he refused to participate in a tour of Argentina due to an injury, in addition to his constant participation in advertisements, which led to problems with the directors. In the midst of this, he was arrested by the Army for using a false reservist certificate to get a public job, ending his time at Flamengo. In 1943, Leônidas moved to São Paulo. Its debut broke the attendance record at the Pacaembu stadium, with more than seventy thousand fans in attendance. He was recognised one of the biggest idols in the club's history, having been Champion Paulistain 1943, 1945, 1946, 1948 and 1949. The following year, the Rubber Man retired from football at the age of 37.