One of the greatest Brazilian goalkeepers known for his stylish World Cup performances
It is said that the reason Brazil has produced so few goalkeepers of renown is because Brazilian boys generally dream of being forwards, ideally in the image of Pelé. Gylmar, who has died aged 83 after suffering a heart attack, was one of the best keepers the country ever had. Always a stylist, he created an oasis of calm in the midst of his defence. A winner of World Cup medals in 1958 and 1962, he was chosen again – at the age of almost 36 – for Brazil's much less happy tournament in England in 1966.
Gylmar – also known as Gilmar – was born in Santos, in the state of São Paulo, and became a key figure in the famous Santos team that dominated international club football in the early 1960s. First, however, he played for a local team, Jabaquara, and joined the illustrious Corinthians of São Paulo in 1951. He helped them to win the state championship that year, and did so again in 1952. He stayed with Corinthians for 10 years.
He won his first cap for Brazil in 1953, but was not chosen for the following year's World Cup in Switzerland. In 1956 he was the goalkeeper for Brazil's ill-starred summer tour of Europe, when their defence strategy left great gaps down the middle. Through these Stanley Matthews and the England forwards at Wembley romped at will, winning 4-2, though Gylmar managed to save two penalties.
By the time it came to the 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden he was one of just a handful of surUvivors of that Brazilian team, alongside the full-backs Djalma Santos and Nílton Santos, and Didi, the master of midfield. This time, with Brazil playing in a 4-2-4 formation, their defence was an altogether more solid proposition, with Gylmar enjoying decent protection. He did not let through a single goal in the first four matches.
The semi-final against France in Stockholm was more of a test for him and his defenders. They gave away a couple of goals but a hat-trick from Pelé helped to lead them to a 5-2 victory and a place against the host nation in the final. That early moment in the Stockholm final when Nils Liedholm picked his way through the Brazilian defence to score with a low shot might have presaged disaster. However, Brazil quickly equalised and won the match– the score again 5-2.
Three years later came Gylmar's transfer from Corinthians to Santos. He quickly settled into the Santos team, inspired by Pelé, which had a glittering success in 1962 including victories in the South American Libertadores Cup and the Intercontinental Cup – both of which they retained the following year.
At the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile, Brazil played in a 4-3-3 formation. Gylmar was unbeaten in the first two matches, against the Mexicans and the Czechs, playing with his usual cool command. Spain took the lead against Brazil in the third match, in the picturesque little stadium at Viña del Mar, and Brazil left it late to win the game 2-1. At the same ground, Brazil saw off England 3-1 in the quarter-final. There was little Gylmar could do about the solitary English goal; Gerry Hitchens scored from close range after Jimmy Greaves had struck the bar.
A torrid semi-final against the hosts in Santiago was won 4-2; there was no chance for Gylmar when Jorge Toro beat him with a mighty free kick, nor when Leonel Sánchez scored from a penalty. In the final against Czechoslovakia, Brazil fell behind to an early goal but retained the trophy with a 3-1 victory.
He at first kept his place with Brazil at the 1966 World Cup, but his reflexes were slowing. He was equal to anything the Bulgarians tested him with in the opening group game, but in Liverpool an inspired Hungarian team fired three goals past him – the best of which, a fulminating shot on the run by János Farkas, would have beaten any keeper on earth. Gylmar was dropped from Brazil's third and final game, against Portugal, giving way to Manga who, a bundle of nerves, had an unhappy game. The competition was over for Brazil.
However, Gylmar's splendid international career was not quite finished. In the summer of 1969 he helped Brazil to beat England 2-1. Since his retirement that year there has been no Brazilian goalkeeper of comparable consistency. Indeed, when Brazil regained the World Cup in Mexico in 1970 it was despite, rather than because of, the performances of the erratic Félix.
Gylmar suffered a stroke in 2000. His son Marcelo became president of a Brazilian association of World Cup-winning players.
• Gylmar dos Santos Neves, footballer, born 22 August 1930; died 24 August 2013