Carlos José Castilho

Who was Carlos José Castilho?

Carlos José Castilho was a Brazilian football goalkeeper. He played for Fluminense from 1947 to 1964 and for Brazil. He was a member of the Brazil squad in four World Cups: 1950, 1954, 1958 and 1962, but he only actually played three games, all of them in the 1954 finals. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

He was noted as a goalkeeper for making seemingly impossible saves. He was said to have unbelievable good luck – the ball often hit the post when he played in goal. Due to his good luck, his opponents' supporters called him "Leiteria" and Fluminense supporters called him "Saint Castilho".

He was daltonic and he believed he was favored because he saw yellow balls as if they were red, though he had trouble at night with white balls.

He is said to be an example of stoicism. Once when he injured his finger for the fifth time, and the doctor told him it would require a two-month treatment, he decided to partially amputate it. Two weeks after the operation he was already back playing for Fluminense.

During his career he appeared in 696 games for Fluminense, a club record.