Domingos da Guia: A defender ahead of his time
Domingos da Guia: El Maestro Divino
Domingos da Guia is certainly not a household name in Europe.
In his native Brazil, however, he is considered one of the greatest players their nation has ever produced.
Despite being born in 1912 and playing most of his football in the 1930s and 40s, he still finds himself in many all-time Brazilian teams, at the heart of the defence.
So why is he so revered by his fellow countrymen and what has he done to be remembered so fondly nearly one hundred years after his career began?
This is the story of El Maestro Divino, Domingos da Guia by The Sporting Blog’s own Divine defender of football history, Peter Kenny Jones.
Early Twentieth-Century Defenders and Brazilian Roots
The concept of a ball-playing centre half is something that dominates the modern game.
This is still a fairly new notion of what a defender has to be able to do.
The stereotypical norm for a centre-back is big, strong, can head a ball and kick it to the other end of the pitch.
The players who can give this position extra class and style are the ones who are remembered in the history of the game.
The likes of Franco Baresi, Franz Beckenbauer, Alan Hansen, Ronald Koeman and Virgil van Dijk combine the old-school opinion of being strong and hard to beat, whilst possessing the ability to dribble the ball out of the back, play a perfectly weighted pass into the midfield and help turn defence into attack.
These players are rare to come across and even rarer in the 1930s with terrible pitches, heavy balls and unforgiving boots.
Domingos da Guia, when asking certain Brazilian supporters, will certainly belong in a list alongside the very best.
The man that has been coined the greatest-ever Brazilian defender, plied his trade in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina and is remembered equally as fondly across the three nations.
He achieved great success in his career, winning the league in all three countries and this earned him international acclaim, with appearances for Brazil at the 1938 World Cup.
His son, Ademir da Guia, also went on to play for the national side, carrying on the family legacy.
The Early life of Domingos da Guia
Domingos started his footballing career as a midfielder on the streets of Bangu, in Rio.
His obvious ability on the ball gathered the attention of Bangu Atlético Clube. This was where he made his debut in 1929, the teenage Domingos was coached into being a defender which he and his teammates at the time, were not best pleased with.
His love for playing out from the back led to barrages of abuse from his defensive partners and ‘keeper who he left behind on his journeys upfield.
The young man, now turned defender had to balance his football at Bangu with part-time jobs as a carpenter and a local mosquito killer, but football was always where his passion lay.
He spent three years with Bangu learning the game and the position until he made the step up to fellow Brazilian side Vasco da Gama.
There, he spent one season before moving abroad to Uruguayan side Nacional in 1933. This move abroad was to be the making of the man.
The life of Domingos da Guia - turn on subtitles and the auto-translate function!
Unparalleled in Uruguay
Domingos ability to play football from the back earned him the adoration of the Nacional supporters.
He built a strong partnership with fellow defensive great José Nasazzi, captain of the Uruguayan side that won the first World Cup in 1930.
They were part of a team that saw Domingos win the first club silverware of his career; Nacional won the Uruguayan League in 1933 and Domingos had made such an impact on the side, he was first given his nickname of El Maestro Divino, The Divine Master. This helps to illustrate his style of play and role of playing football from the back.
Stats are always harder to manipulate for a ball-playing defender. However, winning the league in his first season in Uruguay and gaining a favourable nickname is a good barometer of the success he achieved.
As well as this, the Brazilian national team declared their interest in wanting Domingos to play for the national side.
However, due to a bizarre ruling at the time, for the national team to pick a player who was playing their football outside of Brazil, they would have to pay 45 million réis (converted to GBP in today’s money, this would equate to nearly £6 million).
This rule was introduced to encourage the best Brazilian footballers to remain in the country.
Obviously, this was too high of a fee to get a player to play in the national side and so it was apparent that whilst Domingos was in Uruguay, he wouldn’t be able to play for Brazil.
Domingos had been given a platform to display his talents and won the silverware to demonstrate their use.
The lure of representing Brazil, following their declared interest in him, was enough to see him return home after just one successful season in Uruguay.
This return to Brazil saw a return to Vasco da Gama where success was soon to follow once again.
He won the league with Vasco in 1934 as part of a side that lost only two games that campaign.
Although his return to Brazil was fuelled by a potential springboard into the national side, it was set to be a fleeting visit as he moved abroad again.
Bossing it at Boca - Moving to Argentina
After league victory in Brazil, Boca Juniors swooped to secure the signing of the influential defender and Domingos headed for Argentina.
He made an immediate impact once again as a third successive league title was won, which meant winning the top league in three different nations.
He formed another fabled defensive partnership with Argentine international Victor Valussi.
The dynamic duo helped Domingos live up to his divine image as his dominant Boca side won 27 of the 34 games that campaign.
They only conceded 31 goals in those 34 games which meant they, unsurprisingly, had the meanest defence in the league as well.
He started the next season in Argentina but was on the wrong side of some disciplinary issues.
Following an altercation with an Argentine referee, he received a two-month ban from football. Disenfranchised with the quality of refereeing, Domingos once again decided upon a transfer back to Brazil.
This time he joined the famous red and black of Flamengo.
Back to Brazil with Flamengo
This was to be the year that his league-winning run came to an end, but this did little to diminish his ever-growing reputation.
Being back in his homeland meant that Brazil wouldn’t have to pay for his services and they finally gave him the opportunity to play.
With Flamengo, Domingos formed another strong bond with Leônidas da Silva at both club and international level.
This time his bond was with the goal scorer and the two had a great friendship off the pitch whilst having an impact at either end of it.
It became quickly apparent they were set to be the key players for the upcoming 1938 World Cup in France.
They were a ubiquitous duo in the matches preceding the tournament and so, in May 1938 they joined the rest of the Brazil squad on the 15-day boat journey to France.
1938 World Cup Finals
Brazil joined 14 other nations in the third World Cup in 1938. The competition was hosted by France and began at a Round of 16 which saw some key absentees.
As this was the final tournament to be held before the outbreak of the Second World War, there were some understandable international conflicts that caused some teams to withdraw or not be present.
Two nations close to Domingos’ heart, Argentina and Uruguay, refused to participate as the tournament was held in Europe for the second consecutive occasion.
They believed it should alternate between Europe and South America and so withdrew in protest.
Spain were also unable to participate because of the ongoing Spanish Civil War. Due to the large distance to travel, lack of technology and protests, of the 15 sides to actually participate, only 3 were based outside of Europe.
These were Cuba, the Dutch Indies (Indonesia) and Brazil.
This obviously provided those nations with a disadvantage as they had to cope with long journeys to partake in the competition. All this took place in the same tournament that saw a Nazi regime-led German side featuring Austrian players who were forced to play for Germany.
Brazil Vs Poland
Politics and travel time aside, the Brazilians played their first game against a free-flowing Polish team.
The game was Domingos’ World Cup debut and certainly, one to remember for the Neutrals, even if it wasn’t for himself. It is important to note here the formations used in this era of football, most sides employed a 2-3-5 formation.
This meant that two defenders would be pitted against a five-man forward line.
The game finished 4-4 in 90 minutes and headed to extra time, there were to be another 3 goals in this period and Brazil ran out 6-5 winners.
It was a day for attackers and Flamengo’s Leônidas lived up to his pre-tournament hype as he scored a hat-trick and the winning goal of the game, Polish star Ernest Willimowski scored 4 on the day too.
Brazil Vs Czechoslovakia - World Cup Quarter Final
Next came the quarter-final and the Battle of Bordeaux against Czechoslovakia. Brazil started well with another Leônidas goal, but it was Domingos who allowed the Czechs back into the game. Handling the ball in the box and the subsequently scored penalty saw the game end 1-1 after 90 minutes.
This extra period didn’t produce any further goals and so, as per the tournament rules, the game went to a replay.
However, the main talking points from the game were the three red cards, the Czech keeper playing with a broken arm and another Czechoslovakian being taken off with a broken leg.
The game ended with 9 vs. 9 and went into a replay. Domingos was dropped for the replayed game where Brazil won and progressed to the semi-final.
The Battle of Bordeaux
Brazil Vs Italy - World Cup Semi-Final
They faced the holders Italy in a tough game where Brazil were hamstrung by the absence of Leônidas. They faced a strong Italian side that were set to retain the World Cup trophy and ultimately beat Brazil 2-1.
Domingos was again on the wrong side of a penalty decision as he was harshly adjudged to bringing down the Italian forward Silvio Piola.
Brazil did achieve some success as they won the third-place play-off. Domingos had been a part of a fair share of his own mistakes but a testament to his ability and quality at the time, he was named in the team of the tournament.
This is again made more impressive by the fact that only 2 defenders played at that time.
Despite the mistakes, Brazil was welcomed home as heroes with a third-place finish.
They had provided a great account of themselves, particularly given the travel difficulties they were faced with. Domingos was understandably disappointed with his performances but he certainly made a positive impact.
Back to Brazilian Basics
Very much a victim of his time, this was set to be Domingos’ only World Cup due to the outbreak of the World War.
However, domestic football was to continue for now and with Flamengo in Brazil, success was soon to follow again.
He was part of the first Flamengo team to win the league in 12 years as they secured the title in 1939.
He was then part of the famous back-to-back league-winning team of 1942 and 1943. The Flamengo side was a force in the Brazilian league, and this was built upon a strong defence and the ever-reliable Domingos.
The league victory in 1943 was secured at the age of 32 and he left Flamengo following a disagreement with the board.
He then moved to Corinthians where he spent 4 years, despite not winning a trophy he won the hearts of the supporters.
He then made a final move at the age of 37 back to his hometown club of Bangu.
Although his pace had diminished in his later years, the quality he had on the ball meant he could keep playing to such an age.
This was to be his final campaign and he retired as a hero for his hometown club, Domingos was remembered fondly by all the teams he had played for.
Domingos da Guia - The Legacy
His name is still fondly sung by the Bangu supporters and his legacy was continued through the success of his son for Palmeiras.
He won 8 league titles, played 30 times for Brazil and was part of the 1938 World Cup team of the tournament.
He has been voted in countless teams of the century and all-time teams for the clubs he represented and the Brazil national squad.
Domingos is certainly a man whose technique and cultured approach to the game saw him win the hearts of anyone who watched him play.
Being a victim of time has meant that a lot of footage is not available to fully appreciate how good he was, for him to be remembered so fondly and be so successful in his career illustrates the impact he had on the game.
Had he been part of the Brazilian teams to come who dominated the World Cup or been given the chance to play in the modern game, or even just not have his career cut short by the War, he would be much more well known.
Players come and go, and their legacies can diminish over time. Nevertheless, for a player’s name to still be remembered nearly one hundred years after their career began confirms their talents.
Domingos da Guia is a name that has been passed from one generation to the next, he will forever be in the conversation alongside Lucio, Aldair and Carlos Alberto and deserves to be there.
He was a player ahead of his time and he deserves to be remembered amongst the very best Brazil has ever produced.
