In 1913, a sports fan, coming from Florianópolis, arrived in Santos. His name was Urbano Caldeira. Despite living in São Paulo, it was on the coast that he found the team that would enchant him forever.
Urbano’s passion for the institution was so intense that he became a player, coach and manager of Santos Futebol Clube. After his death in 1933, it was decided that the stadium would bear his name. A more than fair tribute to one of the great pillars of Santos history.
From the first wooden stands to the stadium that saw the birth of a King and had Queen Marta, the village grew together with the club and Brazilian football. More than concrete and iron, the identity of Vila Belmiro is the Santos fans.
As we celebrate Vila Belmiro’s 109th anniversary today, we pay a fair tribute to everyone who, in more than a century, built the mystique of the temple built on sacred ground, forged with sweat, tears and emotion.
Star players and the biggest football team in the world passed through it, the only one to stop a war. Gylmar; Lima, Mauro, Calvet and Dalmo; Zito and Mengálvio; Dorval, Coutinho, Pelé and Pepe.
With my father, I grew up watching the games and experiencing the atmosphere, which is also spectacular, around Alçapão. In his lap, I remember when we waited for the gates to open with 20 minutes left in the match and, even with little time left until the end of the game, we still watched goals and historic comebacks from the black and white team from the beach.
Still holding hands with my father, we saw the King say goodbye, kneeling in the central part of the lawn. As president, I saw the Santos fans once again celebrate a state title in 2006, after spending almost 22 years without the Campeonato Paulista trophy. He came down in a helicopter with the cup. Unforgettable!
Vila Belmiro was the stage for the first women’s Libertadores, in 2009, with Santos becoming champion!
Vila has always been a suitable stadium for our athletes to play, especially to launch talents. As president, I witnessed up close the emergence of Meninos da Vila like Robinho, Diego, Neymar Jr., Ganso.
This is a fountain that does not dry up. A field accustomed to revealing the main jewels of Brazilian football.
In January 2023, Vila Belmiro dawned different. The stadium opened its doors for the last farewell with its greatest idol and moved thousands of people who were present. Pelé played 210 times at Alçapão and scored 288 goals. The legacy that the King left is eternal and will forever remain alive in the heart of every Santos fan.
The relegation in the middle of Alçapão was a hard blow. When we took over Santos in 2024, in a symbolic way, we decided to keep the number 10 shirt during the Series B dispute, a respectful pause in his memory until the return to Series A. With access guaranteed and the arrival of Neymar Jr., our Prince, we returned the shirt to the field, in keeping with its history and our tradition.
Santos is close to implementing a project that will take Vila Belmiro into the future and will place the stadium among the most modern in the world.
The new Vila Belmiro will be a landmark for Brazilian football and for the city of Santos. An investment that is being carefully planned in all its details so as not to incur debt or compromise the club’s finances.
Just like the club, our house is going through a recovery process. Rebuilding takes time, Santos has already gone through several phases. And every time they said it was the end, they were the beginning of new chapters. We are not putting out a huge fire, but rekindling the flame.
Now, we are about to begin a new era for Vila, which forms a living organism with its neighborhood and the entire neighborhood, which pulses with each game. The stadium is transformed, but the sacred ground of stars is one, because Being Born, Living and Dying in Santos is a Pride that Not Everyone Can Have!
