João Leite (politician)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Leite and the second or paternal family name is da Silva. "Neto" is a generational suffix meaning "grandson", which is used for someone whose name is the same as their father and grandfather, like "III" in English.

João Leite da Silva Neto, known simply as João Leite (Pitangui,^{[citation needed]} October 13, 1955), was a politician in the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais and a former Brazilian football goalkeeper who played for Atlético Mineiro in the decades of 1970, 1980 and 1990.^[1]

João Leite
State Deputy of Minas Gerais
Incumbent
Assumed office February 1, 1995
City Councillor of Belo Horizonte
In office January 1, 1993 – December 16, 1994
Personal details
Born	João Leite da Silva Neto (1955-10-13) October 13, 1955 (age 69) Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Political party	PSDB (2006–present; 1992–2004)
Other political affiliations	PSB (2004–06)
Profession	Former football player
Association football career Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Position(s) Goalkeeper Youth career Alvorada América Mineiro Atlético Mineiro Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) 1976–1988 Atlético Mineiro 1988–1989 Vitória de Guimarães 1989 Guarani 1990 América Mineiro 1991–1992 Atlético Mineiro International career 1979–1982 Brazil 6 (0) *Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

João Leite started and spent most of his career at Clube Atlético Mineiro, for which he holds the record for most appearances and most trophies won. João Leite first played for Atlético in 1977, substituting Ortiz. He also played in the Campeonato Brasileiro, with his team finishing the championship at second place after losing to São Paulo in the finals.^[2] In the 17 years that he played for the club, João Leite played a total of 684 matches,^[3] won twelve Campeonato Mineiro and one Copa CONMEBOL.^[2][4]

He also played for Vitória de Guimarães, Guarani and América Mineiro, before returning to Atlético Mineiro and ending his career.

He was selected for the Brazil national team during the 1980 Mundialito^[5][6][7] and the 1979 Copa América,^[8] and played 5 official games in total with the Seleção between 1980 and 1981.

João Leite was one of the precursors of the Atletas de Cristo ("Christ's Athletes") movement, and he used to give bibles to the opposing players, becoming known as Goleiro de Deus ("God's Goalkeeper").^[2][9]

Nowadays João Leite is state deputy in Minas Gerais, and has been since 1995.^[10] In January 2023 he requested retirement from politics along with nine other ex-colleagues.^[1]

Honours

Club

Atlético Mineiro

• Campeonato Mineiro: 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991
• Copa CONMEBOL: 1992
• Brazilian Champions Cup: 1978

Individual

• Bola de Prata: 1979