Walter Machado da Silva dies

Walter Machado da Silva has passed away. Born on January 2, 1940, Walter Machado da Silva was a Barça player in 1967 and played a total of 15 friendlies in which he scored 8 goals.

At the end of 1966, Juan Antonio Samaranch, then the national sports delegate, commented to the president of Barça, Enric Llaudet, that the ban on hiring foreign players in the Spanish League was about to be lifted.

Llaudet, impulsive by nature, believed Samaranch's words and signed Flamengo player, Walter Machado da Silva, who had played in the 1966 World Cup for Brazil. After a long period of negotiation, Silva arrived in 1967, however, the authorisation for foreigners was never lifted and the Brazilian was therefore not released to play in official matches.

A Gamper with Flamengo

After 15 friendly matches and eight goals scored, the man also known as Silva Batuta left Barça in 1967 to go to Pelé's Santos without having had the opportunity to shine in Catalonia. Shortly after, he would wear the Flamengo shirt again, a club with which he would return to the Camp Nou to contest a Joan Gamper Trophy. In the final against Barça, Silva scored two goals but still ended on the losing side (5-4).

Walter Machado da Silva began his career at Sao Paulo, but he was an idol at Corinthians, Flamengo, Vasco da Gama and even at Racing, where he managed to be the top scorer in the Argentine championship. In 2006, at the age of 66, he graduated in Law in Brazil and helped those who couldn't afford to have a lawyer. Recently, he had been working with Flamengo's youth teams.