lit a candle 3h agomy dad called just to tell me some Brazilian winger from the 70s died, said the name Xaxá like I'd know it. googled him after, 1973 Paulista title shared with Santos. never heard of him before today.
Their story
Maximiliano Rodrigues Lopes, known throughout Brazilian football as Xaxá, was born in Guarujá, on the São Paulo coast, on 27 December 1951. A right winger of quick feet and a ready smile, he became one of the emblematic attackers of Portuguesa's 1970s generation, a club idol who later carried the…
Maximiliano Rodrigues Lopes, known throughout Brazilian football as Xaxá, was born in Guarujá, on the São Paulo coast, on 27 December 1951. A right winger of quick feet and a ready smile, he became one of the emblematic attackers of Portuguesa's 1970s generation, a club idol who later carried the same joy into Londrina's historic 1977 Brazilian Championship run, a spell at Vasco da Gama, and a second life as a commentator, youth coach, and keeper of Lusitanian memory.
His path began in the amateur pitches of Guarujá with Brasil Atlético. Scout Arnaldo de Oliveira, nicknamed Papa, spotted him on the Baixada Santista várzea and took him to Portuguesa Santista. Still a teenager, he trained with the professionals and scored twice against Corinthians, prompting a short, uneasy spell at Parque São Jorge under Dino Sani, where Rivellino already starred and the pressure of a giant club unsettled a boy who missed home. Portuguesa Santista brought him back. Attempts by Lula of Santos and Zezé Moreira of São Paulo to land him stalled when Briosa president Oswaldo Carvalho de Rosis held out for cash rather than player swaps. A four-goal display for Santista against Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto convinced Portuguesa de Desportos coach João Avelino to take the cheaper teenager instead of an older target. The Briosa sold him for 220,000 cruzeiros, and Xaxá arrived at Canindé.
At Portuguesa from 1970 to 1976 he wore the number 7, played 230 matches, scored 11 goals, and lined up with Enéas, Badeco, Calegari, Basílio, Tatá, Wilsinho, and Dicá. Under Otto Glória and others he helped win the 1973 Campeonato Paulista, the most controversial state title of the modern era. After a 0-0 final with Santos went to penalties, referee Armando Marques botched the shoot-out count. Portuguesa left the field; the federation later declared both clubs champions. Xaxá later recalled celebrating on the team bus while radio voices argued that both sides were champions, and receiving half the usual title bonus. He also lifted the Taça Estado de São Paulo and the Copa Governador do Estado de São Paulo in 1976. Fans nicknamed him Super Xaxá; a club comic even cast him as a monthly hero of the Canindé stands.
In 1977 Londrina signed him for a campaign that still defines the Tubarão. He scored in decisive games against Goiânia and Vila Nova during the so-called pacto de Goiânia that pushed Londrina into the Brazilian Championship's final stages. The side then eliminated Flamengo, Corinthians, Santos, and Vasco before falling to Atlético Mineiro in the semifinals, finishing fourth nationally. Spells at Juventus-SP, Vasco da Gama (part of the 1979 Brazilian runners-up group), Uberlândia, and União Rondonópolis followed before he retired in 1980.
Away from playing he stayed close to the game: football commentator, youth coach in the United States, and base coach at both Portuguesa Santista and Portuguesa de Desportos. Decades later he still returned to Ulrico Mursa and to Londrina veterans' gatherings, recounting Corinthians scares, São Paulo dawn trainings, and the half-title of 1973 with the same humor that marked his interviews. He died in Guarujá on 16 September 2026, aged 74. The cause of death was not made public. Portuguesa, Portuguesa Santista, and Londrina issued tributes calling him eternal Super Xaxá and recalling the 1973 and 1977 sides that made his name.
Xaxá's legacy sits where coastal várzea talent met big-club romance: a Guarujá boy who briefly tasted Corinthians, chose the Lusitanian path, helped write Portuguesa's shared Paulista crown, and then wrote Londrina into a national semifinal. Teammates and supporters remembered not only the dribbling right-wing runs but the smile in the warm-up, the comic-book nickname, and a lifetime spent giving that joy back to the clubs that formed him.
Biography adapted from ge.globo obituaries and 2021 interview; Terceiro Tempo; English/Portuguese Wikipedia; club statements from Portuguesa, Portuguesa Santista, and Londrina (September 2026).. Wikipedia ↗
In their own words
“Nós fomos embora, comemoramos dentro do ônibus, ouvindo por uma emissora de rádio que estava junto na hora, falando que os dois eram campeões, ninguém entendia nada.”
On the chaotic shared 1973 Paulista title after the penalty-count error (ge.globo interview, 2021).
“Era 24 mil cruzeiros o prêmio para os jogadores, a Portuguesa nos deu 12 porque disseram que fomos metade campeões.”
Recalling the half bonus after the 1973 shared championship (ge.globo, 2021).
“No Corinthians tinha o Rivellino, o Dino Sani era o treinador, quer dizer, era um clube muito grande, eu me assustei demais.”
On his teenage months at Corinthians (ge.globo, 2021).
“Aí a Portuguesa Santista me chamou de volta, o Corinthians fez jogo duro mas liberou.”
On returning from Corinthians to the Briosa (ge.globo, 2021).
“Tem um aqui de 17 que fez quatro, vamos levar esse aqui que é mais barato.”
Recalling coach João Avelino's pitch to Portuguesa directors after his four-goal game (ge.globo, 2021).
“Jogar em Ulrico Mursa com torcida é maravilhoso. A torcida fica do lado do alambrado, xingando o bandeirinha, o ponta, o lateral.”
On the atmosphere at Portuguesa Santista's stadium (ge.globo, 2021).
“Descanse em paz, Super Xaxá.”
From Associação Portuguesa de Desportos' official mourning note, 16 September 2026.
“Xaxá vestiu a camisa da Lusa entre 1970 e 1976, disputando 230 partidas e marcando 11 gols.”
Portuguesa club statement summarizing his Canindé record (2026).
Photos
2Xaxá at Estádio Ulrico Mursa, Portuguesa Santista, during a 2021 career interview.
by People Forever
Xaxá in a Londrina veterans commemorative match, 2018.
by People Forever
that shared title story is wild, look up the penalty count error