José Manuel Tuna Caranguejeiro, Tuna, to most friends and acquaintances. At the age of 75, the former JORNAL DE LEIRIA journalist passed away this morning, in Leiria, where he was hospitalized.
He was a player, coach, banker, journalist, mayor, secretary of the board and writer. Those who knew him certainly don’t forget the countless stories he told about his football days, which gave him friendships with other great players. I had the privilege of forming great friendships”, he told JORNAL DE LEIRIA in a life interview in 2015. “I played with famous players, such as Néné, Humberto Coelho and Raul Águas” and with Eusébio I was deprived of a person I enjoyed meeting , “not excluding others”.
He was born in Torres Novas, but, because of football, he didn’t warm up the place. He was in Lisbon, playing for Benfica and, later, in Peniche. “I spent April 25, 74 in Peniche with Jorge Jesus”, he recalls. Leiria would be the next destination, where he remained until today. He played for three years at União de Leiria and was also a coach at the same club for another three years.
“I came to Leiria and decided to think about my future, so I got a job”, he revealed. “I worked at Banco de Portugal for 20 years, until the Leiria branch closed.”
It was during the period when he was at the bank that Tuna began to take his first steps in journalism. It was at JORNAL DE LEIRIA that he started, in 1987, and with whom he collaborated for 12 years. “I can say that I have a part in the evolution of the newspaper”, he said with visible pride. “I was the promoter of the four-page advertising supplement, which no other newspaper had. It was a big hit, because it affected the other newspapers,” he recalled.
The most prominent free-time occupation is writing, especially that involving humor. “The book I wrote (Kicks on the ball with shirt humor) are stories I collected over the 50 years I was involved with sport, as a player, coach and journalist.” Football was also responsible for the 13 countries he had the privilege of visiting.
One of the funny stories he remembers comes from the time he played for Benfica. When he was little, his father scolded him for ruining his shoes while playing football at recess. “My father told me ‘if you want to play ball, you have to play barefoot’ and that stuck,” he revealed.
“What I did was roll up my pants, take off my shoes and go play with my colleagues. I liked playing barefoot and I became known for that.”
In his family life, he also considers himself a happy man. “I’ve had six women in my life, now I have five.” Tuna refers to his wife, his two daughters, his granddaughter and his mother-in-law, now deceased.
He met his wife while still in Torres Novas and they had been married for more than 50 years. When asked if it is possible to maintain the passion for so many years, he doesn’t hesitate. “If there wasn’t already passion, everyone would certainly have followed their own path”, he said. “With some winds and tides, everything balances out.”
On their Facebook page, family members announced his death, informing that the funeral will take place this Thursday, May 9th, with religious ceremonies beginning at 2 pm, in the Mortuary Chapel of Leiria, from where he will leave for the Lapas cemetery, in Torres Novas.
The body will be held at a wake, starting at 5:30 pm, tomorrow, the 8th, at the Casa Mortuária de Leiria.
Editor’s note: Text originally published in JORNAL DE LEIRIA, on January 15, 2015, and edited today.
Tuna’s last text in JORNAL DE LEIRIA, in the 40th anniversary edition, published on March 28th
It was a privilege to have worked at JORNAL DE LEIRIA, where for several years I worked as a journalist, at the invitation of Eng. Ribeiro Vieira. I had good friends from whom I learned a lot. Among the interesting work I did, I remember monitoring the Games Without Borders, with a qualifier in Madrid (Spain) and a final in Venice (Italy), where our team won second place. As a journalist, I received the Gandula Award, from Gazeta dos Desportos, I was honored by the National Sports Press Club (CNID) and by Casa do Benfica in Leiria. I was the first correspondent in Leiria for the newspapers O Jogo and Correio da Manhã. Still in the area of sport, I collaborated on a project at the former Leiria School Prison. Good times were missed by the journalist known as Tuna Caranguejeiro.
Tags: Jornal Leiria Tuna Caranguejeiro man trades died today
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