Pirillo became an idol when by the end of 1941 Rio State Championship he had been its top scorer with 39 goals—an unbeaten record until today. He was also a very important player at 1942-1943-1944 Rio State Championships titles. Pirillo is the 4th high scorer in Flamengo's history with 204 goals.
In 1948 he signed with Botafogo and once again he had a difficult assignment: to replace Heleno de Freitas. In the same year he won the Rio State Championship with Botafogo, becoming an idol in another major club.
After retiring as a player, Pirillo began a successful career as a coach. As Brazil's coach, he was the first one to draft Pelé in 1957, for the Roca Cup, a match against Argentina, at Maracanã Stadium.