Mario Zagallo, who won four soccer World Cups for Brazil as either player or coach, has died, according to a post on his official Instagram account on Saturday. He was 92.
A tough and talented left winger, Zagallo played on the team that won Brazil’s first World Cup in 1958 and he kept his place in the side that retained the title four years later.
In 1970, he coached a Brazil squad that featured all-time greats like Pele, Jairzinho, Rivellino and Tostao – one that many consider to be the greatest national team ever to play the game.
They won Brazil’s third World Cup in Mexico.
That made Zagallo the first person in the sport to win a World Cup as both a player and a manager.
Later, he was assistant coach to Carlos Alberto Parreira when Brazil won their fourth title in 1994 in U.S.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino expressed condolences to Brazil on Saturday, describing Zagallo’s impact on the World Cup as “unparalleled”.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said it would hold a seven-day mourning period to honour Zagallo, while the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) said it was mourning the loss of the only four-time world champion.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed condolences to Zagallo’s family, friends and “millions of admirers” and declared a three-day period of mourning in Brazil.
His Brazilian fans loved him for his idiosyncratic personality and unapologetic nationalism.
He liked to say he was born with victory at his side and was rarely shy to challenge those who said his teams were too defensive.
One of his most famous outbursts came after Brazil won the Copa America in Bolivia in 1997.
His team were unfancied but when the final whistle went, an emotional Zagallo, his face red thanks to the rarified air of La Paz, screamed into the television cameras:
“You’re going to have to put up with me!”
The phrase is still frequently repeated by Brazilians in all walks of life celebrating vindication.
Zagallo was also known for being highly superstitious and believed the number 13 brought him luck.
He liked to coin phrases that contained 13 letters, he got married on the 13th of the month, and once even joked he would retire from the game at 13:00 on July 13, 2013.
Nicknamed the Old Wolf, Mario Jorge Lobo Zagallo was born on Aug. 9, 1931, in Maceio on Brazil’s impoverished northeastern coast.
His family moved to Rio de Janeiro before his first birthday and it was there he fell in love with football.
His first dream was to be an airline pilot but he was forced to abandon that due to poor eyesight.
Instead, he studied accountancy and played soccer in his spare time with local side America, then one of the biggest clubs in the city.
Leave a Reply