Brazilian football icon Mario Zagallo has passed away at the age of 92.
He was a member of the Brazil team that won consecutive World Cups in 1958 and 1962 and was also the coach of the legendary Brazilian team that won the 1970 World Cup, featuring stars like Pele, Jairzinho, and Carlos Alberto. Zagallo’s final World Cup win came as an assistant coach in 1994. He was the first person to win the World Cup as both a player and a coach, a feat later matched by Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer and France’s Didier Deschamps.
He was a key figure in Brazil’s decorated football history, leading them to the final in 1998 where they lost to hosts France. Zagallo played for America, Flamengo, and Botafogo domestically, winning 33 caps for Brazil before retiring in 1965. He began his managerial career at Botafogo and later replaced Joao Saldanha as Brazil boss aged 38, just before the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.
Zagallo, nicknamed ‘The Professor’ and ‘Old Wolf’, coached a side filled with the attacking talents of Pele and others, leading them to a 4-1 victory over Italy in the final. He also managed Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, helping the latter qualify for their first-ever World Cup in 1990. Zagallo’s wife of 57 years, Alcina de Castro, died in 2012. They had four children. Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues offered condolences to the family of this football legend.
