Brazilians paid their condolences on Sunday to football hero Mario Zagallo, a four-time World Cup winner and coach who died at the age of 92.
On Sunday, Brazilians paid their tribute to football star Mario Zagallo, a four-time World Cup-winning player and coach who died at the age of 92 and was the last member of one of the country’s finest generations in the cherished sport. A steady stream of mourners, dressed in black, the yellow of the Brazilian national team, or the colors of the numerous clubs where Zagallo played and coached, filed past his coffin at the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) headquarters, whose facade featured a giant banner in his honor.
Brazil’s record five World Cup trophies were on display near the lace-draped coffin. Zagallo, a small left-wing famed for his tactical acumen, was involved in four of them, more than any other player in football history.
The “Professor,” as he was called, was a member of Brazil’s World Cup-winning teams in 1958 and 1962.
He later coached Pele’s 1970 world champion squad, widely regarded as the best team in history, and served as an assistant coach when the “Selecao” repeated the feat in 1994.
“We’ve lost a sporting legend,” Bebeto, a member of the 1994 squad, stated.
“He was my second father,” he told journalists, echoing fellow World Cup champion Cafu (1994 and 2002).
Others who paid their tributes included former Brazil coach Tite and CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues, who delivered an emotional embrace to Zagallo’s son Mario Cesar.
‘Only one Zagallo’
Claudio Auvarenga, a 64-year-old driver, arrived early to be among the first to walk by the casket.
“You can travel the world and only find one Zagallo.” “No one else in history has won four World Cups,” he told AFP.
Eliana Gaia, 66, Zagallo’s longtime aide, described him as a “human being without equal.”
“He was a magnificent person, a hero,” she went on to say.
Following a public wake and a private service, Zagallo’s casket was lifted atop a bright red fire truck for a funeral cortege through Rio de Janeiro’s streets, as a small gathering of supporters applauded and shouted.
He was later laid to rest in the Sao Joao Batista cemetery, which is home to some of Brazil’s most famous individuals.
Zagallo died on Friday from multiple organ failure, following a string of health issues in recent months.
From Saturday, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has designated three days of national mourning.
Tributes from the football world have also flooded in.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino referred to Zagallo as a “tactical genius,” World Cup winners Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Romario praised him, and current Brazil and Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior simply referred to him as a “LEGEND.”
Only Franz Beckenbauer of Germany (1974 and 1990) and Didier Deschamps of France (1998 and 2018) have won the World Cup as both player and coach.
Nostalgia for the good old days
Zagallo is remembered for his warm humor, strong superstition (he swore by the number 13), and fierce passion for the game.
After the famous Pele died in December 2022 at the age of 82, he was the only surviving starter from Brazil’s first World Cup-winning team in 1958.
The defeat comes at a terrible time in Brazilian football.
Brazil fired national team coach Fernando Diniz on Friday after the “Selecao,” who were missing injured sensation Neymar, suffered a humiliating string of losses in World Cup qualifiers.
Brazil is presently sixth in South American qualifying.
Dorival Junior, the coach of Sao Paulo, has been nominated to take over as coach of Brazil, according to the club, though the CBF has yet to confirm this.
CBF chief Rodrigues, who was reinstalled in the role on Thursday amid a lengthy legal struggle over the confederation’s leadership, told journalists at the wake that he “just want(ed) to talk about Zagallo today.”
“This is a time to talk about this legend of Brazilian and world football,” he went on to say.
