Mário Zagallo

Zagallo was born in Atalaia, in the northeastern state of Alagoas, and later moved to Rio de Janeiro with his family when he was still eight months old.^[7] As a young man, he committed to complete his military service in the Brazilian Army; he was notably deployed at the Maracanã Stadium when Uruguay defeated Brazil in the 1950 World Cup final.^[7][8]

Zagallo started his football career in the youth sector of América,^[6] before joining Flamengo in 1950;^[9][10] having turned professional and established himself within the Mengão's first team, he helped the club win three consecutive titles in the Campeonato Carioca between 1953 and 1955.^[6][8][9]

In 1958, Zagallo joined Botafogo,^[8][11] and eventually became a part of a team that included several other regular starters of the Brazilian national team, such as Garrincha, Nilton Santos and Didi.^[8][11] He went on to help the side win two titles in the Torneio Rio–São Paulo,^[10] as well as two in the Campeonato Carioca,^[10][11] and represented O Fogo until his retirement in 1965.^[6][12]

Zagallo won a total of 33 caps for the Brazil senior national team between 1958 and 1964, scoring five goals.^[13]

In 1958, he was included by manager Vicente Feola in the Brazilian squad for the FIFA World Cup in Sweden:^[8] following an injury to Pepe, he was promoted to the starting XI,^[8] and eventually scored a goal in the final as Brazil claimed their first world title.^[6][14]

He was also a part of the squad that won the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile,^[6][8] where he started in all of Brazil's matches.^[8]

Player

Zagallo was a diminutive left winger with a small physique, who was known for his technical skills and his high defensive work-rate, as well as his ability to make attacking runs from deeper areas of the pitch. He was also capable of playing as a forward, either as a main striker, or as an inside forward.^[15][16]

Due to his characteristics and his skills, he received the nickname Formiguinha ("Little Ant" in Portuguese).^[6][8]

Manager

During his stint as Brazil's head coach, Zagallo mainly adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation; he was considered to be one of the first managers to focus on the physical preparation of his players before long-lasting tournaments, including the 1970 FIFA World Cup.^[17]

He was nicknamed The Professor by his players throughout his coaching career, due to his tactical awareness and commanding presence on the bench,^[16] as well as Velho Lobo ("Old Wolf") due to his surname "Lobo", which means "wolf" in Portuguese.^[16]

In 1966, Zagallo started his managerial career at Botafogo, the club he had finished his playing career with.^[11][18] He was then appointed as the manager of the Brazil national team shortly before the start of the 1970 FIFA World Cup,^[8] and eventually led the Seleção to their third title.^[7][17] In the process, he became the first person to win the World Cup both as a player and as a manager;^[19] at the age of 38, he also became the second youngest coach to win the aforementioned title, behind only Alberto Suppici.^[18]

At the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany, Zagallo was disadvantaged by the international retirement of Pelé four years earlier, as well as injuries to Tostão and Carlos Alberto Torres, meaning that only two starting players from the 1970 final were in the squad. Additionally, the team had a lack of competitive practice due to the shelving of the Copa América between 1967 and 1975. In response to Brazil being eliminated by overly physical European sides in 1954 and 1966, Zagallo chose to play in an equally aggressive way. Brazil narrowly made it through the first group stage by one goal in goal difference over Scotland, and missed out on the final after a 2–0 loss to the Netherlands, in which Luís Pereira was sent off for a foul on Johan Neeskens. Poland then defeated Brazil in the third-place playoff.^[20]

In 1989, Zagallo was hired by the United Arab Emirates for their qualification campaign for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He led the amateurs to an unexpected first qualification to the tournament, but left for Vasco da Gama days before the World Cup began and was replaced by Carlos Alberto Parreira.^[21]

He then returned to the Brazilian national team as a coordinator and assistant coach, and helped the side win the 1994 FIFA World Cup while serving in those roles.^[7][19]

Once again, he was given to manage the Brazilian national team for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Brazil reached the final but due to Ronaldo's sudden injury, they lost to the host nation France 3-0.

In November 2002, Zagallo came out of retirement to coach Brazil again, following Luiz Felipe Scolari's exit after winning that year's World Cup.^[22] On 20 November, in his only game, the team won 3–2 in a friendly away to South Korea.^[23]

Zagallo married Alcina de Castro on 13 January 1955 at the Church of Capuchins in Rio de Janeiro. They remained together until de Castro's death on 5 November 2012.^[24] Mário and Alcina had four children.^[25] He was a practicing Catholic.^[26][27]

Zagallo's surname was spelled Zagalo for most of his career, including by himself, until he told a reporter in the 1990s that his surname on his birth certificate was Zagallo. He was also the only Brazilian World Cup-winning forward to be known by his surname.^[28]

In July 2022, Zagallo was admitted to hospital with a respiratory infection.^[29] In August 2023, he was hospitalized for 22 days due to a urinary infection.^[30] Following a brief hospitalization in Rio de Janeiro, he died on 5 January 2024 due to multiple organ failure, resulting from the exacerbation of various pre-existing comorbidities. Zagallo was aged 92.^[6][31]

Player

Flamengo

• Rio de Janeiro State Championship: 1953, 1954, 1955^[6][9]

Botafogo

• Rio-São Paulo Tournament: 1962, 1964^[10][11]
• Rio de Janeiro State Championship: 1961, 1962^[10][11]

Brazil

• FIFA World Cup: 1958, 1962^[7][8]

Manager

Botafogo

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1968^[12][18]
• Rio de Janeiro State Championship: 1967, 1968^[12][18]

Fluminense

• Rio de Janeiro State Championship: 1971^[33]

Flamengo

• Copa dos Campeões: 2001^[9][18]
• Rio de Janeiro State Championship: 1972, 2001^[9][18]

Al-Hilal

• Saudi Premier League: 1978–79^[34]

Brazil

• FIFA World Cup: 1970^[6][18]
• Copa América: 1997^[18]
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997^[18]

Kuwait

• Arabian Gulf Cup: 1976^[35]

Coordinator

Brazil

• FIFA World Cup: 1994^[6]

Individual

• IFFHS World's Best National Coach: 1997^[18]
• World Soccer Magazine 9th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013^[4][5]
• FourFourTwo 27th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2020^[36]

• List of FIFA World Cup records and statistics#Coaching
• List of Brazil national football team managers