By Tales Azzoni and Mauricio Savarese – AP News
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Mario Zagallo was the protagonist of nearly every important moment in Brazilian soccer history, from winning its first World Cup title in 1958 to his role as ambassador for the tournament the country hosted in 2014.
Zagallo, the first person to win World Cups as a player and coach, has died. He was 92.
He was in five finals, a figure that has not been matched. He won two as a player (1958 and 1962), one as a coach (1970) and one as an assistant (1994).
Former soccer player and former Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo arrives at the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina at the Maracanã, July 13, 2014.Hassan Ammar/AP
Tite, a former Brazil coach, visited Zagallo to hear his advice before taking the national team to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Russia and Qatar.
The only person to win four World Cup titles was the last living member to start in the 1958 World Cup title win.
Zagallo died Friday night after multiple organ failures as a result of several comorbidities, Rio de Janeiro's Barra D'Or Hospital said in a statement. Local media reported that he was hospitalized after Christmas.
For many Brazilians, Zagallo was synonymous with patriotism, dedication and glory.
Ednaldo Rodrigues, president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), confirmed the death in a statement early Saturday. The manager considered that Zagallo "is one of the greatest legends" of the sport. The funeral will be held on Sunday at the confederation facility.
Pelé embraces Mario Zagallo after the latter was appointed coach of Brazil, in March 1970, in Rio de Janeiro.AP / file
"We offer solidarity with his family and with the fans at this time of sorrow for the passing of this great hero of our football," Rodrigues said.
Several Brazilian clubs where Zagallo played and managed also expressed their condolences.
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Zagallo's social media called him "a dedicated father, a loving grandfather, an attentive father-in-law, a loyal friend, a victorious professional, and a great human being."
"He was a gigantic hero, a patriot who leaves us a legacy of great achievements," the text adds, without giving further details of the death.
Zagallo was hospitalized for more than a month in 2005 after stomach surgery. Four years earlier, he received medical care for a cardiac arrhythmia while coaching Flamengo Rio de Janeiro. He spent 12 days in a hospital before the 2014 World Cup with a back infection, and was released just in time to watch the opening match.
Zagallo was known for his superstition with the number 13 and the use of the phrase "they'll have to put up with me," which he threw at anyone who dared to criticize him.
"Brave, delicate, passionate"
Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva said on social media that Zagallo was "one of the greatest footballers and coaches of all time" and "a symbol of love for the national team and Brazil... Courageous, dedicated, passionate and superstitious, Zagallo was a role model for Brazilians, who never gave up."
He began his career as a striker with the Rio de Janeiro club America and later also played with Flamengo and Botafogo, the Rio team in which he had as teammates Nilton Santos, Garrincha, Didí and Amarildo. That squad was one of the few in Brazil that in the 1960s was able to stand up to Pelé's Santos.
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Zagallo was the striker for the Brazilian national team that won the 1958 World Cup in Sweden and the 1962 World Cup in Chile. In addition, he was one of the first footballers to play as a playmaker, placing himself between midfielders and forwards.
He hung up his boots in 1965 and began his coaching career the following year with Botafogo. In 1970, he was called up to take charge of the Brazilian national team just before the World Cup in Mexico, and inherited a squad that included the likes of Pelé, Jairzinho, Gerson, Rivelinho and Tostao. Brazil thrashed Italy 4-1 in the final to become the tournament's first three-time champions.
He also coached Brazil at Germany 1974, but, without Pelé, the Verdeamarela finished fourth.
Between 1976 and 1978, Zagallo coached the Kuwaiti national team, in 1981 he took charge of Saudi Arabia, and nine years later he helped the United Arab Emirates qualify for the World Cup in Italy.
Zagallo was an assistant to Carlos Alberto Parreria at the 1994 World Cup, in which Brazil beat Italy in the final to win their first title in 24 years.
Four years later, Zagallo was again Brazil's helmsman at the World Cup in France, where Brazil lost the final 3-0 to the hosts. That match was famous for the seizures Ronaldo suffered in the dressing room, and Zagallo was later criticised for allowing the striker to play despite his health problems.
"The doctors gave him the all-clear to play," Zagallo said. "Anyone in my position would have done the same. I wasn't going to be the one to ban him from playing in a World Cup final."
Parreira called Zagallo back as an assistant in 2006, when Brazil arrived at the World Cup in Germany as favourites with stars such as Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ronaldo and Adriano. However, that squad was a fiasco, and fell to France in the quarterfinals.
Zagallo was one of a handful of coaches to have successful spells with Rio's big four clubs: Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo and Vasco da Gama.
He always said that 13 was his lucky number because it had the last two digits of the year of his birth, 1931, and he never missed an opportunity to highlight any coincidences between 13 and his successes as a player and coach.