 Didi in 1958 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Waldyr Pereira | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1928-10-08)8 October 1928 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Campos dos Goytacazes,RJ, Brazil | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 12 May 2001(2001-05-12) (aged 72) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Positions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1944 | São Cristóvão | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1945 | Industrial | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1945 | Rio Branco | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1945–1946 | Goytacaz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1946 | Americano | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1947–1949[1] | Madureira | 32 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1949–1956 | Fluminense | 150 | (51) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1956–1959 | Botafogo | 64 | (40) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1959–1960 | Real Madrid | 19 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1960–1962 | Botafogo | 44 | (19) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1962–1964 | Sporting Cristal | 32 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1964–1965 | Botafogo | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1965–1966 | CD Veracruz | 29 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1966 | São Paulo | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1952–1962 | Brazil | 68 | (20) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1962–1964 | Sporting Cristal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1967–1969 | Sporting Cristal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1969–1970 | Peru | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1970–1971 | River Plate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1972–1975 | Fenerbahçe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1975 | Fluminense | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977 | Cruzeiro | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1981 | Al-Ahli | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981 | Botafogo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981 | Cruzeiro | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1983 | Al-Shabab[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985 | Fortaleza | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986 | São Paulo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986 | Alianza Lima | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Bangu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Waldyr Pereira (8 October 1928 – 12 May 2001), also known asDidi (Brazilian Portuguese:[dʒiˈdʒi]), was a Brazilianfootballer who played as amidfielder or as aforward. He played in threeFIFA World Cups (1954,1958, and1962), winning the latter two.
An elegant and technical player, Didi was renowned for his range of passing, stamina and technique. He also was a free-kick specialist, being famous for inventing thefolha seca (dry leaf)dead ball free kicks, notably used by modern-day players such asJuninho andCristiano Ronaldo, where the ball wouldswerve downward unexpectedly at a point resulting in a goal.[3][4][5]
During his career, he was part ofFluminense between the end of the 1940s to the mid-1950s and one of the main players of the iconic squad ofBotafogo in the early 1960s with other world champions such asGarrincha,Nilton Santos,Zagallo andAmarildo.
Didi was born into a poor family in the city ofCampos dos Goytacazes, 150 miles north ofRio de Janeiro. As a youngster, he sold peanuts in order to help his family, and began playing football in the streets[4][5] and nearly had his right legamputated when he was 14 due to a severeinfection following an injury to his knee. He later recovered and played for local clubs in his hometown.
He became professional playing forMadureira and came to prominence when he joinedFluminense in 1949. At Fluminense, Didi played between 1949 and 1956, the club for which he played the longest time without interruption, having played 298 matches and scored 91 goals, being one of the main responsible for winning the1951 Carioca Championship, in addition to scoring the first goal in the history of Maracanã for the Carioca Selection in 1950, defending his childhood club, and leading theBrazil National team in winning the1952 Panamerican Championship, disputed inChile, in the first relevant achievement of the Brazil national team abroad, having played alongsideDjalma Santos,Castilho,Waldo,Telê Santana,Orlando Pingo de Ouro,Altair andPinheiro, among others. During seven seasons with the club he won theCampeonato carioca in 1951 and1952 Copa Rio.[4][5] On 16 June 1950, in a friendly match involvingRio de Janeiro andSão Paulo youth state teams, Didi (aged 21), playing for Rio de Janeiro, scored the first ever goal at theMaracanã Stadium.[6]
During the1954 World Cup he scored goals againstMexico andYugoslavia, before Brazil's defeat to the favoritesHungary. This match was known as theBattle of Berne; Didi was involved with the brawl that followed this bad-tempered match.
At club level, he moved toBotafogo, winning theCampeonato Carioca (Rio state championship) in 1957. Didi had previously promised to walk from theMaracanã to his house, in the neighbourhood ofLaranjeiras (9,4 km), in his kit, if Botafogo won the championship; 5,000 Botafogo fans joined him as he did so.[7]
His greatest achievement came at the1958 FIFA World Cup where he was player of the tournament.[7] From midfield, he masterminded the first of his two FIFA World Cup successes for Brazil. In 68 international matches he scored 20 goals,[8] including a dozen using his trademark free-kicks.
In 1959, he was signed byReal Madrid of Spain, playing alongside many historical players such asFerenc Puskás,Alfredo Di Stefano andFrancisco Gento.
Despite his great reputation after the 1958 FIFA World Cup, he played only 19 matches with six goals for the Spaniards and often clashed with the team leaderAlfredo Di Stéfano, who felt offended by the divide in the fans' attention with this newcomer; this situation precipitated his exit from the club. Nevertheless, despite his brief stint as a player for Real Madrid, he was able to participate in the victorious campaign of1959–60 European Cup, becoming the first Brazilian player to win both the FIFA World Cup and the European Cup.
After Real Madrid he came back to Botafogo being part one of the most successful Brazilian teams at club level of all times. The Botafogo in the early 60s with the well-knownGarrincha,Nilton Santos,Zagallo,Amarildo,Quarentinha and the very promising youngsters such asManga,Gérson,Rildo andJairzinho. At the time, Botafogo was the only club in national level able to compete against theSantos ofPelé.
After almost three successful years with Botafogo, he signed withSporting Cristal from Peru in 1963, and returning once again forBotafogo for the last time in 1964. Botafogo was the club for which Didi played the most matches: he played 313 games and scored 114 goals. He was Rio champion for the club in 1957, 1961 and 1962 and also won the 1962 Rio-São Paulo Tournament, the same year he won the Pentagonal of Mexico and, in 1963, the Paris Tournament.
In 1965 he moved to the Mexican league to play forC.D. Veracruz. In 1966, at the age of 38, he signed withSão Paulo expecting to lead the team with his experience, but he played only four games. After that, he decided to become a coach and retired as a player.
After retiring as player, he began a coach career withSporting Cristal, and was called to manage thePeru national team in the1970 FIFA World Cup, successfully guided the Peruvians qualifying at the expense ofArgentina, repaying the debt for eliminating Peru from1958 FIFA World Cup.[9] That team included stars likeTeófilo Cubillas andHéctor Chumpitaz were eventually defeated in the quarter-finals by Brazil. In 1971, he managed the topArgentine club,River Plate, when he accepted a lucrative position, and had his apex in his coaching career with Turkish GiantFenerbahçe, guiding the team to two consecutive Turkish First Division (later namedSüper Lig) titles in 1973–1974 and later in 1974–1975.
He also coached important Brazilian clubs likeBangu,Fluminense,Botafogo,Cruzeiro, Peruvian clubAlianza Lima, theKuwaiti national team andAl-Ahli.
He would marry two times throughout his life. His sonBibi who also played as a professional footballer would come from his first marriage to his first wife, Maria Luíza do Espírito Santo.[10]
In October 2000, he was inducted into the FIFA Hall of Champions.[11] By this time he was quite ill and died the following year in Rio de Janeiro, at the age of 72, after contracting pneumonia from complications arising fromintestinal cancer.[4]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 1952 | 5 | 1 |
| 1953 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1954 | 7 | 2 | |
| 1955 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1956 | 10 | 2 | |
| 1957 | 10 | 9 | |
| 1958 | 8 | 1 | |
| 1959 | 7 | 3 | |
| 1961 | 4 | 1 | |
| 1962 | 10 | 1 | |
| Total | 68 | 20 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 April 1952 | Estadio Nacional,Santiago, Chile |  Uruguay | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1952 Panamerican Championship | [13] |
| 2 | 16 June 1954 | Charmilles Stadium,Geneva, Switzerland |  Mexico | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1954 FIFA World Cup | [14] |
| 3 | 19 June 1954 | Stade Olympique de la Pontaise,Lausanne, Switzerland |  Yugoslavia | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1954 FIFA World Cup | [15] |
| 4 | 15 April 1956 | Praterstadion,Vienna, Austria |  Austria | – | 3–2 | Friendly | [16] |
| 5 | 9 May 1956 | Wembley Stadium,London, England |  England | 2–2 | 2–4 | Friendly | [17] |
| 6 | 13 April 1957 | Estadio Nacional del Perú,Lima, Peru |  Chile | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1957 South American Championship | [18] |
| 7 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 8 | 3–1 | ||||||
| 9 | 23 March 1957 | Estadio Nacional del Perú, Lima, Peru |  Colombia | 5–0 | 9–0 | 1957 South American Championship | [18] |
| 10 | 6–0 | ||||||
| 11 | 28 March 1957 | Estadio Nacional del Perú, Lima, Peru | Uruguay | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1957 South American Championship | [18] |
| 12 | 31 March 1957 | Estadio Nacional del Perú, Lima, Peru |  Peru | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1957 South American Championship | [18] |
| 13 | 21 April 1957 | Estádio Municipal,Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Peru | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification | [19] |
| 14 | 11 June 1957 | Estádio Municipal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |  Portugal | – | 2–1 | Friendly | [20] |
| 15 | 24 June 1958 | Råsunda Stadium,Stockholm, Sweden |  France | 2–1 | 5–2 | 1958 FIFA World Cup | [21] |
| 16 | 10 March 1959 | Estadio Monumental,Buenos Aires, Argentina | Peru | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1959 South American Championship | [22] |
| 17 | 15 March 1959 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Chile | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1959 South American Championship | [22] |
| 18 | 21 March 1959 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina |  Bolivia | 4–2 | 4–2 | 1959 South American Championship | [22] |
| 19 | 7 May 1961 | Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile | Chile | – | 2–1 | 1961 Copa Bernardo O'Higgins | [23] |
| 20 | 21 April 1962 | Estádio Municipal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |  Paraguay | – | 6–0 | 1962 Taça Oswaldo Cruz | [24] |
Botafogo
Fluminense
Real Madrid
Brazil
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