Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈmaɾjuzaˈɡalu]; 9 August 1931 – 5 January 2024) was a Brazilian professionalfootball player, coordinator and manager, who played as aforward.
Zagallo holds the record forFIFA World Cup titles in general with four titles in total. He also holds the record forWorld Cup finals with six participations. He was the first person to win the World Cup as both a manager and as a player, winning the competition in1958 and1962 as a player and in1970 as manager.[2] In addition, he won the1994 FIFA World Cup as assistant manager. Zagallo also coached Brazil in1974 (finishing fourth) and in1998 (finishing as runners-up) and was a technical assistant in2006. He was the first of three men, along with Germany'sFranz Beckenbauer (who coincidentally died two days after Zagallo) and France'sDidier Deschamps to have won the World Cup as a player and as a manager, and the only one who had done each more than once.
In 1992, Zagallo received theFIFA Order of Merit, the highest honour awarded byFIFA, for his contributions to football.[3] He was named theninth greatest manager of all time byWorld Soccer Magazine in 2013.[4][5] On 5 January 2024, Zagallo died at the age of 92.[6] He was the last surviving Brazilian player who participated in the1958 World Cup final, and his death leftAmarildo as the last surviving Brazilian player of the1962 final.
Zagallo started his football career in the youth sector ofAmérica,[6] before joiningFlamengo in 1950;[9][10] having turned professional and established himself within theMengão's first team, he helped the club win three consecutive titles in theCampeonato Carioca between 1953 and 1955.[6][8][9]
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 managerVicente Feola in the Brazilian squad for theFIFA World Cup in Sweden:[8] following an injury toPepe, he was promoted to the starting XI,[8] and eventually scored a goal in thefinal as Brazil claimed their first world title.[6][14]
He was also a part of the squad that won the1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile,[6][8] where he started in all of Brazil's matches.[8]
Zagallo was a diminutive leftwinger 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 mainstriker, or as an inside forward.[15][16]
Due to his characteristics and his skills, he received the nicknameFormiguinha ("Little Ant" in Portuguese).[6][8]
During his stint as Brazil's head coach, Zagallo mainly adopted a4-2-3-1 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 the1970 FIFA World Cup.[17]
He was nicknamedThe Professor by his players throughout his coaching career, due to his tactical awareness and commanding presence on the bench,[16] as well asVelho 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 theBrazil national team shortly before the start of the1970 FIFA World Cup,[8] and eventually led theSeleção 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 onlyAlberto Suppici.[18]
At the1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany, Zagallo was disadvantaged by the international retirement ofPelé four years earlier, as well as injuries toTostão andCarlos 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 theCopa 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 overScotland, and missed out on the final after a 2–0 loss to theNetherlands, in whichLuís Pereira was sent off for a foul onJohan Neeskens.Poland then defeated Brazil in the third-place playoff.[20]
He then returned to the Brazilian national team as a coordinator and assistant coach, and helped the side win the1994 FIFA World Cup while serving in those roles.[7][19]
Once again, he was given to manage the Brazilian national team for the1998 FIFA World Cup. Brazil reached the final but due toRonaldo's sudden injury, they lost to the host nationFrance 3–0.
In November 2002, Zagallo came out of retirement to coach Brazil again, followingLuiz 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 toSouth 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] He was ofLebanese descent.[29]
In July 2022, Zagallo was admitted to hospital with a respiratory infection.[30] In August 2023, he was hospitalized for 22 days due to a urinary infection.[31] 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][32]
^abcde"Mario Zagallo" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Sambafoot. Archived fromthe original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved8 January 2024.
^abcdef"Nota de pesar".www.botafogo.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Botafogo. 6 January 2024. Retrieved8 January 2024.
^abc"IDOLS: ZAGALLO".botafogo.com.br (in Portuguese). Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas. Retrieved10 November 2023.
^Roberto Mamrud (29 February 2012)."Appearances for Brazil National Team".Brazil – Record International Players. RSSSF.Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved1 September 2012.
