06/01/2024
Updated at 05:45h.
The Brazilian legend and only four-time world soccer champion Mário Zagallo died this Friday at the age of 92as confirmed in a note published on its official Instagram account.
“With enormous sadness, we inform you of the death of our eternal four-time world champion Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo,” reads the brief statement. «A dedicated father, loving grandfather, loving father-in-law, faithful friend, victorious professional and a great human being. Big idol. A patriot who leaves us a legacy of great conquests,” the text continues.
Zagallo, who participated in four of the five World Cups won by Brazil -two titles as a player and another two as a coach and technical assistant- had been hospitalized in August in Rio de Janeiro for a urinary infection
But the former ‘Seleção’ attacker had already had other health difficulties recently. Following Pelé’s death in December 2022, he was hospitalized for almost two weeks with a respiratory infection.
As a left winger, the “Old Wolf” was part of the Brazilian team that won the 1958 and 1962 World Cups, along with ‘O Rei’ Pelé, the first two won by the ‘Canarinha’.
He was also the coach of Brazil in the 1970 title, assistant to the ‘Seleção’ triumph in 1994 and coach in 1998 when the ‘scratch’ lost the final against France.
The only other two athletes to win the World Cup as a footballer and coach have been the German Franz Beckenbauer (1974 and 1990) and the French Didier Deschamps (1998 and 2018).
The president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Ednaldo Rodrigues, has decreed official seven-day mourning for the death of the idol.
«The CBF and Brazilian football mourn the death of one of their greatest legends, Mário Zagallo. “The CBF lends solidarity to his family and fans in this moment of regret for the departure of an idol of our football,” Rodrigues said in a note.
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2024-01-06 04:35:07
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