Barely a little over a year after the death of King Pelé, Brazilian football finds itself in mourning following the death of Mario Zagallo.
When we looked through the books about the World Cup, Mario Zagallo didn’t blow up in our faces. Unlike Pelé, his national teammate with whom he won two consecutive editions (1958, 1962). And yet… History will also remember that a little more than a year after the death of King Pelé, on December 29, 2022, Mario Zagallo joined him in the legend of Auriverde and world football.
The former left winger converted midfielder, recalls The Team, died in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 92, we learned on Saturday. He was the first to win the World Cup as a player and then a coach, obviously with the Seleçao. The event took place in 1970 in Mexico, where Pelé magnificently won his third and final star. The two men and their fabulous common destiny.
Died Friday at the age of 92, Mario Zagallo had participated, as player, coach or assistant, in the finals of the 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 1998 World Cups, winning the first four. A unique performance. | via @the weather https://t.co/zPlMVdZFS2
— Laurent Favre (@LaurentFavre) January 6, 2024
Mario Zagallo won’t stop there. In 1994, he lifted the trophy a fourth time with the Seleçao as assistant to Carlos Alberto Parreira. He lost a final, again as head coach, four years later against Didier Deschamps’ France. Captain in 1998, DD will achieve the same feat as the Brazilian in 2018 as coach of the Blues.
The death of Mario Zagallo shakes the country of bossa nova, as evidenced by the seven days of mourning decreed by the Brazilian Federation.
