RIO DE JANEIRO – President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared three days of national mourning in Brazil on Jan 6 for four-time World Cup-winning football legend Mario Zagallo, a day after his death at age 92.
Zagallo, who played alongside Pele in Brazil’s 1958 and 1962 World Cup-winning teams and later won the trophy as a coach, died on Jan 5 of multiple organ failure, said the Barra D’Or hospital in Rio de Janeiro, where he had been treated for a series of health problems in recent months.
Mr Lula led a flood of tributes to the man known as the Old Wolf, who coached Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winning side starring Pele – considered by many the greatest team in history – and served as assistant coach when the Selecao repeated the feat in 1994.
“He was one of the greatest football players and coaches of all time,” Mr Lula said in a statement.
“Courageous, passionate... (he) leaves a lesson of love, dedication and the will to overcome for our country and for world football.”
Messages also poured in from around the football world.
“Zagallo’s influence on football, and Brazilian football in particular, is supreme,” said Fifa chief Gianni Infantino, who called the diminutive left-winger a “tactical genius”, underlining he had a hand in four of Brazil’s five World Cup titles – more than any other team in history.
“He will be remembered as the godfather of Brazilian football and his presence will be sorely missed... The story of the Fifa World Cup cannot be told without Mario Zagallo,” Infantino said.
The only other men to win the World Cup as both player and coach are Franz Beckenbauer of Germany (1974 and 1990) and Didier Deschamps of France (1998 and 2018).
Current and former players also paid their respects, including Brazilian World Cup winners Ronaldinho, Bebeto, Claudio Taffarel and Cafu.
“Thank you for everything, Professor!!! Rest in peace,” Ronaldinho posted on Instagram, alongside a photo of him and Zagallo.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said a minute’s silence for Zagallo would be held at upcoming matches.
Teams where Zagallo spent parts of his career also paid tribute, including Rio clubs Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama.
Even teams with no ties to Zagallo weighed in, such as Santos, long-time home of his late Brazil teammate Pele, who died in December 2022 at age 82.
“Our ‘King’ Pele awaits you,” the club posted on X, formerly Twitter.
A public wake for Zagallo was held from 9.30am on Jan 7 at CBF headquarters in Rio, officials said, followed by a burial at the Sao Joao Batista cemetery, the final resting place of some of Brazil’s most famous citizens.
Beloved in the country for both his football heroics and personality, Zagallo is remembered for his warm humour, deep superstition – he swore by the No. 13 – and combative passion for the game.
His death comes at a difficult moment in Brazilian football, which is still mourning the loss of Pele just over a year ago.
Brazil sacked interim national team coach Fernando Diniz on Jan 5 after the Selecao, playing without injured star Neymar, suffered a string of losses in World Cup qualifying, including a humiliating 1-0 home loss to arch-rivals Argentina in November.
The CBF has meanwhile been embroiled in a messy legal battle over its leadership, and has struggled to find a new coach, with Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti turning down the role. AFP
