Former Brazilian footballer and coach Mário Jorge Wolf Zagallo, four-time world champion with Canarinha as a player, coach and coordinator of the Brazil national team, died at the age of 92, according to his advisor this Saturday. “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our eternal four-time world champion Mario Jorge. Wolf Zagallo”, the former player's social networks indicated in a note, which did not report the causes of death. Last year his health deteriorated due to a urinary infection that forced him to be hospitalized for about three weeks. In 2022 he was also hospitalized for a respiratory infection. Zagallo, nicknamed Old Wolf, is an idol for generations, a world eminence and one of the most important coaches and players in the history of Brazilian football.
He is the only one to have four World Cups under his belt: two as a player (Sweden 1958 and Chile 1962), another as a coach (Mexico 1970) and the last as coordinator of the Canarinha (United States 1994). Born on August 9, 1931 in the state of Alagoas, he acted as a striker during his time as a player, in which he defended Flamengo and Botafogo, two of the great clubs in Brazil. “A devoted father, a loving grandfather, a loving father-in-law, a faithful friend, a victorious professional and a great human being. Giant idol. A patriot who leaves us a legacy of great conquests,” the obituary stated.
With the Brazilian team he won the World Cups in Sweden 1958 and Chile 1962 together with Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pelé, who died at the age of 82 on December 29, 2022, a victim of colon cancer. Already as a coach he won Mexico 1970, with Pelé still on the field, and as technical coordinator the United States 1994, being the only one to have won four world titles in the history of soccer. Likewise, he alone reached five World Cup finals in his seven appearances. He only lost against the hosts in the 1998 World Cup final in France, the year in which he served as coach of a team with figures such as Ronaldo, Bebeto, Rivaldo, Dunga, Roberto Carlos, Cafú and Taffarel, among others.
Zagallo, born on August 9, 1931 in Atalaia, a municipality in the impoverished state of Alagoas (northeast), was the first to win a world title as a player (Sweden 1958 and Chile 1962) and later as a coach, with the glorious and legendary national team. Brazilian player who enchanted the world in Mexico 1970. Later, the German Franz Beckenbauer, champion as a player in Germany 1974 and as coach in Italy 1990, achieved that feat, and recently the Frenchman Didier Deschamps, who won the World Cup as captain in France 1998 and He conquered it as a coach in Russia 2018. However, the German and the Frenchman were surpassed as players by the Brazilian, who was a two-time world champion.
But Zagallo's record was not limited to those titles and the one from the United States 1994 is added to his record, when he was the technical coordinator of the team led by Carlos Alberto Parreira, who curiously was one of his physical trainers in Mexico 1970. The couple was also in charge of the Brazilian team at Germany 2006. Old Wolf was also runner-up as coach at France 1998 and commanded the Canarinha at Germany 1974.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) decreed this Saturday seven days of mourning in the world of football for his death. “The CBF and Brazilian football mourn the death of one of their greatest legends, Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo. The CBF expresses its solidarity with the family and fans in these moments of pain due to the departure of this idol of our football,” said the president of the entity, EdnaldoRodrigues, in a note.
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