“RIP Legend” – Tragic Death of Football’s Only 4X World Cup Winner Leaves Fans Mourning

As 2023 ended, the Brazilians and football world remembered the legendary Pele on December 29, the first anniversary of his passing. Just a week later, Mario Zagallo, the only surviving member of Brazil’s 1958 passed away on January 5, 2024. This ‘accidental footballer‘ lifted more World Cups than the immortal Brazilian soccer icon. 4, to be exact! One more in an advisory capacity. Winning the silverware in 1970 as a boss ahead of Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer and France’s Didier Deschamps, he became the first player to win it as a player and a coach.

Last year in August, Mario Zagallo was hospitalized, due to a urinary infection. He returned home later but was confined to a wheelchair. Despite that, he then remarked he was “stronger than ever”, and “the world will have to put up with him”. Now myriad fans of the beautiful game are rushing to pay respects to the ‘Old Wolf’ who rewrote Brazil’s history.

Mario Zagallo: A true symbol of Brazilian football

Nicknamed the Old Wolf, Mario Jorge Lobo Zagallo was born on August 9, 1931, in Maceio on Brazil’s impoverished northeastern coast. His family moved to Rio de Janeiro before his first birthday and it was there he fell in love with football. He played soccer only during his spare time with the local side America, then one of the biggest clubs in the city.

Interestingly, Zagallo aspired to be an airline pilot. But a certain cause forced him to pursue accountancy. In an interview with CBF, Zagallo said, “My father didn’t want me to be a football player, he wouldn’t let me… Back then it wasn’t a profession that was respected, society didn’t look kindly on it … That’s why I say football came into my life by accident.”

As a teenager fulfilling his national service, he found himself among the nearly 200,000 spectators in the iconic Maracana Stadium, witnessing the shocking upset as hosts Brazil were defeated by Uruguay in the decisive final match of the 1950 World Cup. “That day has never left my mind,” Zagallo said in an interview with BBC Sport in 2013. He played football in his spare time then, and what happened later in his life is history. It is Brazil’s history!

The Professor then made his Brazil debut at age 26 shortly before the 1958 tournament but became a key part of the team. The Old Wolf’s first World Cup came in Sweden in 1958, where he started all six matches and played alongside Garrincha and Pele, who was then just 17. He said, “I was 27 and Pele was 17. That’s why I say that I never played with him, but that he played with me.” Pele’s teammate Zagallo had been part of Brazil’s five World Cup final appearances.

The veteran lifted it World Cup as a manager, in 1970 and 1994. One of his memorable moments unfolded after Brazil’s unexpected triumph in the 1997 Copa America in Bolivia. With an emotional outburst and face reddened by La Paz’s rarified air, Zagallo screamed into the television cameras: “You’re going to have to put up with me!”

He stopped playing professionally in 1965 and began his career as a manager with Rio de Janeiro club Botafogo in 1966. Zagallo was Brazil’s national team coach in 1970, becoming the first three-time champion and the first World Cup-winning player to then claim the trophy from the dugout. More than two decades later, Zagallo served as assistant coach to Carlos Alberto Parreira when Brazil won in 1994 in the US. And the next time out, in 1998, Zagallo was back in charge as head coach, but Brazil lost 3-0 to hosts France in the final. This also rounded out a record five trips to the World Cup final for one individual. His final coaching role with the national team was as Parreira’s assistant in 2006 in Germany, where Brazil lost in the quarter-finals.

Zagallo was also known for being highly superstitious and believed the number 13 brought him luck. He liked to coin phrases that contained 13 letters, he got married on the 13th of the month, and once even joked he would retire from the game at 13:00 on July 13, 2013.

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Outside the four aforementioned victories, Zagallo had donned a caretaker’s hat when Ronaldo Nazario and others lifted Brazil’s fifth title. Outside of Brazil NT, he has also coached the country’s famous clubs and other NTs like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The 92-year-old was one of the few coaches who had successful coaching stints with all four traditional Rio clubs – Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo, and Vasco da Gama.

The country’s football icon, Mario Zagallo, who contributed to Brazil’s four World Cup wins died at the age of 92.  A statement on his official Instagram account read, “With enormous sadness, we inform you of the death of our eternal four-time world champion Mario Jorge Lobo Zagallo.” As news of the veteran’s passing emerged, Brazilian social media platforms have been filled with tributes to honor him.

The football world pays last respects to Zagallo

Football lovers on social media now remember Mario Zagallo and his legendary contributions to the beautiful game. The X handle ‘Brasil Football’ wrote “Rest in peace to one of the greatest legends in football history, Mário Zagallo,” and recalled the legend’s iconic achievements with the Selecao Canarinha.

It is this lesson and spirit of affection, love, dedication, and overcoming that he leaves for our entire country and for world football. Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared three days of mourning. “Rest in peace Old Wolf,” wrote this fan in a loving and heartfelt message. Mario Zagallo was nicknamed so due to his surname ‘Lobo’ which means wolf in Portuguese.

Zagallo was the last surviving member of Brazil’s 1958 World Cup-winning team who played in the final. Fans bid the final goodbye to a true legend.

A patriot who leaves us a legacy of great achievements, Zagallo’s phenomenal World Cup run still leaves fans shocked. Saudi Arabia did not forget to pay respect to their former coach.

He will be remembered as the godfather of Brazilian football and his presence will be sorely missed by everyone in the game. In fact, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said it would hold a seven-day mourning period to honor Zagallo.

His fans loved him for his idiosyncratic personality and unapologetic nationalism. This maestro will forever reign in football lovers’ hearts.

Mario Zagallo is a player who transcended on-field glory. Players like him are a symbol and a true testament to what Brazil means to football. The name Brazil itself calls for one to reminisce about their five World Cup wins. Here passes an aspiring pilot who couldn’t pursue it due to poor eyesight and an accountant who accidentally embraced the beautiful game and stood by Brazil in all their adventures on football’s biggest stage. Adieu legend!

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