This Saturday, the FIFA president called Mario Zagallo “one of the true icons in the history of football,” recalling the “unprecedented” influence on the World Cup of the former Brazilian player and coach, who died on Friday.
“Today [sábado]We mourn the loss of one of the true icons in the history of football, a man whose influence on the World Cup was unprecedented. Mario Zagallo won four World Cups as a player and coach. More than anyone else,” he emphasized.
However, Gianni Infantino argued that Zagallo’s legacy “cannot be expressed in numbers.”
“Zagallo’s influence on world football and in particular on Brazilian football is enormous. A two-time world champion as a player, Zagallo took charge of Brazil in 1970 with a team led by Pelé, another of Brazil’s most unlikely sons. in a style that continues to inspire subsequent generations,” he recalled.
The FIFA President further recalled that Brazil “had to wait 24 years to win again” at the World Cup, and “again Zagallo was involved, this time as the technical coordinator of Carlos Alberto Parreira.”
“In difficult times, Brazil turned to a “teacher” who had a calming effect, a commanding voice and was a tactical genius. Zagallo will be remembered as the godfather of Brazilian football and will be greatly missed by the entire football world. but especially here at FIFA. The story of the World Cup cannot be told without Mario Zagallo,” Infantino said, before offering his condolences to “the Brazilian people, the CBF and the family and friends” of the former footballer.
Mario Zagallo died on Friday at the age of 92, according to the official account of the four-time world champion on the social network Instagram.
Apart from being the first to win two World Cups as a player (in 1958 and 1962) and then as a coach, in 1970, Zagallo is the only one to date to have appeared in five World Cup finals, of which he only lost one match against France in 1998 as a selector.
In 1994 in the USA he assisted Carlos Alberto Parreira in the fourth of Brazil’s five world titles, but his “masterpiece” was the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, where, newly appointed coach, he led Brazil to its third planetary coronation with a spectacular football and such stars as Pele, Jairzinho, Tostao, Gerson and Rivellino.
This Saturday, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) declared seven days of mourning in Brazilian football due to the death of Zagallo, whom it called “the greatest world champion of all time” and “an idol for several generations.”