Edvaldo Izidio Neto (12 November 1934 – 19 January 2002), commonly known as Vavá, was a Brazilian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who is widely considered to be one of the greatest strikers of his generation. Nicknamed "Peito de Aço" (Steel Chest), he most notably played for

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

, Palmeiras and the Brazil national team.

International career

Vavá earned twenty caps with the Brazil national team between 1955 and 1964, scoring a total of fifteen goals. He was in the side that won both the

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

and

1962 FIFA World Cup The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the 7th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place between ...

s, in which he scored five and four goals, respectively. Furthermore, he was a joint-recipient of the 1962 World Cup Golden Boot as one of the tournament's top scorers. Vavá was also part of Brazil's squad for the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

. Vavá scored in the World Cup finals of both 1958 (twice) and 1962 (once), thus becoming the first player to score in two finals. To this day, only five players have achieved this feat, the other four being

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

Paul Breitner Paul Breitner (; born 5 September 1951) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and left-back. Considered one of the best full-backs and midfielders of all time, and one of the best players of his era, Breitner was n ...

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

, and

Kylian Mbappé Kylian Mbappé Lottin (born 20 December 1998) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid and Captain (association football), captains ...

. He remained the only player to have scored in two consecutive World Cup final matches until

achieved the feat in the 2022 World Cup final, having also scored in the final in 2018.

Club statistics

Honours

Club

Sport Recife *

Campeonato Pernambucano The Campeonato Pernambucano is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. It is run by the Pernambuco Football Federation (FPF). History The first edition of the Campeonato Pernambucano was played i ...

: 1949 Vasco da Gama *

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

* Torneio Rivadavia Correa Meyer: 1953 * Tournoi de Paris:

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

* Torneio Rio–São Paulo:

Atlético de Madrid *: 1959–60, 1960–61 Palmeiras *

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

Club América *

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

International

Brazil national football team *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

Individual

* FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe: 1962 * Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame

References

Sources

VAVÁ Ex-atacante do Vasco, Palmeiras e Seleção by Gustavo GrohmannVavá… o peito de açoVava, Edvaldo Izidio Neto de son vrai nom

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vava 1934 births 2002 deaths Footballers from Recife Brazilian men's footballers Atlético Madrid footballers Club América footballers CR Vasco da Gama players Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Brazil 1958 FIFA World Cup players 1962 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players La Liga players São Paulo state football team players SE Palmeiras players Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Al-Rayyan SC managers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Liga MX players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players San Diego Toros players Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players La Liga managers Granada CF managers Córdoba CF managers Men's association football forwards Brazilian football managers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Qatar Stars League managers Expatriate football managers in Qatar Expatriate football managers in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen