Jair Ventura Filho (born 25 December 1944), better known as Jairzinho (), is a Brazilian former

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, rugb ...

. A quick, skillful, and powerful right winger known for his finishing ability and eye for goal, he was a key member and top scorer of the legendary Brazilian national team that won the

1970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May to 21 June in Mexico, it was the first World Cup tournament held outside ...

. He is nicknamed as The Hurricane ( pt, o Furacão) for scoring limitless goals. A versatile forward, he was also capable of playing in a variety of other attacking positions, as a main striker, second striker, or even as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Jairzinho was known for his large afro towards the later stages of his career, as well as his burst of pace,

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

, ball skills, finishing ability, shot power and devastating strength due to his large muscular build. Due to the economic and political situation of the time, as well as the Sport Legislation, he played most of his club football in South America where he spent eleven years at

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

club

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills o ...

. He went on to play in Europe during the final years of his career, a common pattern for South American players until the 1980s, when the economic and political situation changed. Jairzinho replaced his footballing idol

Garrincha Manuel Francisco dos Santos (28 October 1933 – 20 January 1983), nicknamed Mané Garrincha, best known as simply Garrincha (, "little bird"), was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a right winger. He is widely regarded as one o ...

in both the Botafogo and Brazil teams, and played in three consecutive World Cups: 1966, 1970 and 1974.

Early years

Jair Ventura Filho was born on 25 December 1944 in

, Jairzinho's family left Duque de Caxias for Rio in the late 50s. Living on Rua General Severiano where he went through the youth setup at local club

Club career

Botafogo

Jairzinho started his football career in 1958 aged 13 assigned to the Botafogo youth setup and working as a ball boy for the first team. He made his professional debut with the club as a striker at the age of fifteen in 1960. His idol

, whom he would eventually replace for both club and country, also played at Botafogo, albeit in Jairzinho's preferred position on the right wing. This resulted in Jairzinho spending most of his early games playing on the left wing or as a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. However, he would fill in as a right winger, by far his strongest position, when Garrincha was injured. Jairzinho finally established himself as a Botafogo regular in 1965 aged 21 and was seen as a phenomenal rising star to the entire nation. During this young age he was already playing with Brazil and Botofogo superstars such as

Gérson Gérson de Oliveira Nunes, generally known as Gérson (; born 11 January 1941 in Niterói), nicknamed ''Canhotinha de ouro'' (literally: Golden left foot), is a Brazilian former association footballer who played as a midfielder. He won numerous ...

Mario Zagallo is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his crea ...

and

. In 1968, Botafogo won the Brazilian double. Winners of the 1968 Campeonato Carioca and the Taça Guanabara in which Jairzinho would score 9 goals in 11 games. By this time Garrincha had already left Botafogo in 1966 and would enable Jairzinho to play in his natural right wing position. Botafogo would then top off the year with a 3rd trophy towards the end of the year winning the 1968 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (Taça Brasil) The following 1969 Campeonato Carioca season he would score 7 goals, progressing onto the next 1970 Campeonato Carioca just before the World Cup Jairzinho would finish Botafogo's top scorer with 9 goals. After Jairzinho's excellent display in Mexico at the

more eyes of the world were focused on his Botofogo side. In the final four years of his time at Botafogo he'd prove to finalise himself as one of the club's most prolific goalscorers in the history of single starred Brazilian club, scoring 186 goals in 413 appearances with a goals per game ratio of 0,45. He ranks 6th in all time top goal scorers for Botafogo. One of his most standout performance starred in 1972 in which he scored a hattrick vs

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

during a famous 6-0 victory, one of the most memorable in Botafogo's history. In the same year he would also receive the Bronze Award for the South American Footballer of the Year.

Marseille

In 1974, when the sports legislation in Brazil finally changed Jairzinho made a €300,000 (£125,000) move to Ligue 1 side

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club p ...

. One of the most expensive signings up to date at the time. Along with his Botafogo and Brazil teammate Caju. Jairzinho was seen as such a star and Brazilian great throughout the French fans the day before his debut game vs

AS Monaco FC Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Frenc ...

more than 10,000 fans came to attend the pre training session in order to watch his first moments at the club. Jairzinho scored in his first game vs Monaco in a 4-1 victory and was immediately seen as a prominent world class winger to dominate Europe. Jairzinho would go on to score 9 goals in only 18 games as his time was cut out short due to backroom management issues. Though he made a good impact with his goals and produced a memorable performance vs

FC Nantes Football Club de Nantes (; Gallo: ''Naunnt''), commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (), is a French professional football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 April 1943, during World War II, as ...

in the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

scoring 2 goals in a 4-0 victory, his time was cut out short at the French side mainly due to a scuffle in which both Jairzinho and Paulo Cesar were found guilty of attacking the referee after a following 2-2 game vs Paris Saint-Germain Football Club. They would both end up leaving in the summer of 1975.

Kaizer Chiefs

According to Jairzinho, Kaizer Chiefs co-owner Ewert Nene invited him to play a few trial games after his tricky situation in reaction to his Marseille departure. Jairzinho agreed a short term deal until the start of 1976. He also stated in an interview the main reason he agreed to sign is because of the stadium atmosphere and the heartwarming reception every time he stepped on the pitch, apparently he was "treated like a king." Jairzinho rarely played for the Chiefs. However in only 3 league games he scored 7 goals and regained his sharpness during his time in South Africa.

Cruzeiro

After the expiration of Jairzinho's contract in South Africa he would finally reestablish himself as the world class Brazilian forward talent he was typically seen as. Jairzinho signed with Cruzeiro at the beginning of 1976 just before the season campaign started. Jairzinho would spend a season at Cruzeiro and score 31 goals in 43 games across all competitions. He would finish 2nd highest goal scorer in the

1976 Copa Libertadores The Copa Libertadores 1976 was the 17th edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL's annual international club tournament. The tournament began on February 23 and ended on July 30. Cruzeiro won the competition, being the first Brazilian team, a ...

with 12 goals in 12 appearances whilst also bringing home the pinnacle of South American continental success. Jairzinho would only spend a year at Cruz however it was a very successful short period.

Portuguesa

Jairzinho at the age of 32 was still seen as an exceptionally talented played and was a surprise to see him join Venezuelan side Portuguesa in 1977. Jairzinho made Portuguesa one of the greatest teams in Venezuelan history, helping Portuguesa win a record 16 games in a row and their fourth of five championships. He scored 22 league goals within 24 games throughout the year and in 1 year he would score 3 hattricks.

Noroeste and Fast Club

Towards the final stages of his career, Jairzinho would have a brief spell at Brazilian club Noroeste competing in the

1978 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The 1978 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, (officially the IV Copa Brasil) was the 22nd edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. Overview It was contested by 74 teams, and Guarani won the championship. First phase Group A Group B Group C ...

. However, Noroeste would only finish 28th in the final standings and Jairzinho would only feature in very few games and score only 3 goals. A year later Jairzinho would join 2nd tier

Campeonato Amazonense The Campeonato Amazonense, officially Campeonato Amazonense de Futebol Profissional, is the football championship for professional clubs of the state of Amazonas, Brazil. Format The 2021 Campeonato Amazonense is divided into two stages: First S ...

side Fast Clube and would score 10 goals throughout the year.

Jorge Wilstermann and return to Botafogo

In 1980, Jairzinho was looking to see out the rest of his career and signed for Bolivian side Club Deportivo Jorge Wilstermann aged 35. He would be used as a rotational player in a title winning side, scoring 6 goals that campaign. In 1981, Jairzinho would return to Botafogo for the last true season of his career in which he would be idolised by the upcoming youth players and again be used rotationally. He would score 1 goal in an Amistoso match in 1981 in Botafogo colours to end off a fantastic career.

International career

Jairzinho made his international debut as a 19 year old in 1964 against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, again when Garrincha was injured. He played in the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in th ...

in England, however with Garrincha back in the side he played as a left winger. Jairzinho struggled to be effective in this position especially at his young age, and he couldn't prevent Brazil from exiting the competition at the first round. When, after the tournament, Garrincha announced his retirement from international football, Jairzinho finally took over his idol's role for Brazil on the right wing. Jairzinho scored 2 goals out of the 6

1970 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 75 teams entered the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Hosts Mexico and defending champions England qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition. ...

matches Now in his favourite position, Jairzinho became a far more effective and consistent performer for country. At the

in Mexico, Jairzinho was one of stars of the tournament. He made history by scoring in every game Brazil played in for the Seleção, for which he received the epithet "Furacão da Copa" (''World Cup Hurricane''). His second goal vs

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

was one of the goals of the tournament, completing an incredible solo run, beating 3 or 4 players to unleash a powerful low driven shot to ripple the bottom left corner, which goes down as one of the most memorable goals in World Cup history. He scored his seventh goal of the tournament in Brazil's 4–1 world cup win over

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the final. However, his impressive goals tally at the finals were not enough to win the Golden Boot, which went to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalscor ...

, who scored ten goals. Jairzinho has claimed that FIFA awarded him a "best body on the planet" prize for his athleticism; however, FIFA has no record of this award. Jairzinho scored two goals in the

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...

, which would prove to be his last World Cup for Brazil. The 3rd-Place Final was his last match for Brazil until he was given a one-off farewell cap against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

on March 3, 1982 in a game which Brazil drew 1–1. He scored 33 goals in 81 games during his international career.

Style of play

Throughout his whole career, Jairzinho was seen as a versatile forward who could cause damage and impose a severe goal threat from anywhere on the pitch. He possessed lightning speed and a quick burst of acceleration, an excellent first touch and dribbling skills, but his most feared attribute, his strength. Many have claimed it takes minimum 3 men to push him off the ball. And Jairzinho was a hard working team player who would constantly track back and use his body structure to hold off counter attacks and block runs. His runs off the ball is one of the main reasons he assigned so many goals to his Botafogo record. In the

he displayed to the world his attacking instincts especially with his goal vs

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

which earned Brazil the victory and broke the 0-0 deadlock. The secondary run off Pelé for him to tuck away a powerful top left corner finish displayed his threat in front of goal as well as his movement. His finishing ability was second to none. The timing, accuracy and power Jairzinho would develop behind his shots were almost perfect and unsavable. He could also possess powerful and accurate shots with his left foot making him a nightmare for opposition defenders to close him down. As well as his effective simple play Jairzinho possessed many talents on the ball and phenomenal technical ability. One of his signature moves included flicking the ball up from a pass in open play inside the box and cushioning it perfectly for an open shot. In terms of technical ability he also possesses smart creativity, which is shown from the ball Jairzinho put in for

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...

vs England following the famous

Gordon Banks Gordon Banks (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional caree ...

save. Some may say Jairzinho is one of the most complete forwards of all time.

Managerial career

After retiring as a footballer, Jairzinho became a coach and managed a number of youth teams in his native Brazil. He also worked in Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In 1997, Jairzinho began his first journey as manager in Europe being appointed at

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

club

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regi ...

. He was sacked due to poor results, his side relegated at the end of the season. Jairzinho was named head coach of the Gabon national team. However, he was sacked by Gabon's Football Federation after a crushing defeat against

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

in a World Cup 2006 Qualifier held in

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seapo ...

. Perhaps his greatest achievement as a coach was spotting

Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...

as a 14-year-old whilst he was coaching

São Cristóvão São Cristóvão (, ''Saint Christopher'') is a Brazilian municipality in the Northeastern state of Sergipe. Founded at the mouth of the Vaza-Barris River on January 1, 1590, the municipality is the fourth oldest settlement in Brazil. São Crist ...

. He kick-started the career of the future three-time

FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representati ...

by recommending him to Cruzeiro, his former side, and the Brazil youth team. Jairzinho is currently the manager of Esprof Atletico futebol Clube, a team based in

Cabo Frio Cabo Frio (, ''Cold Cape'') is a tourist destination located in the state of Rio de Janeiro state. It was founded by the Portuguese on November 13, 1615. The Brazilian coast runs east from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio where it turns sharply nor ...

, Rio de Janeiro state who play in the

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Port., Rio de Janeiro State Championship), was started in 1906 and is the annual football championship in the state of Rio de Janeiro, B ...

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first.''

Personal life

Jairzinho's son, also known as

Jair Ventura Jair Zaksauskas Ribeiro Ventura (born 19 March 1979), known as Jair Ventura, is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a forward. Besides Brazil, he has played in France, Greece, and Gabon. Playing career Bor ...

, is also a former footballer who managed

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...

, Botafogo and Santos.

Honours

Club

Botafogo *

Taça Brasil The Taça Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) was the Brazilian national football championship contested from 1959 to 1968. Bahia, Cruzeiro and Botafogo were the only champions to have played all phases of the tournament, because until the 1968 edition tea ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

* Torneio Rio – São Paulo: 1964, 1966 *Torneio de Caracas: 1967, 1968, 1970 Cruzeiro *

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

International

Brazil *

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...

champion: 1963 *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

Brazil Independence Cup The Brazil Independence Cup was an international football tournament held in Brazil, from 11 June to 9 July 1972, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Brazilian Declaration of Independence. It was called the ''Minicopa'' by the Brazilian ...

: 1972

Individual

* FIFA World Cup Silver Boot: 1970 * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1970 *

South American Player of the Year The Rey del Fútbol de América ("King of Football of America"), often referred to as the South American Footballer of the Year, is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar ...

: Bronze award 1972 * World Soccer: 27th Greatest Player of the 20th Century *

IFFHS Brazilian Player of the 20th Century The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

(19th place)IFFHS' Century Elections
/ref> *

Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame The history of the Brazil national football team began with the team's first international match in 1914. Brazil played in the first FIFA World Cup in 1930. The Brazil national team has been successful throughout its history, winning the FIFA World ...

References

External links