Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo (; 9 August 1931 – 5 January 2024) was a Brazilian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player, coordinator and manager, who played as a forward. Zagallo holds the record for

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 ...

titles in general with four titles in total. He also holds the record for World Cup finals with six participations. He was the first person to win the World Cup as both a manager and as a player, winning the competition in 1958 and

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 ...

as a player and in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

as manager. In addition, he won the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

as assistant manager. Zagallo also coached Brazil in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

(finishing fourth) and in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

(finishing as runners-up) and was a technical assistant in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. He was the first of three men, along with Germany's

Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer (; 11 September 1945 – 7 January 2024) was a German professional football player, manager, and official. Nicknamed ("the Emperor"), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and is one of nine p ...

(who coincidentally died two days after Zagallo) and France's Didier Deschamps to have won the World Cup as a player and as a manager, and the only one who had done each more than once. In 1992, Zagallo received the

FIFA Order of Merit The FIFA Order of Merit is the highest honour awarded by FIFA. The award is presented at the annual FIFA congress. It is normally awarded to people who are considered to have made a significant contribution to :association football. At FIFA's ce ...

, the highest honour awarded by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

, for his contributions to football. He was named the 9th Greatest Manager of All Time by World Soccer Magazine in 2013. On 5 January 2024, Zagallo died at the age of 92. He was the last surviving Brazilian player who participated in the 1958 World Cup final.

Early life

Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo was born in Atalaia, on the coast of central Brazil, on August 9, 1931. He later moved to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

with his family when he was still eight months old. As a young man, he committed to complete his

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

in the

Brazilian Army The Brazilian Army (; EB) is the branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible, externally, for defending the country in eminently terrestrial operations and, internally, for guaranteeing law, order and the constitutional branches, subordina ...

; he was notably deployed at the

Maracanã Stadium Maracanã Stadium (, ; named after the Maracanã River), officially known as Jornalista Mário Filho Stadium (, ; , named after Mário Filho), is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Located in the Maracanã neighbor ...

when

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

defeated

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in the 1950 World Cup decisive match.

Playing career

Zagallo started his football career in the youth sector of América, before joining

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

in 1950; having turned professional and established himself within the ''Mengão'''s first team, he helped the club win three consecutive titles in the

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 ...

between 1953 and 1955. In 1958, Zagallo joined

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 of M ...

, and eventually became a part of a team that included several other regular starters of the Brazilian national team, such as

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 association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, righ ...

, Nilton Santos and Didi. He went on to help the side win two titles in the Torneio Rio–São Paulo, as well as two in the Campeonato Carioca, and represented ''O Fogo'' until his retirement in 1965. Zagallo won a total of 33 caps for the Brazil senior national team between 1958 and 1964, scoring five goals. In 1958, he was included by manager

Vicente Feola Vicente Ítalo Feola (; 20 November 1909 – 6 November 1975) was a Brazilian football manager and coach from São Paulo. He is best known for leading the Brazil national team to its first FIFA World Cup title in 1958. Biography Feola was ...

in the Brazilian squad for the

in Sweden: following an injury to Pepe, he was promoted to the starting XI, and eventually scored a goal in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

as Brazil claimed their first world title. He was also a part of the squad that won the

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 ...

in Chile, where he started in all of Brazil's matches.

Style of play

Player

Zagallo was a diminutive left winger with a small physique, who was known for his technical skills and his high defensive work-rate, as well as his ability to make attacking runs from deeper areas of the pitch. He was also capable of playing as a forward, either as a main striker, or as an inside forward. Due to his characteristics and his skills, he received the nickname ''Formiguinha'' ("Little Ant" in Portuguese).

Manager

During his stint as Brazil's head coach, Zagallo mainly adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation; he was considered to be one of the first managers to focus on the physical preparation of his players before long-lasting tournaments, including the

1970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the 9th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May to ...

. He was nicknamed ''The Professor'' by his players throughout his coaching career, due to his tactical awareness and commanding presence on the bench, as well as ''Velho Lobo'' ("Old Wolf") due to his surname "Lobo", which means "wolf" in Portuguese.

Managerial career

In 1966, Zagallo started his managerial career at Botafogo, the club he had finished his playing career with. He was then appointed as the manager of the Brazil national team shortly before the start of the

, and eventually led the ''Seleção'' to their third title. In the process, he became the first person to win the World Cup both as a player and as a manager; at the age of 38, he also became the second youngest coach to win the aforementioned title, behind only Alberto Suppici. At the

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, 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 ...

in West Germany, Zagallo was disadvantaged by the international retirement of

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 ...

four years earlier, as well as injuries to Tostão and Carlos Alberto Torres, meaning that only two starting players from the 1970 final were in the squad. Additionally, the team had a lack of competitive practice due to the shelving of the

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

between 1967 and 1975. In response to Brazil being eliminated by overly physical European sides in 1954 and 1966, Zagallo chose to play in an equally aggressive way. Brazil narrowly made it through the first group stage by one goal in goal difference over

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and missed out on the final after a 2–0 loss to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, in which Luís Pereira was sent off for a foul on

Johan Neeskens RCH may stand for: * Radio Club de Honduras, an amateur radio organization * Railway Clearing House, the British financial clearing house and technical standards bureau for railways * The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal), a unit of the Canadian ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

then defeated Brazil in the third-place playoff. In 1989, Zagallo was hired by the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

for their qualification campaign for the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

. He led the amateurs to an unexpected first qualification to the tournament, but left 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 ...

days before the World Cup began and was replaced by

Carlos Alberto Parreira Carlos Alberto Gomes Parreira (born 27 February 1943) is a Brazilian former football manager who holds the record for attending the most FIFA World Cup final tournaments as manager with six appearances. He also managed five different national t ...

. He then returned to the Brazilian national team as a coordinator and assistant coach, and helped the side win the

while serving in those roles. Once again, he was given to manage the Brazilian national team for the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

. Brazil reached the final but due to Ronaldo's sudden injury, they lost to the host nation

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

3–0. In November 2002, Zagallo came out of retirement to coach Brazil again, following

Luiz Felipe Scolari Luiz Felipe Scolari (; born 9 November 1948), also known as Felipão ("Big Phil"), is a Brazilian football manager and former player who currently serves as the technical director of Grêmio. Considered to be one of the greatest and most su ...

's exit after winning that year's World Cup. On 20 November, in his only game, the team won 3–2 in a friendly away to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Personal life

Zagallo married Alcina de Castro on 13 January 1955 at the Church of Capuchins in Rio de Janeiro. They remained together until de Castro's death on 5 November 2012. Mário and Alcina had four children. He was a practicing Catholic. Zagallo's surname was spelled Zagalo for most of his career, including by himself, until he told a reporter in the 1990s that his surname on his birth certificate was Zagallo. He was also the only Brazilian World Cup-winning forward to be known by his surname. He was of Lebanese descent. In July 2022, Zagallo was admitted to hospital with a respiratory infection. In August 2023, he was hospitalized for 22 days due to a urinary infection. Following a brief hospitalization in Rio de Janeiro, he died on 5 January 2024 due to multiple organ failure, resulting from the exacerbation of various pre-existing comorbidities. Zagallo was aged 92.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Flamengo * Rio de Janeiro State Championship: 1953, 1954, 1955 Botafogo * Rio-São Paulo Tournament: 1962, 1964 * Rio de Janeiro State Championship: 1961, 1962 Brazil *

: 1958,

Manager

Botafogo *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

* Rio de Janeiro State Championship: 1967, 1968 Fluminense * Rio de Janeiro State Championship: 1971 Flamengo *

Copa dos Campeões Copa dos Campeões (Portuguese for Brazilian Champions Cup) was a Brazilian football competition, organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), contested by the best teams from each one of the regional cups. The Copa dos Campeões wi ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

* Rio de Janeiro State Championship: 1972, 2001 Al-Hilal * Saudi Premier League: 1978–79 Brazil *

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

Kuwait * Gulf Cup:

1976 Events January * January 2 – 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 18 – Full diplomatic ...

Coordinator

Brazil *

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Individual * IFFHS World's Best National Coach: 1997 * World Soccer Magazine 9th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013 *

FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is an association football magazine published by British company Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4–4–2. Future acquired the ...

27th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2020

References

External links

!colspan="3" style="background:#C1D8FF;", World Cup–winners status , - , - !colspan="3" style="background:#C1D8FF;", World Cup Finals {{DEFAULTSORT:Zagallo, Mario 1931 births 1958 FIFA World Cup players 1962 FIFA World Cup players 1970 FIFA World Cup managers 1974 FIFA World Cup managers 1976 AFC Asian Cup managers 1995 Copa América managers 1997 Copa América managers 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup managers 1998 FIFA World Cup managers 2024 deaths 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen Al-Hilal Saudi FC managers Bangu Atlético Clube managers Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas managers Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Brazil men's international footballers Brazil national football team managers Brazil national under-23 football team managers Brazilian expatriate football managers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Brazilian football managers Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian people of Lebanese descent Brazilian Roman Catholics Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers CR Flamengo footballers CR Flamengo managers Deaths from multiple organ failure Expatriate football managers in Kuwait Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates FIFA Confederations Cup–winning managers FIFA World Cup–winning managers FIFA World Cup–winning players Fluminense FC managers Footballers from Alagoas Kuwait national football team managers Men's association football forwards Men's association football wingers Saudi Arabia national football team managers Sportspeople of Lebanese descent United Arab Emirates national football team managers

Early life

Playing career

Style of play

Player

Manager

Managerial career

Personal life

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Manager

Coordinator

See also

References

External links