Four-time world football champion Mario Zagallo died

Brazilian football player and coach Mario Zagallo died in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 92. He was the only four-time world champion in football, he received this title twice as a player, and then as the head coach and assistant head coach of the Brazilian national team.

Zagallo was born in 1931. He played in the Brazilian clubs “America”, “Flamengo” and “Botafogo”, he was a left winger. He played 36 matches for the Brazilian national team, with which he won the world championships in 1958 and 1962. He ended his playing career at the age of 34 and soon became the head coach of the Brazilian national team, which he led to victory at the 1970 World Cup, becoming the first person in history to win the championship title as a player and coach. He played with the “king of football” Pele, and then trained the national team with his participation. In 1974, the Brazilian national team under his leadership took 4th place at the World Cup.

In 1991, Zagallo took the post of coordinator of the Brazilian national team and at the same time assistant to the head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. The team won the championship title at the 1994 tournament. For Zagallo, as well as for Brazil, it was the fourth championship title. After that, Zagallo again became the head coach of the Brazilians and in 1998 he led the national team to the final, where it lost to the French. In 2006, Zagallo was also the assistant head coach, but that year the Brazilian team did not achieve success. Thus, Zagallo participated in seven world championships in different capacities and was successful in four of them. He also coached a number of club teams and second national teams, including Kuwait and the UAE.