Jairzinho

Botafogo

Jairzinho started his football career in 1958 aged 13 assigned to the Botafogo youth teams 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 Garrincha, 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. 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 rising star to the entire nation. During this young age he was already playing with Brazil and Botafogo superstars such as Gérson, Mario Zagallo and Garrincha.

In 1968, Botafogo won the Brazilian double. Winners of the 1968 Campeonato Carioca and the Taça Guanabara in which Jairzinho would score nine goals in eleven 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…

Jairzinho made his international debut as a 19 year old in 1964 against Portugal, again when Garrincha was injured. He played in the 1966 FIFA World Cup 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 in 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 two goals out of the six 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.

Now in his new position, Jairzinho became a more effective and consistent performer for country. At the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, Jairzinho was one of stars of the tournament. He scored in every game Brazil played in for the Seleção, for which he received the epithet "Furacão da Copa" (World Cup Hurricane). His second goal in the team's second group match against Czechoslovakia was one of the most important goals of the tournament: he completed a game changing solo run, beating a total of four players, to unleash a low driven shot to ripple the bottom left corner, which goes down as one of the most memorable goals in World Cup history. During the semi-final match against Uruguay, in addition to scoring a goal, Jairzinho completed a record 13 dribbles; his record was broken in 1994 by Jay-Jay Okocha, who completed 15 in Nigeria's…

Jairzinho was feared as a versatile forward who could cause damage and pose a serious goal threat from anywhere across the front line. He possessed outstanding pace and explosive acceleration, as well as an excellent first touch and direct dribbling ability. However, his most distinctive attribute was his exceptional physical strength. On countless occasions, many opposition defences would attempt to double up on Jairzinho and try deny him space in an effort to deny his direct goal threat posed by his athleticism. He would apply himself as a hard working team player who would consistently track back and use his body structure to prevent opposition counterattacks by blocking or tracking runs. Jairzinho's movement off the ball was one of the key aspects on which he accumulated so many goals throughout his career. In the 1970 FIFA World Cup, he displayed his attacking instincts, especially with his goal against England, which earned Brazil the victory and broke the deadlock. The secondary run off Pelé for him to strike a powerful top left corner finish displayed his threat in front of goal as well as his overall attacking intelligence. His finishing ability was regularly acclaimed by many coaches and teammates. He also possessed many shots with his left foot which acclaimed him as a complete forward. Jairzinho was noted for his technical ability and offensive versatility. During open play, he was known to control passes within the penalty area to create shooting opportunities.…

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 club Kalamata. 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 in a World Cup 2006 Qualifier held in Luanda. Perhaps his greatest achievement as a coach was spotting Ronaldo as a 14-year-old whilst he was coaching São Cristóvão. He kick-started the career of the future three-time FIFA World Player of the Year by recommending him to Cruzeiro, his former side, and the Brazil youth team.