Mário Zagallo

Zagallo started his football career in the youth sector of América, before joining Flamengo 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 between 1953 and 1955. In 1958, Zagallo joined Botafogo, and eventually became a part of a team that included several other regular starters of the Brazilian national team, such as Garrincha, 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 in the Brazilian squad for the FIFA World Cup in Sweden: following an injury to Pepe, he was promoted to the starting XI, and eventually scored a goal in the final as Brazil claimed their first world title. He was also a part of the squad that won the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile, where he started in all of Brazil's matches.

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 first stints as Brazil's head coach in the 1960s and 70s, Zagallo implemented a new system, and mainly adopted a fluid 4–2–3–1 formation. Zagallo 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. Zagallo's fluid 4–2–3–1 formation, which was often seen as a 4–2–4 or false 4–3–3 formation, famously used five number tens in attack and midfield: Pelé, Rivellino, Tostão, Jairzinho, and Gérson, with Gérson dictating play behind the attack, and Pelé and Tostão both also often dropping deep to operate behind the front line, in addition to joining the attack; Tostão's free role with Brazil during the 1970 World Cup under Zagallo, which allowed him to disorient defenders and get onto the end of passes or create space for teammates with his movement and runs off the ball, despite being deployed as a centre-forward on paper, has been likened in the media to the modern false 9 role. The full-backs – Carlos Alberto and…

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 1970 FIFA World Cup, 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 in West Germany, Zagallo was disadvantaged by the international retirement of Pelé in 1971, 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 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, and missed out on the final after a 2–0 loss to the Netherlands, in which Luís Pereira was sent off for a foul on Johan Neeskens. Poland then defeated Brazil in the third-place playoff. In 1989, Zagallo was hired by the United Arab Emirates for their qualification campaign for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He led the amateurs to an unexpected first qualification to the tournament,…

Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo was born in Atalaia in the state of Alagoas, on 9 August 1931. He was of Lebanese descent, from Zahlé. He later moved to Rio de Janeiro with his family when he was still eight months old. As a young man, he committed to complete his military service in the Brazilian Army; he was notably deployed at the Maracanã Stadium when Uruguay defeated Brazil in the 1950 World Cup decisive match.