One of the most charismatic and superstitious figures in Brazilian football, he was known for his fondness for the number 13 and his constant use of the phrase “You've got to bear with me” – loudly expressed at pundits.
Zagallo said that the number 13 was his lucky number because it had the last two digits of his year of birth: 1931. He always highlighted any connection, no matter how coincidental, between the number 13 and his successes in football.
Mr Zagallo played a role in almost every major chapter in Brazilian football's history, from the 1958 World Cup title to the tournament it hosted in 2014. Former Brazil coach Tite visited him to hear his advice before leading the team to 2018 and 2022. World Cups. (France was the champion in 2018, Argentina in 2022).
He was Brazil's striker when they won the World Cup in 1958 in Sweden and 1962 in Chile, and was one of the first players to play the false winger role, playing between the midfielders and strikers.
Mr. Zagallo stopped playing professionally in 1965 and began his coaching career with FC Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro the following year. He was appointed national team coach in 1970, before the World Cup in Mexico, and inherited a team that included Pele, Jairzinho, Gerson, Roberto Rivelino and Tostao. Brazil defeated Italy 4-1 in the final, becoming the tournament's first three-time champion.
He also coached Brazil in 1974, but without Pele, the team finished fourth.
Mr. Zagallo was assistant coach to Carlos Alberto Parreira when Brazil won the 1994 World Cup in the United States, again defeating Italy in the final. Parreira said several times that he felt as if the team had two coaches, and such was the influence Mr. Zagallo had on his team.
He returned to his position four years later at the World Cup finals in France, when Brazil lost 3-0 to the host nation in a final that was marked by striker Ronaldo's unexplained convulsions before the match. Mr. Zagallo has been criticized for allowing Ronaldo to play.
“The doctors cleared him to play,” Mr. Zagallo said. “Anyone in my position would have done the same thing. I wouldn't have been the one to stop him from playing in the World Cup final.”
His last coaching role with the national team was as assistant to Parreira in 2006. Brazil were pre-tournament favorites to win a sixth World Cup title in Germany. But the team led by Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ronaldo and Adriano fell to France in the quarter-finals.
Mr. Zagallo's feat of being a World Cup winner as a player and coach was later matched by Franz Beckenbauer with West Germany (1974, 1990) and Didier Deschamps with France (1998, 2018).
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on his social media channels that Mr. Zagallo was “one of the greatest football players and coaches of all time” and “a symbol of love for the national team and Brazil… brave, dedicated, passionate and devoted.” “Fairy.”
Mr. Zagallo was one of the few coaches to have had successful coaching spells with all four of Rio's traditional clubs – Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo and Vasco da Gama.
He began his career as a striker with Club América in Rio de Janeiro and later also played for Flamengo and Botafogo, one of the few Brazilian clubs to rival Pele's Santos in the 1960s.
Mr. Zagallo was hospitalized for more than a month in 2005 after undergoing stomach surgery. He spent 12 days in hospital just before the 2014 World Cup due to a back infection, and was released in time to watch the opening match. He served in an ambassadorial role for that tournament.
Mr Zagallo was hospitalized for 22 days in August last year with a urinary tract infection. Upon returning home to Rio, he was photographed sitting in a wheelchair.
He wrote on his social media channels, which ended with his career slogan: “We are stronger than ever!” “You'll have to bear with me!”
