Four World Cup-winning player passes away

Maria Novoselova / Vestnik Kavkaza

Mario Zagallo, who won four football World Cups for Brazil as either player or coach, has died at the age of 92, according to a post on his official social media account.

A tough and talented left winger, Zagallo played on the team that won Brazil's first World Cup in 1958 and he kept his place in the side that retained the title four years later.

In 1970, he coached a Brazil squad that featured all-time greats like Pele, Jairzinho, Rivellino and Tostao - one that many consider to be the greatest national team ever to play the game. They won Brazil's third World Cup in Mexico. That made Zagallo the first person in the sport to win a World Cup as both a player and a manager.

Later, he was assistant coach to Carlos Alberto Parreira when Brazil won their fourth title in 1994 in the United States.

The 2006 denouement was a tough one for Zagallo, who had been unwell in the lead-up to the tournament. He was clearly finding management a strain, and retired from the game.

© Photo :Maria Novoselova / Vestnik Kavkaza
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