Mário Lobo Zagallo: myth or legend?

The story is unyielding. Twice as a player (1958-1962), once as a coach (1970) and once as a coordinator (1994), Zagallo He was world champion with Brazil.

But until your death, Mário Lobo Zagallo has the ability to provoke controversy. Does his exaltation as “the greatest World Cup winner” conclude the existence of a legacy in football that will be important for future generations?

As Friedrich Nietzsche teaches, there are no eternal facts, just as there are no absolute truths” (Human, All Too Human).

As a player, Zagallo was not the best during his time with the national team and with his team. At Flamengo, he was the complement of Evaristo de Macedo and Dida. At Botafogo, he helped geniuses, like Garrincha, Didi and Nilton Santos. In the “Golden Team”, which won two world championships in Sweden (1958) and Chile (1962), he was the supporting player of Zito, Didi, Garrincha and Pelé.

His main trademark as a player is his copyright of the 4-3-3 formation. When the tactical order in world football was restricted to 4-2-4 (Brazil, France, Hungary), the “Swiss Ferrolho” or “Catenaccio” (Germany and Italy) and the WM (England), in Sweden, against Austria In 1958, Zagallo took a step back. On his own, joining Zito and Didi in midfield, he created a 4-3-3 formation. In Zagallo, playing ball on the left, he discovered a genius. The left winger was never the same.

After the player, the coach appeared. And this is where the most complex question of his career arises. Was his presence in the Brazilian team due to his ability to set up and change teams, influencing the winning of titles or was he captive in the CBF system because he was João Havelange and Ricardo Teixeira’s trusted man?

Knowing football, the player’s soul and guiding him, Zagallo was a master. Taking advantage of the military regime imposed on the 1970 team, he was responsible for creating the best Brazil of all time, which won the third championship in Mexico.

Although his critics consider his importance in the face of the genius of Clodoaldo, Gerson, Tostão, Pelé, Jairzinho and Rivelino, the personal testimony of Tostão and the late Carlos Alberto Torres ends the doubt: Zagallo was the one who assembled the team of 70. Said Carlos Alberto, who excluded Edu from the left wing in favor of Rivelino, opened the place in the middle for Clodoaldo, his “apple of the eye”. For Brazil to come out playing from behind, Piazza transformed from a reasonable midfielder into an exceptional defender.

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With Brazilian pride in ignoring the evolution of others, he is attributed with contempt for Cruyff’s Holland with the statement that “the Dutch are the ones who have to know us”. Brazil failed in 1974, although my friend Carpegiani, who forms the midfield, tells me that “our first half against the Netherlands was fantastic”.

Critic of Coutinho (1978) and Telê Santana (1982-1986), he returned to coordinate Brazil de Parreira, in the United States, winning due to Baggio’s error, the last image of the 1994 title. With him as coach, Brazil lost in 1998 (France), and as coordinator, he lost in 2006 (Germany).

They for them, with Zagallo it was a draw. With him, Brazil won four World Cups and lost four World Cups. No professional has had the opportunity to participate in so many World Cups. There is no doubt, he was the Brazilian team’s reference for his ability, for the CBF’s confidence and for his luck, which according to him, came from the number 13. By using luck as an argument, he reduced his own qualities, transforming himself into a character.

A phraseist, he once shouted to the immortals Juca Kfouri, Juarez Suarez, Flávio Prado and José Trajano, from Cartão Verde, from Culture: “you’re going to have to swallow me”. After Pelé and Garrincha, he is the greatest symbol of the Brazilian national team. Legends and myths are created. Symbols, no.