‘You’re going to have to swallow me’: remember Zagallo’s phrases – 01/06/2024 – Sport
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A historic figure in world football, Mario Jorge Lobo Zagallo has not only established himself as a player and coach, but also as a phrase writer.
Remember some of his most memorable phrases:
“Only those who score goals win titles, so I couldn’t be a back-row player. They wanted to label me like that, but I knew what I was doing. What we play today is 10-0, everyone comes back. Today the whole world plays ‘back-row’ . Is it just Zagallo training?”
About the fame that followed him for much of his career
“If the [João] Saldanha continued, he would play in a 4-2-4, completely outclassed. With the 4-2-4, problems arose in the Brazilian defense. Brazil made the tactical change from 4-2-4 to 4-3-3 with me, and Brazil became champions with that change. This is the reality and it has been proven.”
About the scheme he used in the selection for the 1970 World Cup
“In 1948, I played with the number 10 shirt for América. When I was 17, I thought: ‘Next year, I won’t play with this number 10 shirt anymore, because I’ll never make the national team with it. I’ll switch to the number 11, which is the shortest way to get to the national team’. When I was 17 or 18, I aimed for the maximum. And it ended up happening.”
About the decision, ten years before joining the national team, to ‘retire’ football’s most noble shirt
“They started to make waves, [jornalistas] They said they were going to take me out of the team. This situation was up in the air, and I had to wait for the moment to say something. It was in the throat. When we became champions, it came out straight away: ‘You’re going to have to swallow me!!!’. It came from deep inside, I threw it out.”
About his most famous phrase, uttered after the victory over Bolivia in the 1997 Copa América
“13 is not superstition, 13 is Saint Anthony, I was influenced by my wife. The press itself made 13 fly higher, and 13 stayed on my side, as faith and as a lucky number.”
About your favorite number
“Parreira didn’t want to see the penalties. So I told him, who was on my side: ‘Go beat Baggio, we’re going to be four now!’. Baggio kicked the ball into the stands [risos]. How cool was that.”
About the moment of winning the fourth championship, in the 1994 USA Cup
“For me, football was a joy, it was my life in itself. I am a Brazilian who has the biggest titles in the world. I want to thank God for watching over me and all Brazilians. Because I represent these Brazilian people.”
About your relationship with the most popular sport on the planet
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