Mario Zagallo died yesterday, Friday January 5, 2024 at the age of 92 in Rio de Janeiro. He will remain forever in the history of world football as the first player and coach to have won the Football World Cup.
The legend of Brazilian and world football, was double world champion as a player, in 1958 and 1962, then as a coach, in 1970, and finally as an assistant coach of Carlos Alberto Parreira, in 1994. He was also vice-world champion in 1998.
This former left winger was also a coach of the four major Rio clubs (Flamengo, Fluminense, Vasco, Botafogo) and Kuwait coach (1976-1977), Saudi Arabia (1982-1984), or United Arab Emirates (1988-1990).
Mario Zagallo was hospitalized last August in Rio de Janeiro for a urinary tract infection. But the former Seleçao player had recently had other health problems. After Pelé’s death in December 2022, he was hospitalized for almost two weeks for a respiratory infection.
The president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Ednaldo Rodrigues, has declared an official seven -day mourning for the death of Zagallo.
