Latest news with #Garrincha
New York Times
13-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How Brazil won the 1962 World Cup: With Garrincha coming to the fore after Pele injury
This is the seventh in a series by The Athletic looking back at the winners of each men's World Cup. The previous six articles have looked at Uruguay in 1930, Italy in 1934 and Italy again in 1938, before Uruguay won it for a second time in 1950. West Germany followed in 1954, before Brazil won their first World Cup in 1958. Four years later, Brazil won it again. World Cup 1962, hosted in Chile, is up there with World Cup 1938 as the least fabled editions of the tournament. There's a common link between them: they're the only two World Cups where the defending champion has triumphed. And this one came as little surprise — it was almost impossible to find a tournament preview that didn't imply that Brazil were strong favourites. Advertisement They retained their title with a familiar group of players. Five of their six goalscorers at this World Cup — Garrincha, Vava, Pele, Zito and Mario Zagallo — had also won World Cup 1958. Amarildo, the striker who came into the side midway through the tournament and scored three times, is the exception. Brazil did everything possible to ensure their preparation for the tournament mirrored that of 1958. Paulo Machado de Carvalho, head of Brazil's commission for the tournament, even arranged for the same pilot to fly their plane. And when he learned that the airline used for the 1958 flight to Europe had gone bankrupt, he insisted on getting their logo and sticking it on the new plane. Overall, the tournament wasn't a classic. The goals-per-game rate dropped to 2.78, the lowest yet, and an incredibly poor figure in comparison to 5.38 from World Cup 1954. Football had changed over the previous eight years, becoming more systemised and cautious. World Cup 1962 is also infamous for its thuggery. The Battle of Santiago, an appallingly violent clash where hosts Chile defeated Italy 2-0, went down in history. But reports from the time suggest this was merely an exaggerated version of most matches at the tournament, rather than an outlier. World Soccer magazine took to ranking the worst matches, breaking them down into categories of 'scandalous', 'violent', 'very rough' and 'rough', with columnist Roger MacDonald writing, 'I am utterly sick of the World Cup… of the renewed burst of thuggery and brutality.' But Brazil, save for a spell in their semi-final against Chile where they were largely the victims, weren't really involved in all this, and largely played attractive football. When the winning coach from 1958, Vicente Feola, stepped down a year before this tournament due to ill health, he was replaced Aymore Moreira — brother of Zeze, who had led the side at World Cup 1954. But, just as Brazil's unusually large technical staff had raised eyebrows in 1958, this situation also seemed complex. Feola was retained in some kind of overseeing role, while long-serving Santos manager Lula was recruited on a part-time basis as a consultant. It therefore seemed there was a three-way power struggle in the months leading up to the tournament: Feola wanted the 1958 side to remain largely intact, Lula lobbied for the introduction of more Santos players, while Moreira apparently wanted to bring in newcomers. But in the end, Moreira realised there was little reason to meddle with the 1958 side. Advertisement Moreira, a former goalkeeper with the national team, received little attention during the tournament, at least from foreign media. There was no reason to concentrate on his decisions; he kept a settled XI, making only one injury-enforced change across the six matches. There were reports that players grew frustrated with the emphasis upon physical drills rather than ball work. But the identity of the Brazil manager was less important than the fact they were still ahead of the curve in terms of employing specific coaches to work on fitness and psychology. They were seemingly the best-prepared team at the competition, as well as having the best players. Pele was now regarded as the world's best player. He opened his tournament with a superb goal against Mexico, beating four opponents before providing a fine finish — it's a brilliant goal, yet probably not in his five most famous World Cup goals. However, Pele was struggling with an injury, and kept the extent of it a secret from his coach, fearing he'd be dropped. In the second game, a goalless draw with Czechoslovakia, Pele pulled up with a groin strain after attempting a long-range shot. His game was over. In fact, his tournament was over. The Czech players sportingly went easy on Pele for the rest of the game (although had they known they'd face Brazil again in the final, perhaps they would have done to Pele what West Germany did to Ferenc Puskas eight years earlier). There were rumours Pele would be fit to return for the final, but he'd suffered a recurrence of his injury in training, and was asked to pretend he was in contention — wearing the team tracksuit on his way to the ground — as a bluff. Pele's absence meant Garrincha had even more responsibility, and he responded with arguably the greatest ever individual World Cup campaign. In 1958 he was a brilliant dribbler who relied on dropping his shoulder and going down the outside. He showed he still had that in his locker (even when opponents doubled up against him) with his assist for Amarildo to open the scoring in Brazil's final group game, a 2-1 win over Spain. But the Garrincha of 1962 was a completely different player. He was now an all-rounder. Garrincha had become adept at shooting with both feet and was a powerful presence in the air — very rare for a winger at this stage — as he demonstrated in the knockout stage. In the 3-1 quarter-final win over England, he scored a bullet near-post header from an outswinging Zagallo corner, then curled home a beautiful goal from outside the box with his right foot. Advertisement In the 4-2 semi-final win over Chile, he scored a carbon copy of his previous headed goal, again from a Zagallo corner, then smashed home into the top corner with his supposedly weaker left foot. As Rob Fielder notes in his comprehensive game-by-game history of the World Cup, Chile were so frightened by Garrincha that they dropped their captain to bring in Manuel Rodriguez, on the basis that he'd handled Garrincha well in previous meetings. But a left-back can do little about a headed goal from a corner, or a first-time long-range finish. Garrincha is understandably remembered for his swivelling hips and his dribbling, but to paint him as a pure old-school outside-right undersells him — the difference between the Garrincha of 1958 and 1962 is like the difference between the Cristiano Ronaldo of 2004 and 2008. It was made clear in the build-up to the tournament that Moreira wasn't a fan of the 4-2-4 that had brought Brazil success in 1958. He wanted something safer, although in practice he didn't change too much. His variation basically involved bringing left-winger Mario Zagallo deeper and narrower to create more of a 4-3-3 system. But even in 1958, Zagallo was regarded as a more functional, workmanlike winger than Garrincha down the right. The only change Moreira made in the tournament was after Pele's injury. Amarildo replaced him and played more as an inside-left than a second striker, providing some balance now Zagallo had tucked further inside. Amarildo, incidentally, is the only member of this side still alive. The centre-backs were regarded as 'new' to outsiders, but both Zozimo and Mauro Ramos, who captained the side, had been non-playing members of the 1958 squad. Either side of them, Brazil continued to use — some would say pioneer — the use of overlapping full-backs, with the legendary double act of Djalma Santos and Nilton Santos both still in the starting XI. Garrincha should have been banned for the final. Towards the end of the semi-final victory over a terribly physical Chile side, after being kicked throughout the game, Garrincha reacted to a minor block-off by Eladio Rojas by giving him a sneaky kick up the backside on his way past. Rojas thought about things for a second, decided he'd been hurt, and then dropped to the floor. Simulation in football is far from a 'modern' issue. Advertisement For this, Garrincha should have been suspended for the final. Yes, technically there was no mandatory one-match suspension in these days, but five other players were sent off at this tournament, and all five were handed a ban. What made this one different? On the basis of video evidence, Garrincha's kick was foolish but probably not a red card offence. Still, video evidence wasn't considered at this point, so the key factor was the testimony of the Uruguayan linesman who witnessed Garrincha's 'violent conduct' and reported it to the referee. But linesman Esteban Marino failed to turn up at the disciplinary hearing, and seemingly left the country altogether. Without his testimony, Garrincha couldn't be banned. FIFA's own account is that 'Chile president Jorge Alessandri led a petition to allow Garrincha to perform in the final, which was ultimately successful', although other stories involve more of a lobbying effort from Brazil's hefty delegation in Chile, with involvement from various South American ambassadors, Brazilian prime minister Tancredo Neves and FIFA President Sir Stanley Rous himself. The outcome was that Garrincha was available to play, which was probably fair considering how minor his indiscretion had been, although you can also argue that two wrongs don't make a right. After all this, Garrincha was ill on the day of the final, and not at his best. In keeping with the general anonymity of this tournament, this final seems somewhat forgotten. Coming after a run of genuinely legendary finals (the Maracanazo in 1950, the Miracle of Bern in 1954, the highest-scoring final in 1958), no-one ever really mentions this one. That's something of a shame, as it featured good attacking play from both sides — and, as had become somewhat familiar in World Cup finals, a come-from-behind victory. Czechoslovakia's opener was a lovely goal, featuring a neat through ball from right-winger Tomas Pospichal to legendary midfielder Josef Masopust to run onto and finish. It's a goal that feels very modern for an era when getting the ball wide and crossing was the most common method of attack. Advertisement But Amarildo, as ever making inroads down the left, equalised with a swerving shot that caught out Czech goalkeeper Viliam Schrojf at his near post. It wasn't dissimilar to the Uruguayan winner in the 1950 final. The old adage that 'a goalkeeper shouldn't be beaten at his near post' probably made more sense at this point, as they did seem to position themselves too far towards their far post. Brazil went 2-1 ahead with the third nice goal of the game. Zito brought through the midfield, slipped in Amarildo down the left, and continued his run into the box. Amarildo took his time, then floated a far-post cross for Zito to head home. Victory was sealed by a terrible error from Schrojf, who otherwise enjoyed a fine tournament. He completely misjudged an up-and-under that dropped towards the edge of his six-yard box, spilling the ball to Vava for a tap-in. In all honesty, there probably isn't one, despite Brazil's tournament being packed with great moments. Most notably, there's Pele's dribble against Mexico, and two fantastic Garrincha long-range beauties. Their first two goals in the final were very attractive too. This lack of an obvious moment is a combination of two things: a reflection of the fact Brazil never needed to snatch a crucial late goal, and the fact their three goals in the final came from a source other than Garrincha or Pele, their two superstars. This Brazil was considered less spectacular than the side from four years beforehand, but it's difficult to make a case that anyone else was on their level. Runners-up Czechoslovakia were surprise finalists, and third-placed Chile were reliant on home advantage. The Soviet Union were promising but fell short at the quarter-final stage. And, besides, Brazil completed the job without being able to count upon the world's best player at any point in the knockout stage. They were now the World Cup's dominant nation, having been considered its great underachievers just five years beforehand. The most notable underachievers were now the inventors of the sport, England — four World Cups in, they were still yet to make it past the quarter-finals. But they would host the next edition…
Daily Mirror
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
EA FC 25 Shapeshifters Team 4 release date, predictions and what to expect
Team 4 of the Shapeshifters promo will be released in EA FC 25 Ultimate Team this week, which is the final squad before Futties begins. We're entering our fourth and final week of the Shapeshifters promo in Ultimate Team, with EA FC 25 Shapeshifters Team 4 entering packs this week. Similarly to TOTS, it has started to feel like the Shapeshifters promo has outstayed its welcome in EA FC 25 Ultimate Team, with the Shapeshifters Team 3 squad failing to impress the majority of the FUT community. There were a few standout inclusions like Shapeshifters Icon Eusebio, but bar a few names, the majority of the squad is currently on the transfer market for discard price. As we enter July, players are getting excited about two things – EA FC 25 Futties and the EA FC 26 reveal. We know the latter is still a little bit away, but we're going to have to wait another week for EA Sports to release Futties, with the EA FC 25 Shapeshifters Team 4 squad up next in Ultimate Team. Here's everything we know about the upcoming EA FC 25 Shapeshifters Team 4 promo squad, including the release date, predictions, and expected Ultimate Team content. EA FC 25 Shapeshifters Team 4 release date The EA FC 25 Shapeshifters release date will be Friday, July 4 at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT/ 6pm BST. The Shapeshifters promo will come to an end after Team 4, meaning the highly anticipated Futties promo should begin in Ultimate Team on Friday, July 11. EA FC 25 Shapeshifters Team 4 predictions These are some players that we would like to see included in the EA FC 25 Shapeshifters Team 4 squad. These players are just predictions, as are their player ratings. ST: Garrincha (Shapeshifters Icon) - 98 OVR CB: Socrates (Shapeshifters Icon) - 98 OVR CAM: Kenny Dalglish (Shapeshifters Icon) - 97 OVR RW: Marel Desailly (Shapeshifters Icon) - 95 OVR CM: Park Ji Sung (Shapeshifters Hero) - 96 OVR ST: Maicon (Shapeshifters Hero) - 96 OVR ST: Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona Women) - 98 OVR RW: Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig) - 97 OVR CDM: Sam Kerr (Chelsea Women) - 96 OVR ST: Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) - 96 OVR ST: Takumi Minamino (Monaco) - 95 OVR ST: Harvey Elliott (Liverpool) - 95 OVR CDM: Kai Havertz (Arsenal) - 95 OVR LB: Nicole Anyomi (Eintracht Frankfurt Women) - 94 OVR RB: Ismael Bennacer (Marseille) - 94 OVR CAM: Denis Bouanga (LAFC) - 94 OVR GK: Kyle Hudlin (Newport County) - 94 OVR EA FC 25 Shapeshifters Team 4 expected content We've now had Shapeshifters content for three weeks, so we can expect to see the same sort of content released for Team 4. Big player SBCs and Objectives will be released, while some Shapeshifters Icons and Heroes should also be released with matching Evolutions you can also complete. More Evolutions will be released during the Team 4 promo, while Objectives with big SP bonuses could drop, with Season 8 coming to an end in the next few weeks.
New York Times
22-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How Brazil won the 1958 World Cup: A sleeping coach, tactical tweaks and 17-year-old Pele
This is the fifth in a series on The Athletic looking back at the winners of each men's World Cup. The previous four articles have looked at Uruguay in 1930, Italy in 1934 and Italy again in 1938, before Uruguay won it for a second time in 1950. West Germany followed in 1954 — what about Brazil? It feels strange that it's taken until the sixth edition of this series to feature the most successful nation in World Cup history, Brazil, who probably should have won the 1950 tournament on home soil. Going into the World Cup in 1958, they were considered the favourites, although there were concerns about whether they would cope with the unfamiliar surroundings of Sweden. At this point, the two World Cups played in South America had been won by sides from that continent, and the three in Europe followed suit. Advertisement But Brazil were probably more prepared than any other side in the tournament, investing heavily in an extensive backroom staff at a time when other nations were content with a manager, an assistant and a physio. They toured Europe before to allow them to become accustomed to the climate. Like all great sides, they mixed good organisation with top-class individuals. This Brazil side featured players who were not simply among the most dominant individuals at the tournament, but some of the most famous individuals in 20th-century football: Mario Zagallo, Garrincha and Pele. Vicente Feola is a curious figure. He was clearly a hugely experienced manager, having taken charge of Sao Paolo on 532 occasions, more than anyone else, over six separate spells. He had been Brazil's assistant for the fateful loss in the 1950 'final'. But Feola is often considered to have lacked authority and delegated too much, and was sometimes accused of — literally — falling asleep in the dugout. Clearly, Brazil were ahead of their time in terms of their off-field expertise. Their backroom staff is generally considered to have included a team supervisor, a fitness coach, a doctor, a dentist and a psychologist. The latter came in for most scrutiny, and appears to have indulged in some tests which made the players uncomfortable, including asking them all to draw 'a picture of a man' and then reporting to Feola on which players might make good partnerships. Still, it seems likely that he, and the others, played a role in Brazil's success. Feola, meanwhile, was in charge at a time when Brazil made a significant tactical shift to a four-man defence, and he trusted in Pele when others insisted he was too young for a World Cup. There were reports that the players took charge after a couple of games and insisted on changes to the starting XI, wrote Brian Glanville in his book, The History of the World Cup, although these suggestions are denied by members of Feola's coaching staff. Feola's reputation was harmed by his second spell in charge, for Brazil's disastrous 1966 tournament. But he deserves more credit than he is generally given for the 1958 success. Brazil's popularisation of 4-2-4 was so innovative that it changed how people referred to formations. Whereas other sides had broadly shifted towards a roughly similar shape, systems had never been referred to in terms of 'numbers'. They were considered in terms of letters ('WM') or shapes (the pyramid). Advertisement But now things became more technical: four defenders, two midfielders, four attackers. Some had concerns that Brazil were light in midfield, but their players were good enough to compensate for this perceived shortcoming. 'The most outstanding feature of the World Cup was provided by the confirmation of a new concept which might easily be called the 'fourth back' style,' wrote John Camkin in his book simply entitled World Cup 1958. 'The full-backs stayed wide on the touchlines and the centre-half and one wing-half, completely defensive, constantly guarded the middle … Brazil's success may well spread the 'fourth back' style into wider use.' Brazil were notable for their use of width. In fielding Zagallo and Garrincha, they had a proper winger on either flank — even if Zagallo was a bit more workmanlike — with the use of four defenders allowing two to overlap, at this stage a relatively unfamiliar concept given defenders were accustomed to playing in a back three. Notably, there were several changes to the starting XI throughout the tournament. Initially, Feola omitted Garrincha because he did not appreciate his lack of defensive effort, and so fielded the more disciplined Joel, until the players lobbied for Garrincha's inclusion and he came into the side for Brazil's third game, a 2-0 win over the Soviet Union. That was Pele's first game of the competition, although his absence had been because of a knee injury. Within the first three minutes of that contest, Garrincha and Pele had hit the post, and Vava had opened the scoring. Brazil were a different side. Feola started the tournament with a front two of Jose Altafini and Dida, then tried Altafini and Vava, and ended up playing Vava and Pele. There was a crucial change in midfield midway through the tournament, with Zito — a defensive-minded, positionally solid anchorman — coming in for the more adventurous Dino. As with so many other Brazilian sides, using a reliable holding player allowed the attackers to shine. And for the final, right-back Djalma Santos — a rare survivor from the 1954 side — came in for his first start of the tournament, to keep Swedish left winger Lennart Skoglund quiet. Brazil popularised beautiful football — and astute tactical tinkering. He may have missed the opening two matches, and various others had excellent tournaments too, but the star was 17-year-old Pele. No one else in football history has been on this level at the age of 17 — the closest is possibly Lamine Yamal with Barcelona and Spain. Feola trusted in Pele despite the fact he was unfit for the start of the tournament. He was already being spoken about as the best footballer Brazil had produced, and he dominated proceedings from his first start against the Soviet Union. He looked decades ahead of his time: incredibly athletic, smooth when bringing the ball under control, brilliant at leaping for headers and a selfless team player. After that instant impact against the Soviets, Pele scored the only goal in the surprisingly tense 1-0 quarter-final victory over Wales with a classic piece of control and a calm finish, which he later said was the most important goal of his career. Then came a hat-trick in the 5-2 semi-final win over France, and two more in the final. This was the first of his three World Cup victories, something no other man has matched. Brazil were nervous going into the final. They had collapsed in 1950, which was considered so disastrous that they changed the colour of their shirts, from white and black to yellow. But now they faced Sweden, who wore yellow, so Brazil had to change to blue. Furthermore, stormy weather in Stockholm meant the muddy pitch would favour the hosts' more pragmatic style. And when Nils Liedholm opened the scoring within five minutes, Brazil might have panicked. Advertisement But half an hour later, they had turned the game around — and done so with two near-identical goals. Both involved Garrincha, the gloriously unpredictable right-winger who bamboozled opposition left-backs throughout the tournament, in part because of his unusually misshapen legs. Here, the victim was Sven Axbom. Twice Garrincha dribbled past him on the outside. Twice he crossed low into the six-yard box. And twice Vava was on hand to score. Brazil were 2-1 up by half-time, and in the second half they were almost completely dominant. Pele made it 3-1, then Zagallo put the game to bed with Brazil's fourth after his initial corner was not cleared. Sweden got one back, but Pele's brilliant, off-balance looped header — a little reminiscent of Lionel Messi's in the 2009 Champions League final for Barcelona against Manchester United — made it 5-2. The Times' report read that Sweden were 'bewildered by a brand of football craft beyond the understanding of many'. It remains the World Cup final with the most goals, despite decent efforts from the last two, which have both featured six. Pele's first (of two) in the final was a truly wonderful piece of skill. Collecting a cross on his chest, he not merely managed to control the ball under pressure from centre-back Sigge Parling, he also managed to beat Bengt Gustavsson, by popping the ball over his head. Gustavsson desperately tried to bring down Pele with a knee-high challenge, but Pele soldiered on and provided a neat dipping volley to score. 'I could say that I thought about it, but I'd be lying,' Pele later said. 'It was a spur-of-the-moment reaction, quick thinking. After I controlled it, I was going to hit it, but I managed to think quickly and changed. That was one of the strengths in my life, and in my football, my improvisation, to change at the last second.' But it's interesting to read reports from Brazil's semi-final win over France, which mention how often he enjoyed knocking the ball over the head of defenders. It was one of those rare goals that was brilliant, but typical of the player's style. At full time, the Brazil players paraded a flag on their lap of honour. But it was the flag of hosts Sweden, rather than their own. Having wilted under the pressure on home soil eight years beforehand, Brazil loved their month in the calm surroundings of Sweden. They stayed in a small lakeside town named Hindas, close to Gothenburg, and spent their evenings fishing and enjoying the late sunsets. Advertisement Sweden's hosting of the tournament was considered the best yet, and the host nation's decision to abandon their opposition to foreign-based professionals playing for the national side (which had cost them qualification for World Cup 1954) meant they enjoyed a surprise run to the final. Brazil's decision to parade the Swedish flag was a recognition of their efforts as hosts and defeated finalists, and produced a standing ovation from the supporters in Stockholm. 'By the respective standards of the two countries, Sweden's triumph was at least as great as Brazil's,' wrote Camkin in his aforementioned book. With the perceived injustice of West Germany's win over Hungary in 1954 still fresh in the minds, this was a popular victory. 'There was no doubt this time that the best, immeasurably the finest, team had won,' wrote Glanville in The History of the World Cup. It often feels like tournament-winning sides play their best football in the group stage against weaker opposition, before becoming tighter and more cautious in the knockout phase. But Brazil became better and better, largely because of the line-up changes. Having started with four clean sheets in four games — 3-0 v Austria, 0-0 v England (the first goalless draw in World Cup history), 2-0 v Soviet Union and 1-0 v Wales — they then thrashed France and Sweden 5-2 with scintillating attacking performances. Although the 1970 winners are often hailed as the greatest World Cup side, it's generally agreed that they lacked a solid defence. In 1958, Brazil had no obvious shortcomings. (Illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; Thibaud MORITZ / AFP, David Ramos, Jeroen van den Berg/Soccrates, Mattia Ozbot – Inter/Inter /Getty Images)
