What you should know about late Zagallo, Brazilian legend crazy about number 13

Brazilian football legend, Mario Zagallo, died at 92 on Saturday, according to a post on his official Instagram account. Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has expressed condolences to Zagallo’s family, friends and “millions of admirers” and declared three days of mourning in Brazil. FIFA President Gianni Infantino also expressed condolences to Brazil on […]

Brazilian football legend, Mario Zagallo, died at 92 on Saturday, according to a post on his official Instagram account.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has expressed condolences to Zagallo’s family, friends and “millions of admirers” and declared three days of mourning in Brazil.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino also expressed condolences to Brazil on Saturday, describing Zagallo’s impact on the World Cup as “unparalleled”.

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said it would hold a seven-day mourning period to honour Zagallo, while the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) said it was mourning the loss of the only four-time world champion.

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Daily Trust has compiled a few things you should know about the late Brazilian football legend below:

Nicknamed the Old Wolf, Mario Jorge Lobo Zagallo was born on Aug. 9, 1931, in Maceio on Brazil’s impoverished northeastern coast.

His family moved to Rio de Janeiro before his first birthday and it was there he fell in love with football.

His first dream was to be an airline pilot but he was forced to abandon that due to poor eyesight.

Instead, he studied accountancy and played soccer in his spare time with local side America, then one of the biggest clubs in the city.

Zagallo started off as a left midfielder, wearing the No. 10 shirt, which back then, before Pele, had not yet assumed the significance it has today.

He later moved from America to Flamengo, where he won three Carioca state championship medals.

The latter half of his career was spent at city rivals Botafogo, where he won two more state titles.

His first World Cup came in Sweden in 1958, where he started all six matches and played alongside Garrincha and Pele, who was then just 17.

Four years later in Chile he was champion again, but he only guaranteed his place after making some tactical alterations.

As a coach, Zagallo led a string of Brazilian clubs, but he made his mark when he was drafted to replace the controversial Joao Saldanha as Brazil’s coach just months before the 1970 Mexico World Cup. Brazil’s form had been erratic and they were not fancied, but Zagallo pulled the star-studded team together, capping a tremendous show with a memorable 4-1 triumph over Italy in the final.

Zagallo stayed on until 1974, taking Brazil to fourth place in West Germany, but it was a disappointing performance that was followed by spells managing clubs back home and national sides in the Middle East.

He was an assistant to Parreira in 1994 when Brazil won their fourth title, and in 2006, when they were knocked out in the quarter-finals.

He was also in charge in 1998 when Brazil lost 3-0 to hosts France in the final after star striker Ronaldo was hit by convulsions just hours before the match.

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.

He married in 1955 to Alcina de Castro and remained with her until she died in 2012. The couple had four children.

Zagallo was known for being highly superstitious and believed the number 13 brought him luck. He liked to coin phrases that contained 13 letters, he got married on the 13th of the month, and once even joked he would retire from the game at 13:00 on July 13, 2013.