Football who is better than pele or garrincha. Book of Fates "Golden Team"

On Tuesday, the greatest football player, whom experts put above the King of Football Pelé himself, could celebrate his eightieth birthday. We are talking about the Brazilian magician Garrincha. From this name alone, Brazilian fans once came to awe. He could have had an outstanding career, but he died in poverty. RBC-Sport recalls how Garrinchi's ascent to the football Olympus began.

Stanislav Kuptsov

On Tuesday, the greatest football player, whom experts put above the King of Football Pelé himself, could celebrate his eightieth birthday.

We are talking about the Brazilian magician with Indian roots Garrinche. From this surname alone, the fans once came to awe. He could have had an outstanding career, but he died in poverty.

If someone saw Garrincha in last years life, I would never have believed that this man, barely able to stand on his feet, spending almost all his free time in bars and seeing not the beauties of life, but the muddy bottom of another glass of whiskey, suffering from cirrhosis of the liver and nervous diseases, for many years crazy stadiums of many thousands, with the help of one trick he could make circus clowns out of the strongest football defenders, he knew how to score goals, after which even goalkeepers showed the Brazilian thumb, realizing that no one in their place could reflect this cannon shot.

Behind the coffin, in which Garrincha finally found his resting place, there was a procession of three hundred thousand people. Many could not hold back their tears. Brazil said goodbye to perhaps the best football player in history, whom it could not save, could not pull out of the abyss, did not provide assistance to an unfortunate person in need of financial support, did not find qualified doctors for him.

He alone made millions happy, and millions could not make him happy alone. This is how it usually happens in life. Now you are at the peak of fame, and then everyone needs you. And as soon as glory leaves, then the person, it turns out, is no longer needed.

Pele, who was directly told that you are worse than Garrinchi, did not come to the funeral. "I'm afraid of the dead, I'm afraid of the funeral," he justified himself, but the excuses looked untenable.

The epitaph on the grave of Garrincha, who died at the age of 49, reads: "Here lies the one who was the joy of the people - Mane Garrincha."

Everything is known about Garrincha, his life is like an open book with many pages, and none of them can leave you indifferent. But separately I would like to recall how the rise of Brazilian talent began. For the first time, Garrincha put on a Brazilian national team jersey in the final stages of the World Championships at the 1958 World Cup, playing against the USSR national team.

Garrincha will now beat the player of the USSR national team. Photo thefcf.co.uk

But Garrincha might not have gone to Sweden. His relationship with football functionaries, coaches, masseurs - with everyone involved in the national team, was too difficult.

So, Brazil coach Vicente Feola turned crimson with rage when Garrincha… scored a goal against Fiorentina in the test match. He wanted to throw Garrincha out of the national team for this one offense. It was like this - Garrincha circled three defenders in a row and the goalkeeper, and when the gates were empty, he didn’t beat, waiting for the Fiorentina player Robotti to jump out at him, and after waiting, he circled him with a deft feint and only then scored. Robotti barely kept on his feet - Garrinchi's tricks turned his head.

Garrincha could have paid dearly for this goal, but it did.

And yet he was forced to take an exam before the championship - to pass psychological tests. Garrincha reacted to the tasks of the shrinks with humor. He pretended that he could not tell a vertical line from a horizontal one, drew a man with a huge head, and as a result he was accused of immaturity and called to be removed from the national team. The same thing happened to Pele.

Of course, both were still called to the national team. What is the Brazilian national team if Pele and Garrincha do not play for it ...

The players of the Soviet team, of course, had already heard about Garrincha, and knew who to patronize in the first place. Although a cursory glance at the Brazilian left them with conflicting feelings. One could only wonder how, with his physical data, Garrincha often became the best on the field. He was small in stature, constantly stooped, legs wide apart, and one of his legs was shorter than the other.

In addition, the players of the USSR national team were more than ever confident in their abilities. Two years ago, the Soviet team triumphantly performed at the Melbourne Olympics, winning gold medals - in the final, in front of 100,000 spectators, a very strong Yugoslavia was beaten.

The authors of that victory came out to play against Brazil without shaking in the knees, but it arose by itself already in the first minute! The field seemed to be pierced by lightning, Boris Kuznetsov, the Dynamo defender, simply could not believe his eyes when Garrincha rushed past him, dancing samba with the ball, and then, having beaten Voinov and Krizhevsky, hit the goal frame with such force that the ball returned to the center of the field.

“As soon as our match began, I quickly figured out who was who,” recalls Lev Yashin. with a feint, he laid Kuznetsov on the grass, raced with the ball along the edge and shot so that the ball, hitting the goal post, flew off into the central circle.

In the second minute, Pele, with a sharp pass from Garrinchi, once again tested the strength of the Soviet goal frame, and in the third minute, Vava, having received the ball from Garrinchi, opened the scoring. Fans in just three minutes saw as much as sometimes you can’t see in a whole match!

The same connection, Vava - Garrincha, worked in the second half, and the Brazilian team won with a score of 2:0. Why is there the USSR national team, all the participants in the Swedish World Cup got it from the Brazilians, from the clumsy Garrinchi, in whom, when he picked up speed and arranged dribbling, it was as if the devil was possessed.

Sweden, under the furious blows of Garrincha and the rest of the Brazilians, in the final match simply fell apart like a rotten tree - 5:2.

So the whole world knew about Garrincha. He will remain on stage for a long time and will be the best artist of that time.

Garrincha at the 1958 World Cup. Photo thefcf.co.uk

Do you want to see how one person beats eight opponents and puts the ball into the goal with a heel kick? Go to a match with Garrinchi. Do you want to see the brightest football equipment, from which the best defenders of the planet complain of dizziness? Go to a match with Garrinchi. Do you want to see the game the best football player peace? Go to a match with Garrinchi.

What a pity that Garrincha never said his last football word - alcohol and smoking, addiction to an easy, pompous life, passion for love affairs and gambling interfered. If Garrincha lived only by football, who knows, perhaps now no one would argue about who is the best of the best - Pele or Maradona ... Because the best would be Pele who did not score more than a thousand goals, not Maradona with his "God's hand" but the stooped, rickety, little football genius of Garrincha.

Igor Sergeevich Fesunenko

Pele, Garrincha, football...

Is Brazilian football the best in the world?

Well-known Brazilian coach and journalist Joan Saldanha (left) talks to Igor Fesunenko.

Joan Saldanha, September 1969

To tell the truth, we Brazilians believe that this is exactly the case. Alas, the problem is that the British, Italians, Hungarians, Argentines and, possibly, Soviet fans evaluate football in their countries in the same way. There is nothing wrong with this contradiction. Thanks to this mindset, everyone strives to improve, and this is only good for football.

Is Brazilian football unique, different from football in other countries? Yes. Undoubtedly. In principle, each country has its own special football, even if it uses generally accepted tactical systems. Here the same thing happens that we see in music: the notes are the same, the instrumentation of the orchestra is also the same, but each country has its own national music. The football of each country also has its own national characteristics.

However, the difference between Brazilian football and football in other countries is determined not only by this essential principle. But also the fact that we have a number of conditions that do not exist or do not yet exist in other countries.

What are they?

First of all, football in Brazil is not just a kind of folk art. It is something much more: a popular passion. In England, for example, they love football very much. But along with this, they also love rugby, and cricket, and other sports. In Brazil, although sports other than football are practiced, their lot is small and empty stadiums.

It was because of this passion for football that the Maracanã Stadium was built with a capacity of 200,000 spectators. "Morumbi" in Sao Paulo, coming into operation this year, will accommodate 180,000 fans. In Porto Alegre football club In this state, the Internationale built a stadium for 110,000 spectators, and the Mineirão in the state of Minas Gerais accommodates 130,000 people.

And in Aracaju, a small town in the north-east of the country with a population of two hundred thousand, a town isolated from other cities and towns, a stadium was built for 50,000 fans, and at the opening celebration, a huge number of people could not get into the stands.

But perhaps the most curious curiosity, which demonstrates how far the passion for football has come in Brazil, took place in my province, in Rio Grande do Sul, in the town of Eresim, which set a world "record". Here is how it was. In the neighboring town of Passo Fundo, they dared to expand the stadium that existed there. The honorable citizens of Ereshim felt outraged, it was a challenge, damn it!… The honorable fathers of the city, fans, players gathered and organized a fundraising campaign for the construction of the largest… in the north of the Rio Grande do Sul stadium! In the course of this campaign, the false jaw of some grandmother was even sold. But the stadium was built! 45 thousand spectators will be able to enjoy their favorite football from its stands. It is only necessary to take into account that the population of the town of Ereshim is somewhere around 30 thousand inhabitants. And that there are no other settlements near Ereshim. The nearest one is about six hours away in a reasonably fast car…

Honestly, I do not know any other country where people would be so fond of football! But I've been to 62 countries...

In second place, I would put the climatic and geographical conditions of our country, which make it easier to play football. We can play football all year round. From January to December. Our geographic and climatic conditions are exceptionally favorable for physical development players. Their muscles are flexible, and the warming up of the muscles occurs in our climate by itself ...

Thirdly, I would like to note that our players start playing football very early... In general, a Brazilian child grows up very quickly in terms of his development and living conditions. Our boy already at the age of fifteen is faced with the concerns of adults. And in Europe, a fifteen-year-old boy still wears short pants and goes to school /. Of course, this has both positive and negative consequences.

The upbringing of our player, his formation gives rise to all conceivable vices and virtues. When he comes to the club, it is often impossible to change him. We can certainly say that sometimes our best "stars" lose a goal because they prefer a beautiful game trick to it. I don't know if this is good or bad. Garrincha was just that. Would it be right to try to remake it?

So is Pele. He relishes the opportunity to make a goal as beautiful as possible, even if it sometimes causes him to lose a scoring position. But Tostao - this one is different. He plays simply, has an amazing sense of teamwork and is also an outstanding player. I was Garrinchi's coach for many years at Botafogo and I decided it was best not to try to re-educate him. And I don't regret it. I tried to understand him, to use him as a partisan helping a regular, well-organized military unit, a partisan who acts in his own ways and methods, different from others, but also useful and necessary.

Perhaps I am not impartial enough to speak objectively about football, which I am completely in love with. I can make many mistakes in estimating. Hence the importance of the work of Igor Fesunenko, who studies our football, our mistakes and our achievements, with great interest and passion. Fesunenko is a calmer observer than we are, and therefore he can help us a lot with his work. I hope that it will enjoy the well-deserved success.

One, but fiery passion (instead of introduction)

About what Brazilian football is and what place it occupies in the life of this country, the Brazilian A newspaper once said well, commenting on the performance of its compatriots at the French stadium as follows: “The visit of our football“ stars ”is important primarily because thanks to out of the 35,000 French who were present at the match, at least 30,000 of them finally learned that somewhere there is a country called Brazil. As for the other five thousand, they were able to discover that the loincloth is no longer the most elegant and fashionable outfit in Brazil ... "

Indeed, many people today know Brazil primarily as a country of football, where the great, legendary “king” Pele reigns ... And it must be admitted that these ideas are not so far from reality.

Probably, among the 90 million Brazilians, there is not one who has never kicked a ball in his life. Love, as you know, all ages are submissive. Love for football - even more so. This year, a unique match of veterans took place in Porto Alegre, the youngest of which was ... 60 years old, and the oldest - 84! The old guys took to the field in earnest: they did a great job, playing with a score of 3: 3.

Agree that six goals are not always seen in the matches of young masters!

However, sports performance frisky grandfathers were blocked in another, no less unusual competition, held at the opposite end of Brazil - in the Amazon jungle. In the village of San Marcos, the team of the Indians of the Chavantes tribe defeated the team of students from the capital who came to this area with a scientific expedition, with a score of 15:0. And shortly before that, the brave chavantes defeated with a score of 4:1 a team of their spiritual mentors: monks from the salesian mission, converting the Indians to the Catholic faith and at the same time rummaging through the Amazon in search of oil, ores and other minerals.

When it was time to celebrate the anniversary of the new constitution in the state of Rio de Janeiro, the main ceremony of the festive celebrations was a football match between the teams, in which the deputies of the two rival parliamentary factions played. The Coraio da Manya newspaper, which reported this the day before, wrote not without malice: “The spectators who will come to the stadium only to find out whether the venerable deputies will be able to prove themselves even worse on the football field than in politics will get the most pleasure from the match. ... "

There is a small village in the state of Guanabara, Curupaiti, which now has 911 inhabitants. During for long years(none of the residents remember when this custom was born) every Sunday, almost the entire population, after the morning mass, goes to the traditional match between two teams that have beautiful names: “Elite” and “Henrietta”. From the first to the last minute, loudspeakers placed on the streets of the village report in detail about all the vicissitudes of the fight. This is done so that those who could not and will never be able to come to the stadium can follow the match. And there are quite a few of them in Kurupaiti. Because all the inhabitants of this town - and the prefect, and the shoe shiner, and ... the players - are terminally ill. Kurupaiti is a leper colony…

Book of Fates "Golden Team"

On the evening of November 6, 1968, life in Brazil came to a standstill. Crazy traffic stopped on the streets of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Empty shops. Closed ahead of time bakeries and pharmacies… 90 million Brazilians clung to TV screens and transistor radios. Everyone, with the exception of 150,000 lucky people who, having paid big money for a ticket, managed to get to the Maracana, where the Brazilian national team beat the world team with a score of 2: 1 in a match dedicated to the 50th anniversary of national football and the 10th anniversary of the victory of the famous " gold" Brazilian team in the 1958 World Cup ...

So, since the Swedish team, defeated in the final match, was the first to congratulate their rivals distraught with happiness, more than ten years have passed! formulas 4+3+3, 4+4+2. Doctors began to transplant human hearts, and full-backs began to participate in attacks. Engineers designed global television systems, and football lawyers came to the conclusion that it was necessary to allow the replacement of two field players during the game ... The Brazilian national team became a two-time world champion in Chile, and suffered a defeat in England, perceived by expansive compatriots as a national disaster.

Well, what happened over the years with the "golden team"? Where are they now - eleven legendary knights who defeated the formidable Swedish team in the final match of 1958 with a score of 5: 2 in front of the Swedish king? Goalkeeper Gilmar, defenders - Djalma Santos, Belini, Orlando, Nilton Santos, midfielders - Zito and Didi, forwards - Zagalo, Vava, Pele and Garrincha ...

Immediately, we note that only one of them - the oldest, 45-year-old left-back Nilton Santos - Encyclopedia of Football, as he was nicknamed by the torsida and the press - finally parted with football. He bought a small pharmacy and a sporting goods store in the bustling Botafogo neighborhood. True, sometimes he can be seen in the Flamengo Park, where he drives the ball on Saturdays and Sundays along with the happy boys, challenging the championships of the quarters and streets of Rio de Janeiro. These championships, by the way, are set here at a very decent height. They are played according to all the rules of football art: with spectators and referees, pennants and cups, storms of delight and streams of tears...

The fate of the remaining ten veterans is still connected with football, but for each of them it has developed in its own way ...

Goalkeeper Gilmar dos Santos Neves is still on Santos' payroll. But age takes its toll, and the veteran is less and less likely to rise from the bench. At the beginning of 1969, however, there was a curious episode, which is possible, perhaps, only in Brazilian football. In pursuit of the fees, the club's management was combined to the point that Santos had two games scheduled for the same day. One is in Argentina, the other is in the tiny town of Maringa in the state of Sao Paulo (by the way, this town is probably the only settlement in the world that got its name from the title of a popular song - “Maringa”).

As it is easy to guess, the main team went to Argentina, and spare players with Gilmar left for Maringa. The veteran played in this match with such inspiration that articles appeared in the press demanding that he be returned to the national team, where both goalkeepers - Felix and Claudio - showed a very weak game at that time. Gilmar refused this honor, although he agreed to play against England on June 12, 1969, playing on that day for the hundredth time for the national team. "It's time for me to rest," he told reporters. “It’s time to make way for the young.” Gilmar has tried to ensure a peaceful old age: he has a small law firm and several lucrative invitations from large companies that would like to see a "bi-campeon" as their director of "foreign relations and propaganda."

Orlando played for Santos for a long time, but in 1969 he managed to move to the club of his youth - Vasco da Gama in Rio de Janeiro, where at the age of 33 he became a leading player, captain, reliable "cleaner » defensive line.

Another pet of Santos, Zito, who is considered by many to be the most outstanding midfielder in the history of Brazilian football, remained in his native club as a "supervisor". It's kind of like an inspector general. Zito said that Special attention he is now focusing on working with the youth team, dreaming that Santos will someday be able to go "self-service" by stopping buying players from other clubs.

On June 13, 1968, the last time he entered the field as part of the national team was 39-year-old black Jalma Santos, a right-back who for sixteen years delighted fans of all continents with his amazing composure, with which he disarmed the most impetuous and cunning forwards who had the misfortune to go against Brazil on left flank of the attack. By the way, the Muscovites who were present in Luzhniki in 1965 at the match between the national teams of the USSR and Brazil, had a happy opportunity to make sure that the enthusiastic epithets that the world press awarded this virtuoso were by no means unfounded.

So, Djalma Santos was saying goodbye to the national team… At the tenth minute, the match with the Uruguayans was interrupted. The stadium rose to greet Djalma, who was walking for the last time on the green carpet of the Marakana, showered with flowers. Tears rolled down his cheeks.

And they also cried in the stands, remembering the great glory of the 58th year and the tragedy of the 66th ... They cried, seeing off another of the Mohicans.

Jalma Santos dreamed all his life of opening a small shoe shop: as a child, before putting on boots, he worked as a “boy” in some wretched shoe shop and vowed to “break out into people.” It seems that his dream is close to being realized, but there is still a little to save up. And so Jalma begged his Palmeiras club to sell himself to the provincial Atletico team from the city of Curitiba, where a very substantial amount was offered to the bi-cameon. "Palmeiras" respected Djalma in his old age, sold him, and now he plays next to his old colleague and comrade-in-arms of the 58th year, Belini, who also begged his club "Sao Paulo" to let him go to this laggard. Old horses do not spoil the furrows: shortly after they moved to Curitiba football world Brazil was shocked by the sensational victory of Atlético over Santos (3:2). Fans from Curitiba, dreaming of a decent loss with a not very devastating score, were as amazed as the "stars" from Santos spoiled by fame. The carnival in the town lasted all night. Djalma Santos and Belini were carried on their hands ... A little more than a week passed, and Atlético defeated another favorite - Fluminense from Rio de Janeiro.

Old men Belini and Santos seem to earn their living honestly.

Two other veterans of the 58th year - Vava and Didi - went abroad in search of football happiness. Vava - one of the scorers of the "golden team" - first sold out to Atlético Madrid, then changed many clubs and cities. The most unexpected emblems flaunted on his T-shirts. This year he played in Mexico City and in the USA. The United States, as you know, is not yet listed in the world's football locations, but it pays in dollars, which, apparently, suit Vav more than a skinny Brazilian cruzeiro, suffocating in the grip of inflation. Zagalo, a friend and classmate of Vava, recently sent him a letter: “Old man, stop making people laugh and chasing millions... Come back before you forget the way...”

In early 1969, Vava finally returned. He got fatter, he got heavier, he got older. And so none of the big clubs were interested in the Lion of Cups. He was invited to his modest "Portuguese". Vava brought bitter disappointment with him. Although he was paid $1,200 a month in American teams, he managed to bring very little to Brazil: a few hundred dollars. The reason for this is the ferocious taxes in the United States, as Vava complained, the insane high cost.

Didi - the Black Prince, the famous inventor of the "dry leaf" - is now coaching the Peru national team, preparing it for the final games of the World Cup in Mexico City. Pets "bi-campeon" have achieved brilliant success in qualifying games, beating not only the modest team of Bolivia, but also the favorites of the group of Argentines who were left behind. After that, Didi was declared a national hero in the country, and the government gave him a generous bonus. This is all the more true because, during the preparation of the national team, Didi refused a high fee, trying to prove that he works, so to speak, not out of fear, but out of conscience. At the end of the qualifying games in his group, Didi quite boldly expressed his forecast regarding the final matches in the capital of Mexico. In his opinion, it will be difficult for Europeans, except for England, to count on prizes. The main fight, said Didi, will unfold between the teams of Mexico, Brazil, England and ... - to hell with modesty! - Peru.

Stopped playing but didn't quit big football the left edge of the "golden team" of the 58th year of Zagalo. For almost all these years, he played in Botafogo, challenging Santos for the right to be considered the best club Brazil. And two years ago, Zagalo turned from a player into a coach, after which the validity of Botafogo's claims increased markedly. In any case, under the leadership of Zagalo, in two years (1967–1968), the team lost only one of all the championships and tournaments at home and abroad in which it took part.

Interviewing Zagalo, I asked him to tell us what he sees as the main difference between football in 1958 and football today. In his opinion, the most characteristic trend in the development of game tactics is the gradual and irreversible disappearance of game specialization.

“When I tried to pull back to help the defenders,” Zagalo said, “the coaches yelled at me. When Nilton Santos, at his own peril and risk, rushed forward, trying to help the forwards, create a numerical superiority on the outskirts of the opponent's penalty area, he was threatened with the bench. And today defenders score goals, wingers participate in defense, and no one sees anything criminal in this. Today every player should be able to do everything. And in difficult situations, when everyone attacks, everyone defends, when a large number of players accumulate in the danger zone near the goal, the individual skill of the players plays a decisive role. In this, we Brazilians will always have a slight advantage over our rivals.

So, we talked about all the heroes of the "golden team", with the exception of two. The fates of these latter, these two of Brazil's most famous strikers, two football geniuses, are at opposite poles. Between these poles lay the winding paths of all Brazilian football professionals ...

It's about Pele and Garrincha.

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Well-known Brazilian coach and journalist Joan Saldanha (left) talks to Igor Fesunenko.

Joan Saldanha, September 1969

However, the difference between Brazilian football and football in other countries is determined not only by this most important principle. But also the fact that we have a number of conditions that do not exist or do not yet exist in other countries.

What are they?

It was because of this passion for football that the Maracanã Stadium was built with a capacity of 200,000 spectators. "Morumbi" in Sao Paulo, coming into operation this year, will accommodate 180,000 fans. In Porto Alegre, the football club of this state, International, built a stadium for 110,000 spectators, Mineirão in the state of Minas Gerais can accommodate 130,000 people.

Honestly, I do not know any other country where people would be so fond of football! But I've been to 62 countries...

In second place, I would put the climatic and geographical conditions of our country, which make it easier to play football. We can play football all year round. From January to December. Our geographic and climatic conditions are exceptionally favorable for the physical development of the players. Their muscles are flexible, and the warming up of the muscles occurs in our climate by itself ...

One, but fiery passion (instead of introduction)

Indeed, many people today know Brazil primarily as a country of football, where the great, legendary “king” Pele reigns ... And it must be admitted that these ideas are not so far from reality.

Agree that six goals are not always seen in the matches of young masters!

However, the sports performance of the frisky grandfathers was blocked in another, no less unusual competition, held at the opposite end of Brazil - in the Amazon jungle. In the village of San Marcos, the team of the Indians of the Chavantes tribe defeated the team of students from the capital who came to this area with a scientific expedition, with a score of 15:0. And shortly before that, the brave chavantes defeated with a score of 4:1 a team of their spiritual mentors: monks from the salesian mission, converting the Indians to the Catholic faith and at the same time rummaging through the Amazon in search of oil, ores and other minerals.

In response to a question about what, in his opinion, is now the main drawback of the team, Saldanha replied: "The fatigue of the players. But if I have at least three months of time, I can create with these players a machine that can return the Jules Cup to Brazil." Rome…" In general, the Brazilians were satisfied with the preparations for the qualifying games of the next world championship. Satisfied with the players, satisfied with the coach and even the fight: “We defeated Peru three times,” wrote one of the newspapers. “Twice on the football field and once in the ring ... This episode underlines our fighting spirit and readiness to meet any provocations at the future championship in Mexico City ".

So, the point is put at the end of the last chapter. The book is finished. And now, in accordance with the unshakable canons and traditions of journalism, the author must draw some conclusions.

To be honest, I don't want to do this. It seems to me that the reader himself will be able to do this analytical operation and figure out what's what. And besides, I no longer have time to "generalize the material" and "draw conclusions": in two days from here, from Rio de Janeiro, the diplomatic mail leaves, with which the manuscript should be sent to the publisher. Otherwise, the book will not be released for the World Cup in Mexico City.

But still, running through the last pages of the manuscript, I involuntarily think: what to say in conclusion?

I want to say a lot. For example, about the brilliant performances of Saldanha's pets in the World Cup qualifiers, when within one month they won six victories in six matches, defeating the teams of Colombia, Paraguay and Venezuela with a total score of 23:2.

These matches were not a cakewalk. They demanded effort and sacrifice. Pele, for example, was forced to interrupt his participation in the filming of the telenovela Aliens. And the directors, in turn, were forced to urgently kill the writer Plinio Pompeu, whose role was played by the "king".

Pele's misadventures, however, did not end there. The match in the capital of Paraguay, Asunción, was held in an atmosphere of unbridled hooliganism of the spectators: everything that tucked up under the arm of a furious torside flew onto the field. Bottles, stones, firecrackers, fragments of boards ... One of the stones hit Pele in the head. Ten days later, he "revenge" the Paraguayans: in last match against the national team of this country, played on the "Maracana", Pele scored the only goal. This goal put the Brazilian team in the final sixteen of Mexico City and turned Brazil into the arena of a grandiose carnival that lasted all night ...

One could say about the brilliant game of Tostao. He was moved by Saldanha from the left flank to the center of the attack and scored ten goals in six matches! One could talk for a long time about the sensational combinations of Pele, Jairzinho, Edu, about the creative genius of the midfield Gersone ...

Or about the fact that the defenders of the national team did not play as confidently as expected ... But all this, in general, can add little to what has already been said.

Saying goodbye to the manuscript, I want to philosophize a little. I ask myself: did I exaggerate, did I go too far, talking about behind-the-scenes machinations, about the “dungeons” of Brazilian football? About the arbitrariness of kartol, about the ruthless exploitation of players, about the lack of elementary organization in Brazilian football, about the primitivism of coaching, which is found even in the big clubs of the Brazilian "capitals" - Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte? ... I foresee that some of the readers grimaced when they read, for example, the chapters on "The Sad Bookkeeping of Football" or stories about coaches, about Santos and San Cristovan. And they shrugged their shoulders, turning to the author of the book: “Well, you, brother, painted passions-faces! But the Brazilians are two-time world champions! How could they achieve this if things are so bad for them? ... "

If any of the readers really have such thoughts, I can answer as follows. Brazilian football has won its outstanding victories and earned universal respect and admiration not because of but in spite of its primitive organizational structure, its chaotic internal structure based on the exploitation of players for the sake of club profits. The remarkable skill of football players, nurtured in the field of popular love for this sport, has allowed and allows them to achieve success, despite incredible difficulties, corruption, and the dirty machinations of near-football businessmen. And if Brazilian football were free from these monstrous chains, it would certainly surprise the world with even more brilliant victories.

Of this I am deeply convinced. And I am not afraid of exaggeration when I say that Brazilian football is great football. But by no means because of the titles won by the teams of this country in various tournaments! Titles are only an external reflection of the essence, they are bright stickers, nothing more ... I call Brazilian football great because I think that in the bright work of such ball magicians as Garrincha, Pele, Tostao, Edu, Gerson and hundreds, thousands, tens thousands of others, the soul of the Brazilian people finds its expression, its amazing creative, creative abilities, its talents ...

Brazilian football on camera

Pele... Gooooool!!!

1958 The King of Sweden presents the Jules Rimet Cup to the Brazilian national team. Far left - Zito.

"In the village of San Marcos, the team of the Chavantes Indians defeated the team of students from the capital with a score of 15: 0 ..." (Episode from this match).

The opening of the new Beira Rio stadium in Porto Alegre has been completed football match, which turned into one of the most scandalous fights in the history of Brazilian football.

Players of the club "Palmeiras" (Sao Paulo) vigorously argue with the judge Arnaldo Cesar Coelho.

Armando Marquez is the #1 Brazilian referee.

Armando Marquez sends off Pele.

Double champion Peace Jalma Santos.

The famous Toctao is the main "artilleiro" of the Brazilian team in 1969.

Veterans Jalma Santos and Belini with Atletico (Curitiba), 1968.

Tostao and Jairzinho celebrate another Brazilian goal.

Felix is the goalkeeper of the Brazilian national team, who replaced the famous Gilmar.

Sweden, 1958 World Cup. Pele just scored a goal against Wales. The goal that Pelé still considers the most important, the most beautiful goal in his football biography… That goal took Brazil to the semi-finals.

No techniques, which the "king" could not fulfill.

World Championship 1966. The Portuguese defenders savagely mutilate Pele.

"Liverpool tragedy": in a match against Portugal, Pele was injured.

Another goal of the "king".

Pele and Garrincha. Two friends, two destinies...

World Championship 1958. "Premiere" Garrinchi in a match against the USSR national team.

And two are not enough to hold back Mane... The match between Brazil and England at the 1962 World Cup in Chile.

Garrincha (with daughter) tells the story of his disqualification.

1968 Ten years later... Garrincha at the memorial plaque at the Maracanã stadium, erected in honor of the victory in the 1958 World Cup. Pictured right: A bar named after Garrinchi has closed in Pau Grande.

World Championship 1962. Garrincha in a match against the home team - Chile.

Garrincha in training, 1968

November, 1968 Sensational return of Garrincha in the match "Flamengo" - "Vasco da Gama".

Garrincha in training on the eve of his return, 1968