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Zagallo zeros in on World Cup No. 5
Passion for soccer drives Brazil's aging coach
Posted: Friday July 10, 1998 04:26 PM
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Zagallo was a player in 1958 and 1962, a coach in 1970 and an assistant in 1994 (AP) |
OZOIR-LA-FERRIERE, France (AP) --
For every decision, Mario Zagallo has 160 million second-guessers back
home. He takes tranquilizers for stress. His critics call him obtuse,
outdated and worse.
He can't get enough of it.
"Soccer is passion," the Brazilian coach
said. "It's my life. I embraced it, and do it for pleasure, even though
it's my job."
Perhaps only love can explain what drives Zagallo at 66 to seek a fifth
World Cup title against France on Sunday. And he's already talking about a
sixth.
"I'm old because of time," he said. "My hair is white, but I have the
desire and the determination for another cup."
It's not like he has anything to prove. Zagallo has a guaranteed place in
soccer's pantheon as the only four-time winner of the World Cup -- as a
player in 1958 and 1962, coach in 1970 and assistant in 1994. Not even Pele
can make that claim.
Still, Zagallo is anything but a consensus choice to lead Brazil in its
biggest soccer moments. Many feel he's too old-fashioned or conservative
for today's soccer. Every time the team doesn't win -- although it usually
does -- Zagallo is blamed.
Sometimes it gets to him.
"I accept criticism, but what hurts is mockery," he said. "In Germany, I was
elected the best coach in the world. In Brazil, I'm ridiculed."
The only time he seemed above reproach was as a player in the 1950s and
1960s, the golden era of Brazilian soccer. On the legendary Botafogo team
of Garrincha, Didi and Nilton Santos, Zagallo was a gifted left winger with
a rare notion for tactics.
Very early he saw how vulnerable the team was on attack. So Zagallo
created the "worker ant" style, scurrying back and forth from the front
line to the midfield. Soon, all teams were doing it.
After retiring as a player, Zagallo was a natural to become a coach.
In 1970, with Brazil under a brutal military dictatorship, Zagallo was
named to replace a popular coach who had displeased the ruling generals.
Brazil won the World Cup, but many fans still give Zagallo's predecessor
the credit.
Zagallo was back in 1974, but Brazil lost in the semifinals to the Dutch
"Clockwork Orange." It was the only World Cup in which he was involved that
he didn't win, and it began a 20-year exile from the national team.
Zagallo worked for various teams in the Middle East, where he made his
fortune. In Brazil, he coached at the top club level, where his
unfashionable concern with defense won titles, but not enthusiasts.
Still, in 1994, he was back as assistant to Carlos Alberto Parreira, and
took over as coach after that championship was secured.
Promising to revive "art soccer," Zagallo enjoyed a second honeymoon with
fans as his team played brilliantly, winning the 1997 Copa America for the
first time outside Brazil.
But a poor performance in the Gold Cup this year and an uneven showing in
the run-up to the World Cup were enough to sour the romance again.
Patriotic, superstitious -- his lucky number is 13 -- Zagallo can't avoid
the spotlight. But he considers himself predestined, and doesn't plan to
leave it soon.
"I thrill when I see our green and yellow," he said. "I am here
representing my country and the Americas. I know the responsibility on my
shoulders. And I know I am giving the country something positive."
Returning to the continent where he helped Brazil to its first world
championship makes it doubly special.
"I've lived soccer for 50 years, and this is my happiest moment," he
said, his voice trembling. "After 40 years, our flag will fly again in
Europe. The World Cup is safe in our hands."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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