Mário Zagallo

Zagallo was born in Atalaia on 9 August 1931. As a young man, he worked as a soldier, working at the Maracanã Stadium when Uruguay defeated Brazil in the 1950 World Cup final.[5]

Zagallo during his playing career

Zagallo started his football career with América in 1948, and he later played for Flamengo and Botafogo.[6]

He won the World Cup as a player with Brazil in 1958 and 1962.[6] At the time of the 1958 tournament, Zagallo was a Flamengo player, but by the 1962 event, he was with Botafogo.[7]

He won a total of 33 caps for Brazil between 1958 and 1964.[8]

Zagallo with Pelé in 1970

Zagallo was a diminutive left winger with a small physique, who was known for his technical skills and his high defensive work-rate, as well as his ability to make attacking runs from deeper areas of the pitch. He was also capable of playing as a forward, either as a main striker, or as an inside forward.[9][10]

Zagallo started his coaching career at Botafogo, the club he had finished his career with, managing them alongside the Brazil national team. Zagallo won the World Cup as a manager in 1970, and as assistant coach in 1994, both with Brazil. He was the first person to win the World Cup both as a player and as a manager.[11] Winning the World Cup in 1970 at the age of 38, he is also the second youngest coach to win a World Cup, after Alberto Suppici, who won aged 31 with Uruguay in 1930.

Zagallo (original family name Zakour, a Lebanese surname from Zahle) married Alcina de Castro on 13 January 1955 at the Church of Capuchins in Rio de Janeiro. They remained together until de Castro's death on 5 November 2012.[12] Mário and Alcina had four children.[13] He is a practicing Catholic.[14][15][16]

Zagallo was nicknamed The Professor by his players throughout his coaching career, due to his tactical awareness and commanding presence on the bench. He was also nicknamed Velho Lobo ("Old Wolf") due to his surname "Lobo", which means "wolf".[10]

As of match played 13 November 2022

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Botafogo		16 August 1966	18 July 1970	238	85	64	89	035.71
Brazil (caretaker)		19 September 1967	19 September 1967	1	1	0	0	100.00
Brazil		22 March 1970	6 July 1974	62	42	16	4	067.74
Fluminense		5 September 1971	17 March 1972	54	28	16	10	051.85
Flamengo		24 June 1972	13 November 1974	176	88	39	49	050.00
Botafogo		1975	December 1975	21	16	3	2	076.19
Kuwait		5 February 1976	23 March 1978	31	18	7	6	058.06
Botafogo		14 September 1978	31 December 1978	29	15	9	5	051.72
Al-Hilal		5 January 1979	26 December 1979	18	12	3	3	066.67
Vasco da Gama		4 October 1980	28 May 1981	50	26	14	10	052.00
Saudi Arabia		23 February 1981	31 March 1984	37	16	9	12	043.24
Flamengo		18 December 1984	31 August 1985	56	28	17	11	050.00
Botafogo		29 December 1986	27 November 1987	87	27	35	25	031.03
Bangu		3 November 1988	27 June 1989	67	17	30	20	025.37
United Arab Emirates		2 September 1989	12 June 1990	24	4	13	7	016.67
Vasco da Gama		2 October 1990	16 May 1991	46	8	29	9	017.39
Brazil		13 December 1994	12 July 1998	74	55	13	6	074.32
Associação Portuguesa		18 July 1999	13 October 2000	102	39	27	36	038.24
Flamengo		3 March 2001	31 December 2001	65	32	11	22	049.23
Brazil (caretaker)		20 November 2002	20 November 2002	1	1	0	0	100.00
Total				1,239	558	355	326	045.04

• List of FIFA World Cup records and statistics#Coaching
• List of Brazil national football team managers

• Roberto Assaf, Clóvis Martins. Campeonato carioca: 96 anos de história, 1902–1997. Irradiação Cultural (1997).