“WINNING WAS SO EXCITING, I PASSED OUT AFTER THE FINAL WHISTLE WE PRODUCED FOOTBALL PERFECTION”
Brazilians are a little bit radical when it comes to the World Cup. Second place is worth nothing to them – it’s either the title or failure. Fifty years on, our team from 1970 is still rated by many around the globe as the best that has ever played the game. But as insane as this may sound, our squad left for Mexico with low expectations back home. Unlike our people, however, I was so confident that I booked my wedding for one week after the final.
Their scepticism could be explained for two main reasons. Firstly, the draw back in January that year had put us in a very tough group with Czechoslovakia, reigning world champions England and Romania. On top of that, less than three months before we travelled to Mexico, our coach Joao Saldanha – previously a well-known journalist – had been sacked and replaced by Mario Zagallo, a two-time world champion as a player. But with Zagallo in charge, the team clicked.
In 1969, Saldanha had used two brilliant sides, Botafogo and Santos, as the base of our national team; it was even nicknamed ‘Saldanha’s Beasts’ thanks to a quote of his. He had a particular way of seeing the game and stuck to it right until the end of his spell: Jairzinho and Edu were his favourite wingers in a 4-2-4 formation. Playing for Corinthians, I was left on the bench and known as the ‘golden reserve’ by Saldanha, but I had great respect for him. We secured a spot at the World Cup by winning all of our qualifiers, but played badly in the warm-up matches.
Criticism of the coach grew, and even the president [military dictator Emilio Garrastazu Medici] advised a change. Because of that, a public argument erupted
