Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo is mostly known for being the only person who won the World Cup on four occasions (two as a player, one as a coach and another one as a technical assistant). But what no one in Brazil seems to be sure about is who his favorite team was.
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++ Most memorable moments of Zagallo as a player
++ Most memorable moments of Zagallo as Brazil head coach
++ Failures in Zagallo’s career: toughest moments for the Brazilian icon
Former Roma, Bayer Leverkusen and Flamengo center-back Juan, for instance, revealed Sambafoot he can’t tell whether the Old Wolf supported Flamengo or Botafogo:
“No one can say. Is Zagallo a Flamenguista or is Zagallo a Botafoguense? Man, I don’t know. I never stopped to ask him that.”
While Zagallo worked for countless clubs as a manager, he only donned the Mengao and Lone Star uniforms in his playing career.
Velho Lobo spent seven years with Mengao, scoring 29 goals in 205 games and winning multiple titles between 1951 and 1958, including three straight Cariocas (53’, 54’, 55’).
But it was at Glorioso where he truly left an indelible mark, being part of the club’s golden era next to other legends such as Garrincha, Nilton Santos and Didi. Zagallo recorded an impressive 46 goals in 300 appearances for Fogao, where he celebrated even more titles (including back-to-back Cariocas in 1961 and 1962).
Watch Zagallo’s documentary online
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Binge the first four episodes available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel. Stay tuned for upcoming releases as we keep telling this legend’s life story.
