Brazil Says Goodbye To Late Football Great Mario Zagallo

08.01.2024 - 05:23 sports.ndtv.com

Brazilians paid their last respects on Sunday to football legend Mario Zagallo, a four-time World Cup-winning player and coach who died at age 92 and was the final member of one of the country's greatest generations in the beloved sport.

A steady stream of mourners -- dressed in black, and the yellow of the Brazilian national team or the colors of the numerous clubs where Zagallo played and coached -- filed past his coffin at the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), whose facade sported a giant banner in his honor.

On display near the lace-draped coffin were football-mad Brazil's record five World Cup trophies. Zagallo, a diminutive left-wing known for his tactical brilliance, had a hand in winning four of them, more than anyone in football history.

The "Professor," as he was known, played alongside Pele in Brazil's 1958 and 1962 World Cup-winning teams. He then coached the 1970 world champion side starring Pele -- considered by many the greatest team in history -- and served as assistant coach when the "Selecao" repeated the feat in 1994. "We've lost a sporting legend," said Bebeto, a member of the 1994 team. "He was my second father," he told journalists -- a phrase echoed by fellow World Cup champion Cafu (1994 and 2002).

Football Sporting country President STARS Ednaldo Rodrigues Brazil

Cristiano Ronaldo insisted Friday that the often derided Saudi Pro League was "more competitive" than French Ligue 1. "To be honest, I think the Saudi championship isn't worse than the French championship. I think it's more competitive," five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo told the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai. Ronaldo was the first major star to move to Saudi Arabia when he penned a deal with Al-Nassr last January.

Alves says he was drunk on night of alleged sexual assault - ESPN

Former Brazil international Dani Alves said for the first time that he was drunk on the night he is accused of committing sexual assault, judicial sources have confirmed to news agency EFE.

PSG Coach Luis Enrique Says No Need To Dip Into Transfer Market

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique says he doesn't need to replenish his squad in the transfer market despite the French champions missing a number of players. "I don't need anything, I've already got enough good players," said the Spaniard, on Saturday. But he left the door open to new arrivals at the Parc des Princes if the right opportunity came along. "But with the management we are open to improving the team during each transfer window," stated Luis Enrique at a press conference on the eve of PSG's Ligue 1 trip to Lens.

NCAA president says Michigan earned football national title 'fair and square' - ESPN

PHOENIX — NCAA president Charlie Baker said Michigan's football national championship was earned «fair and square,» and that his organization's «unusual decision» to share information about cheating allegations during the season should help to eliminate doubts about the legitimacy of the Wolverines' title run.

Gary Neville says Manchester United's Casemiro transfer shouldn't have happened

Gary Neville believes Manchester United's signing of Casemiro shouldn't have gone through because it was a short-term transfer.

German football legend Franz Beckenbauer dies aged 78

Franz Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup both as player and coach and became one of Germany’s most beloved personalities with his easygoing charm, has died. He was 78.