![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/MFdSantos-Garrincha.jpg/240px-MFdSantos-Garrincha.jpg)
Manoel Francisco dos Santos (October 28, 1933 – January 20, 1983), known as Garrincha, and as Mané (short for Manoel) by his friends, was a Brazilian football right winger and forward who helped Brazil win the World Cups of 1958 and 1962. He is often considered the best Brazilian player ever behind Pelé, and some say he was the most skillful footballer to have come out of Brazil, exceeding the talent shown even by Pelé; a quote by Leonidas da Silva is that Pelé was an exceptional player, but Garrincha played with the ball as a kid with a toy.
Biography
Garrincha was born in Pau Grande, a district of Magé, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in 1933. He was born with his right leg bent inwards and his left leg one inch shorter and curved outwards, yet he still became one of the greatest players in football history, due to his explosiveness and his amazing dribbling skills, along with being an extremely effective shooter and crosser. His deformed legs gave him the ability to turn on himself at top speed, an ability he used to great effect.
He drank heavily throughout his adult life, and was involved in several serious road accidents after drinking, notably a crash into a lorry in April 1969 which killed his mother-in-law.[citation needed] He was married twice, first to Nair Marques in 1952 (they separated in 1965), a factory worker from Pau Grande with whom he had eight daughters, and second to Elza Soares, a samba singer whom he married in an unofficial ceremony in March 1966; they separated in 1977. He also had numerous significant affairs, including with showgirl Angelita Martinez.[citation needed]
Garrincha died aged 49 of alcohol abuse, after a series of taxation and marital problems. Seemingly, he was a forgotten hero - his last years had been unhappy and obscure - but his funeral procession, from the Maracana Stadium to Pau Grande, drew many thousands of fans, friends and former players to pay their respects. His epitaph reads "Here rests in peace the one who was the Joy of the People – Mané Garrincha."[2]
Club career
Garrincha was not discovered until his late teens. He was already married and a father when he signed for Botafogo in 1953 (team officials were ecstatic to learn that he was over 18 and able to be treated as a professional), having demonstrated his skill by dribbling the ball through the legs of Nilton Santos, a Brazilian international defender, in a training session.[citation needed] He played in a 5-0 win for Botafogo's reserves and then scored a hat trick on his first-team début against Bonsucesso on 19 July 1953. He continued to play well, but Brazil had many talented players in his position, notably Julinho, so he was not named in the squad for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. He helped Botafogo win the Brazilian Championship in 1957 and this convinced the national team selectors to name him in the squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
Summary of club career
- LecPan Grande (1948 - 1952),
- Botafogo (1953 - 1964) (581 games played and 232 goals scored)[1]
- Corinthians (1965 - 1968),
- Botafogo (1968),
- Flamengo (1969),
- Red Star Paris (1971/1972),
- Olaria Rio (1972).
National Team
Garrincha played 60 international matches for Brazil between 1955 and 1966, representing his country in the 1958, 1962 and 1966 World Cups. Brazil only lost one match with him on the pitch (a 3-1 loss to Hungary at the 1966 World Cup, his last ever appearance for his country).
1958 World Cup
Garrincha was not picked for Brazil's first two matches in this tournament, but started their third match against the USSR. The Soviets were one of the favourites for the tournament, and the Brazilians had been nervous about playing them. Their manager, Vicente Feola, decided to attack directly from the kick off, and his instructions were "The first ball goes to Garrincha."[3] Garrincha received the ball on the right wing, beat three opposing players and took a shot which hit the post. With the match still less than a minute old, he set up a chance for Pelé, who hit the crossbar, and continually caused problems for the Soviet defence resulting in a third minute goal for Brazil.[citation needed]
In the final against Sweden, Brazil fell behind 0-1 early, but rapidly equalized after Garrincha surpassed his marker on the right wing and sent a cross for Vavá to score. Before the end of the first half, Garrincha made a similar play, again assisting Vavá for the 2-1. Brazil ended winning the match and its first World Cup trophy, with Garrincha being one of the best players of the tournament.
1958–1962
Garrincha put on weight after the World Cup, partly because he was fond of sweets and partly because he was drinking,[4] so he was dropped from the national team for a friendly match in Rio against England on 13 May 1959. Later that month, he went on tour with Botafogo in Sweden and got a local girl pregnant.[5]When he returned to Brazil, he drove home to Pau Grande and ran over his father, Amaro. He drove off without stopping, with an angry mob chasing him, and when they caught up with him they found him "drunk, almost catatonic, and with no grasp of what he had done."[6] In August, his wife, Nair, gave birth to their fifth child, and his mistress Iraci announced her first pregnancy. His father died of liver cancer on 10 October having been dependent on alcohol for years.
1962 World Cup
Garrincha was the outstanding player of the 1962 FIFA World Cup. When Pelé suffered an injury after the second match and was sidelined for the rest of the tournament, Garrincha played a leading role in Brazil's triumph. He arguably won the World Cup single-handedly, excelling particularly against England and Chile.
In the semifinal against Chile, Garrincha scored two more goals as Brazil went on to beat Chile 4-2. After Brazil eliminated the host team and advanced to the final, a headline on Chilean newspaper EL Mercurio read: "What planet is Garrincha from?"[2]
Brazil beat Czechoslovakia 3-1 in the final, and Garrincha was voted player of the tournament.[2]
1966 World Cup
In the first match of the tournament, against Bulgaria, Garrincha scored from a direct free kick. Then Brazil lost 1-3 to Hungary, the only time Garrincha lost a match with the Brazil national team. He did not play in the last match of the first round against Portugal.
Garrincha's professional career as a footballer stretched from 1953 to 1972, but he played occasional exhibition matches until 1982 [7].
Honours
- World Cup champion: 1958, 1962
- Campeonato Brasileiro winner: 1957
Quotes and Trivia
Quotes
- Pelé was the best but Garrincha was better. Pelé was a machine, Garrincha was an artist. Garrincha was Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney and a snake charmer all rolled into one. [citation needed]
- He can dribble twenty players before scoring! – Nilton Santos, Brazilian teammate [citation needed]
- He was never interested in money; he was simple and, for him, football was fun. – Elza Soares. [citation needed]
Trivia
- Garrincha is known to have fathered at least 14 children.[8]
- According to Ruy Castro's Book Garrincha: The Triumph and Tragedy of Brazil's Forgotten Footballing Hero, he lost his virginity to a goat.[4]
- The name Garrincha itself means "wren"[9]. Besides women, activities involving songbirds were among Garrincha's greatest passions - specifically, he liked shooting them.
- Dubbed "Little Bird" Garrincha never bothered about the 'details' of the game. When his team-mates were celebrating World Cup win, he was initially bemused, having been under the impression that the competition was more league-like and that Brazil would play all the other teams twice. [5]
- Brazil never lost when he and Pelé were on the same team.
- A 3-1 defeat to Hungary during 1966 World Cup was the first time he lost in 60 Brazil appearances.[10]
- During the 1962 World Cup Quarter Final between Brazil and England, a stray dog ran on to the pitch and evaded all of the players' efforts to catch it until England striker Jimmy Greaves got down on all fours to beckon the animal. Though successful in catching the dog, it managed to urinate all over Greaves' England shirt. Greaves claimed that Garrincha thought the incident was so amusing that he took the dog home as a pet.[11]
References and footnotes
- ^ FIFA Magazine, April 1997 - http://www.fifa.com/fifa/pub/magazine/fm4-97.12.html
- ^ a b FIFA.com Classic Football - Garrincha
- ^ FIFA Magazine, April 1997 - http://www.fifa.com/fifa/pub/magazine/fm4-97.12.html
- ^ Guardian review of "Garrincha: The Triumph and Tragedy of Brazil's Forgotten Footballing Hero"
- ^ The Guardian' Newspaper June 5th, 2006 (2006). World Cup 2006 Guide. London: The Guardian. p. 100. ISBN 0-85177-972-7.
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- ^ "Brazil look to spirit of 1962". Telegraph on telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved June 13.
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- ^ "Bad boy Garrincha remembered". Reuters article on rediff.com. Retrieved October 28.
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Further reading
- Ruy Castro, Andrew Downie (translator) (2005). Garrincha - The triumph and tragedy of Brazil's forgotten footballing hero. Yellow Jersey Press, London. ISBN 0-224-06433-9.
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has generic name (help) - Short biography with photos
- International football hall of fame
- Biography at The Hindu Online
- Garrincha : The Triumph & Tragedy of Brazil's Forgotten Footballing Hero. Review of Ruy Castro's biography.
- Biography on ABC Sport
- Sambafoot
- Botafogo