How Brazil won the 1970 World Cup: Pele’s return, a fearsome front five – but ‘an incompetent goalkeeper’

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This is the eighth in a series by The Athletic looking back at the winners of each men’s World Cup. The previous articles have looked at Uruguay in 1930, Italy in 1934 and again in 1938, Uruguay in 1950,West Germany in 1954, before a Brazilian double in 1958 and 1962 and then England winning their only World Cup in 1966. In 1970, Brazil made it three.

Introduction

Mexico was a controversial choice as World Cup host in 1970, primarily because it was widely expected that the heat and altitude would result in poor football. Instead, Brazil turned on the style to become, almost without question, the most celebrated World Cup-winning side in history. It helped that the World Cup was now televised around the world — and for the first time, in colour.

Brazil had won two of the previous three World Cups, but their experience in England in 1966 had been disastrous; eliminated at the group stage amid complaints about the physical approach of their opponents. Pele had briefly retired from international duty, although later agreed to return after two years away.

Brazil triumphed amid a period of political turbulence back home, with a military dictatorship in place since 1964. “We had a fantastic side and everyone expected us to win, which gave me the shakes,” Pele later said. “I was very nervous and under a lot of pressure. Maybe people have forgotten, but the political situation in Brazil was not good and we felt that we simply had to win the title. Thank God we were able to do it.”

And they did it in style.

The manager

We’ve encountered Mario Zagallo before — he played in Brazil’s two World Cup-winning campaigns of 1958 and 1962, as a reliable left-winger who tucked inside to allow Garrincha freedom down the opposite flank. Here, he became the first man to win the World Cup as a player and a manager.

His predecessor, Joao Saldanha, had been a bizarre choice as manager. He had been out of work for a decade after a spell in charge of his old club Botafogo, and had spent the intervening period working as an outspoken journalist and radio host. He was dismissed after a few months, despite good results, partly because he refused to cooperate with the country’s authoritarian president, Emilio Medici, who regularly offered advice about team selection.

Saldanha’s replacement as the coach of the national team was the man who had replaced him at his radio show: Zagallo. The qualities that made him a less provocative radio host made him a better manager. He was close to the players, having played alongside several — most notably Pele — and was happy to take their suggestions about tactics on board. In many ways, he feels comparable to Carlo Ancelotti, recently appointed Brazil manager for the 2026 World Cup.

Zagallo, remarkably, was again in charge of Brazil 28 years later when they lost 3-0 in the 1998 World Cup final against France in Paris. He had been assistant manager four years earlier for Brazil’s fourth World Cup success, and had a brief caretaker spell in 2002, before becoming a technical coordinator for World Cup 2006. He died last year at the age of 92, and is perhaps the single most enduring World Cup figure, his involvement spanning the period from 1958 to 2006.

Tactics

On one hand, this was the 4-2-4 approach that Brazil had used at previous tournaments. But it was looser, more free-flowing. This side featured five players who were accustomed to playing No 10 for their club — Pele, Tostao, Rivellino, Jairzinho and Gerson, all world-class.

Pele and Tostao were the front two, although neither was considered an out-and-out striker. Gerson was a brilliantly inventive midfield playmaker, capable of long-range passes, with the similarly left-footed Rivellino charging infield dangerously from the left flank with slightly odd, angular dribbles. That allowed Jairzinho to play from the right, where he was inevitably compared to Garrincha, but he was more of a drifting all-rounder.

Clodoaldo was given the task of sweeping up behind them, and protecting the back four. For all of Brazil’s quality going forward, they weren’t secure at all defensively. Wilson Piazza was a defensive midfielder converted into a centre-back because of the lack of top-class options, and even legendary captain Carlos Alberto was suspect when opponents dribbled at him, always seeming to desperately recover at the last minute. Left-back Everaldo was more secure, which was a reverse of the usual pattern at the time.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Felix was something of a running joke; pinpointed as their obvious weakness before the tournament and guilty of a couple of terrible errors in the competition.

World Soccer’s Brian Glanville wrote that “his ineptitude, at times, was extraordinary”. Even Bob Wilson, the normally amiable Arsenal goalkeeper turned television presenter, branded him “without question, the most incompetent goalkeeper to win a World Cup medal”.

Key player

Pele is the greatest player in World Cup history, and became the only player to win three World Cup winners’ medals here. Although not at his athletic best, he was still, aged 29, a wonderful attacker, although curiously his tournament was most famous for three separate incidents when he failed to score: his dummy against Uruguay, his shot from the halfway line against Czechoslovakia which dropped just wide, and his header being clawed out by England goalkeeper Gordon Banks.

And therefore, amid strong competition, Brazil’s key player was Jairzinho, who managed to score in all six games. A direct dribbler who had an eye for a clever through- ball, he played on the left at World Cup 1966, with his idol Garrincha an automatic pick on the right. But Jairzinho always wanted to play on the right.

Jairzinho after the final win over Italy (Staff/AFP via Getty Images)

He was the subject of tough man-marking throughout this competition, particularly by Uruguay, but he always offered the strength and tenacity to cope, and the technical ability to outwit opponents. He could shoot powerfully with both feet, too. His goal against Czechoslovakia, where he dribbled past four opponents before finishing, was the outstanding moment — in pure technical terms — of Brazil’s campaign.

But this was a team of stars. “That’s really difficult,” said Zagallo when asked by FIFA who the best player was at this tournament. “Jairzinho was exceptional at that World Cup. But you have to mention Pele, Tostao, Rivellino, Clodoaldo, and Gerson — Gerson was the best No 10, the best midfielder I’ve seen in my life.” So that’s the whole midfield and forward line mentioned, which is probably fair enough.

The final

Brazil were overwhelmingly the neutral’s favourites, and a victory of a considerable margin was anticipated. Italy, in fairness, had grown into the tournament. But this was still the version of Italy that often left so many frustrated because of their caution. Whereas Brazil found space for five No 10s, Italy manager Ferruccio Valcareggi had a policy of fielding Sandro Mazzola and Gianni Rivera ‘in relay’, one replacing the other at half-time, a somewhat primitive approach to substitutions.

With the original Jules Rimet trophy up for grabs — it would be permanently awarded to the first nation to win the tournament three times, and these sides were both on two — Brazil were dominant. While Sandro Mazzola showed some flashes of inspiration, Italy weren’t really in the game. Pele opened the scoring with a header when Rivellino hooked up a throw-in towards the far post.

Then came Italy’s goal, which curiously summarises Brazil’s approach to football as succinctly as any of the goals at the other end. It came when centre-back Piazza swept a ball out to Brito, who nodded it infield to Clodoaldo — the defensive midfielder supposedly playing the solid, reliable role. But he responded with a hilariously nonchalant backheel intended for left-back Everaldo, completely unaware that he was being closed down by Roberto Boninsegna, who intercepted and charged through on goal. With Felix inevitably rushing out into the wrong position, Boninsegna turned home into an empty net.

But this just delayed the inevitable. Midway through the second half, the wonderful Gerson scored one of the great World Cup goals with a wicked curling shot into the far corner. Then Pele seemed set to score his second header of the game, but instead nodded it down for Jairzinho, whose final goal of the tournament was his scruffiest. He controlled the ball with his thigh, and then tried to slam the ball home, but the ball bounced strangely, away from both his foot and the goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi, and trickled into the net. And then came Alberto’s fourth — more on that shortly.

At the time, opinions differed on whether it was a great final. Brazil’s play was not as flowing as in some of their previous matches, and it was a somewhat one-sided game. In World Soccer magazine, Eric Batty said the final was “a disappointment for everyone, and largely the fault of the Italians, who managed to take the edge off most of the good things the Brazilians tried to do, and contributed nothing themselves”.

Rivellino was one of the brilliant attacking players (Peter Robinson/Empics via Getty Images)

Glanville enjoyed it more. In his history of the World Cup, he calls this a victory “for the positive over the negative, the creative over the destructive… Brazil knew football was a game, something to be enjoyed.”

The Defining Moment

Brazil scored some truly spectacular goals in this tournament, showing a particular penchant for rounding the goalkeeper, powerful free kicks and strikes from a tight angle.

But they scored probably the most famous ‘team goal’ in football five minutes from the end of the final, a flowing move that went through eight outfielders before Pele received the ball in an inside-right position, paused to wait for the run of Carlos Alberto, then nonchalantly slipped him in.

The right-back, bursting into the frame at the last minute, benefited from the ball bobbling up slightly, and therefore almost volleyed it into the far corner on the run. “When it arrived at Pele’s feet, I just believed the ball would come to me,” said Carlos Alberto in Garry Jenkins’ book The Beautiful Team.

“I didn’t have to shout. We played at Santos and had a good understanding. I knew that if the ball was at his feet, he would give it to me.”

🌍🏆 FIFA World Cup iconic moments:

📆21 June, 1970

🏟️Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Carlos Alberto finishes one of the greatest team goals ever scored as @CBF_Futebol beat @azzurri in the @FIFAWorldCup Final pic.twitter.com/wVYHzvAIRE

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 13, 2018

It was a move that Brazil played a lot, thanks to their multiple No 10s sucking the opposition centrally before leaving space on the outside for an overlapping right-back. The nature of Pele’s assist was somewhat similar to his assist for Jairzinho’s winner in the group stage victory over England. Therefore, Glanville called the goal “highly predictable”, and it’s surprisingly difficult to find many contemporary descriptions of the goal that treat it in the manner we’re now accustomed to: the cherry on top of the icing at the end of the most celebrated World Cup campaign.

You Might Be Surprised To Learn

This was the first World Cup to feature substitutes, but Zagallo elected not to use either of his in the final.

And therefore, since medals were only awarded to those who had actually played in the final, two medals went spare. They are now on display at the FIFA Museum in Zurich. The likes of Caju and Fontana, who started matches in the group stage, can feel somewhat aggrieved.

Were They Definitely The Best Team?

Forget about comparing Brazil to the other 15 sides at this competition; the pertinent question is whether Brazil 1970 are better than the other 21 World Cup-winning sides in history.

The answer to that depends on what you want. Brazil were not the most complete World Cup winner. Their defence was genuinely suspect and their goalkeeper was treated as a laughing stock. These were shortcomings that the 1958 side simply didn’t have.

But they had more than enough attacking flair to make up for that. No other side has had five genuinely world-class attackers in the same team. That they succeeded without width in its strictest sense, or without an obvious focal point up front, underlines the selflessness and cohesion between players, who believed in each other’s talent.

“I don’t want to compare them,” said Zagallo of the 1958 side he played in, and the 1970 side he managed. “The two were unbelievable. However, the team of 1958 was really good because we had a sensational defence, a great midfielder and an attack with Garrincha, Pele and Vava. Oh, and we had Mario Zagallo on the left wing!”

But Zagallo as manager wasn’t too bad either.

(Design: Eamonn Dalton for the The Athletic; MSI/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix; Jerry Cooke/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

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