Garrincha

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Garrincha

Manuel Francisco dos Santos (October 28, 1933 - January 20, 1983), known as Garrincha, was a Brazilian football right winger and forward who helped Brazil win the World Cups of 1958 and 1962.

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 left leg bent inwards and his right leg six centimetres 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. Many experts say he was the most skillful footballer to have come out of Brazil, exceeding the talent shown even by Pelé; critics who have seen him play call him the best player ever. 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.

Career

Club Football

A diamond in the rough, 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. 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 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.

Totally, at the club level, he played 581 games and scored 232 goals for Rio club Botafogo. He also played for Corinthians (in 1966), Portuguesa Carioca (in 1967), Flamengo (in 1968 and 1969) and Olaria (in 1971 and 1972) of Brazil, and Atlético Junior (in 1968) of Colombia.

National Team

Garrincha played 60 international matches for Brazil between 1955 and 1966, representing his country in the 1958, 1962 and 1966 World Cups. He played in only one losing international side (a 3-1 loss to Hungary at the 1966 World Cup, in 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 USSR were one of the favourites for the tournament, and the Brazilians had been nervous about playing them. Their manager decided to attack directly from the kick off, and his instructions were "The first ball goes to Garrincha." 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. Brazil went on to win the match and the tournament and Garrincha became one of the most famous players in the world.

1958–1962

Garrincha put on weight after the World Cup, partly because he was fond of sweets and partly because he was drinking, 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. 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." 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 - taking them on 'single-handedly' again and again, and scoring twice against each of them on Quarterfinals and Semifinals respectively.

Garrincha's professional career as a footballer stretched from 1953 to 1972, but he played occasional exhibition matches until 1982 .

Death

Garrincha died a forgotten hero in 1983, aged 49, of alcohol abuse, after a series of taxation and marital problems. His epitaph reads "Here rests in peace the one who was the Joy of the People — Mané Garrincha."

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.

He can dribble twenty players before scoring! – Nilton Santos, Brazilian teammate

He was never interested in money; he was simple and, for him, football was fun. – Elza Soares, a famous samba singer and his mistress.

Trivia

Garrincha is known to have fathered at least 14 children.
According to Ruy Castro's Book Garrincha: The Triumph and Tragedy of Brazil's Forgotten Footballing Hero, he lost his viginity to a goat.Guardian review of "Garrincha: The Triumph and Tragedy of Brazil's Forgotten Footballing Hero"
The name Garrincha itself means "wren". 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.
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.

Notes, References and Further Reading

Notes and References

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General:

Notes

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Garrincha 151.
Garrincha 156–7.
Garrincha 161–2.

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