Lula declares three-day national mourning for Brazil football great Zagallo
Al Jazeera
Mario Zagallo was one of three footballers to win the FIFA World Cup both as a player and manager.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has declared three days of national mourning for four-time World Cup-winning football legend Mario Zagallo, a day after his death at age 92.
Zagallo, who played alongside Pele in Brazil’s 1958 and 1962 World Cup-winning teams and later won the trophy as a coach, died on Friday of multiple organ failure, said the Barra D’Or Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, where he had been treated for a series of health problems in recent months.
Lula led a flood of tributes to the man known as the “Old Wolf”, who coached Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winning side starring Pele – considered by many the greatest team in history – and served as assistant coach when the “Selecao” repeated the feat in 1994.
“He was one of the greatest football players and coaches of all time,” Lula said in a statement.
