Mario Zagallo, the first man in soccer history to win the FIFA World Cup as a player and manager, has died at the age of 92.
Jagaloo passed away at a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Friday (Nov. 5).
The Associated Press reported that Jagaloo died of multiple organ failure due to various complications, citing a hospital statement.
The Brazilian Football Confederation described Jagaloo as “one of the greatest legends” and said in a statement, “A great hero of our game has passed away. Our condolences to the bereaved family and fans.”
Along with Pele, who passed away in 2022, Jagaloo was a member of the Brazilian national team from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, where he dominated the world of soccer.
He helped Brazil win the 1958 World Cup in Sweden and the 1962 World Cup in Chile as a striker. He scored two goals in 12 games in both tournaments combined.
A two-time World Cup winner as a player, Jagaloo lifted the trophy twice more as a coach.
Born in 1931, Jagaloo led Brazil to the 1970 World Cup in Mexico as head coach before he was 40 years old.
Under Jagaloo, Brazil exploded to become world champions, scoring 19 goals in their first six games of the tournament.
Under Jagaloo, Brazil finished fourth at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, having to make do without the retired Pele.
After being heavily criticized at the time, Jagaloo stepped down, but rejoined the national team as technical advisor and head coach for the 1994 tournament in the United States, where he won his fourth World Cup title.
Shortly afterward, Zagallu returned to the national team’s coaching ranks at the 1998 World Cup in France, where he led the team to a second consecutive title, only to be stopped in the final by hosts France.
Despite the fact that Ronaldo, the greatest striker of his time, was forced to play through illness, the team lost 0-3 to the French.
Jagalu has been dogged by allegations that his decision to play Ronaldo was influenced by pressure from global sporting goods company Nike, which was a sponsor of the Brazilian team at the time, and he appeared before the Brazilian Congress to deny the allegations.
The four-time World Cup winner was the first person to win the trophy as a coach and player.
Since then, German soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer and current French national team coach Didier Deschamps have accomplished the same feat.
Jagaloo returned to the national team as “interim coach” in November 2002 for an exhibition match against South Korea.
It is believed that the Brazilian Football Confederation gave him the job as a “courtesy” to allow him to retire with honor.
The 3-2 win over South Korea gave Jagaloo his 100th career victory as head coach. The match also marked the retirement of Korean soccer legends Hong Myung-bo, head coach of Ulsan HD, and Hwang Sun-hong, head coach of the Olympic team.
With that game seemingly the end of his football career, Jagaloo rejoined the Brazilian national team coaching staff ahead of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where Brazil was once again knocked out in the quarterfinals by France.
After stepping down from the national team, Jagalu went on to manage several top Brazilian professional teams, including CR Flamengo and Fluminense FC.