Mario Zagallo, the World Cup winning player and coach for Brazil, dies at age 92

Published on January 7, 2024

RIO DE JANEIRO—Mario Zagallo, who won two World Cups as a player, one as a coach and another as an assistant coach for Brazil, has died. He was 92. The first person to win the World Cup both as a player and a manager, Zagallo is for many Brazilian soccer fans synonymous with patriotism, grit and glory. The only person to ever win four World Cup titles was also the last living member of Brazil’s starting team in its first championship victory in the tournament in 1958. Zagallo died late Friday night of multiple-organ failure as a consequence of multiple comorbidities, Hospital Barra D’Or in Rio de Janeiro said in a statement. Local media reported he was hospitalized after Christmas....