Some of you may have been wondering where the topic 'A Brief History of Garrincha' went. StrokingMonkeys deleted the topic at my request, thereason being that I did not think that the 'profile' of Garrincha was not informative enough. So I have written my own one, it is a lot longer, and hopefully more informative so people can know what Garrincha was like.

You can still get the original profile here on Wikiepedia btw: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrincha



Garrincha

Introduction

Born with legs so bendy they looked as though they had been blown by the wind, Garrincha could not walk until he was 6 years of age. A huge disability for any person his grotesquely deformed legs hindered his life for a long time. Yet with a football at his feet he had the poise of an angel, the pure destructive ability of the devil and the cheekiness and joy of a curupira. His life was made by football and without it he showed a great frailty, constant drinking, suicide attempts and countless affairs eventually took their toll on Brasil's most loved star at the tender age of 49. Pele was the greatest player of all time ... but Garrincha was better.


Early life in Pau Grande

Manuel dos Santos Francisco was born 28th October 1933 in a small town outside of Rio de Janeiro, Pau Grande. His father, Amaro an alcoholic, got this wrong, and instead registered Manuel’s birthday as 18th October, he also registered his name as Manoel dos Santos. He was born with bent legs, his left leg bent inwards, and his right outwards, his right leg was also 2.5 inches smaller, he would later be dubbed ‘The Angel with bent wings’. He had another nickname, this was Garrincha, and is what most people know him as. Manuel was given the nickname, Garrincha, by his eldest sister Rosa. She noticed that Manuel was small, small enough to be compared to a little bird, and this is what Garrincha means. ‘Little Bird’ or ‘Songbird’ His early life in Pau Grande consisted of hunting, swimming and kicking a ball about. 1 month and 1 day after his fourteenth birthday, Garrincha was hired by Pau Grande’s local textile factory, however this did not prove to be a success, as Garrincha would often miss work, or sleep on the job. However Garrincha was not fired immediately, as Boboco, one of the leaders of the factory, was also the president of the local football side S.C Pau Grande. Garrincha played for S.C Pau Grande, and was a promising player, as long as he turned up each week for football, Boboco would keep him on, however, after such bad behaviour, the factory decided they could not keep him any longer and sacked him. Two weeks later he would get his old job back.

In 1949, aged only 16, Garrincha’s mother, Maria Carolina, died whilst giving birth at the age of 48. Garrincha was devastated, and only 2 weeks later, Amaro brought another woman, Cecilia, home with him. She tried to discipline the children, Garrincha in particular.

Garrincha played football all the time as a youngster. The local pitch was in terrible condition and had more pot holes, than clear ground. Garrincha would pretend that the pot holes were opponents, and would dribble around them. It is here, that many said, that Garrincha developed his sublime dribbling skills.

Garrincha had had many trials at different clubs before he eventually found Botafogo. His first club was Serrano, but he left after 3 months, tired and bored of the constant travelling He also had trials at Vasco, Sao Cristovao and Fluminese, all of which failed to materialise. From 1950 to 1952, S.C Pau Grande 2 years unbeaten, beating even some of the big sides from Rio.

Botafogo come calling

In March 1952, Garrincha was finally noticed, Botafogo right back, Araty had been invited to watch the amateur side, the Boavista bank play S.C Pau Grande. Garrincha played spectacularly, scoring 5 goals. Araty told Garrincha that he should come to Botafogo, as he would surely get into the team. It would be 15 months before he would do this. In his first training session, he was put up against none other that the legendary left back Nilton Santos Garrincha then preceded to nutmeg the great left back, a feat which had never before been achieved. Nilton Santos told manager Gentil Cardoso:

“ The boy’s a monster. I think you should sign him. It’s better to have him playing for us than against us”

And Nilton Santos was right, Garrincha proved why Nilton Santos was so desperate for his club to sign him. Garrincha played his first match against Sao Cristovao, Botafogo won 5 – 0, he scored 1 and had hand in the other 4. Garrincha would have played in the real match against Sao Cristovao, but he went missing in the week leading up to the match. Gentil Cardoso was worried, but was convinced Garrincha was just taking advantage of his good nature. On Wednesday of that week, someone from Pau Grande called Cardoso and told him that Manuel had a tooth taken out. Cardoso didn’t believe him, but on Thursday, Garrincha arrived at training with a hole in his jaw.

The next week, Garrincha made his first team debut against Bonsucesso, a small side from Rio. Bonsucesso were winning 2 – 1, with almost a quarter of an hour of the second half gone, Botafogo won a penalty, no one, not even the older, more experienced players would take the penalty. But Garrincha stepped up and took it. He scored and sent the Botafogo supporters into raptures. The little bird then scored a hat trick and Botafogo went on to win 6 – 3. Garrincha had arrived

Garrincha hardly ever turned up for training at Botafogo, he came up with excuses that no one at the club would believe, not even his fellow players. The problem was, that they did not know where Garrincha would go, they did not suspect that he would stay in Pau Grande and drink continuously with his close friends, Pincel and Swing. Pincel and Swing were good friends of Garrincha, they supported Vasco and Flamengo respectively, and whenever Garrincha would see them, he would provoke them by promising to destroy their teams.

Garrincha made his debut for Brasil against Chile on 18th September 1955. Garrincha played well, but people criticised him for dribbling too much. It was the start of an illustrious career, which spanned 60 matches, consisting of only 1 defeat, his lat match against Hungary in the 1966 World Cup. He, and the great Pele, played together for the Selecao 57 times, while they played, Brasil won 51 of the matches, and drew 7, meaning Brasil had never lost when Pele and Garrincha played together. Their first match together was against Bulgaria, a match Brasil won 3 – 1 in Pacaembu.

In February 1956, Botafogo decided to sign, the great midfield tactician, and master of the folha seca (falling/dry leaf) shot, Didi from rivals Fluminese, for 1.8 000, 000 Cruzeiros ($15, 000). However, Didi could noty bring the Carioca championship to Botafogo immediately.

Garrincha’s first success with Botafogo came in the 1957 season, for most of the season they trailed either Flamengo or Fluminese, soon this all changed, and come the last match of the season, Botafogo only trailed Fluminese by 1 point. Garrincha and his teammates only had to beat Fluminese and they would be crowned Carioca champions. Fluminese had been the best and most consistent side that year, and were all set to win the title. This was meant to be Fluminese’s title dream, however it would turn into a nightmare in which they would be tormented by Garrincha. By only the fourteenth minute, Botafogo were 3 goals to the good, striker Paulo Valentim scoring a hat trick. Valentim then made it 4 –1 and then Garrincha scored a goal that was etched into the memory of all who saw it. He ran past half the Fluminese team, and scored one of the best goals the Maracana stadium has ever seen. Valentim scored once more, as Botafogo walked out 6 – 2 winners, and champions. Fluminese player Castilho said that on the day, not even 5 Altairs (Fluminese defender) would have stopped Garrincha.

The 1958 World Cup

The next year, 1958, was to be a hugely important one for Garrincha, it was the year of the World Cup, and this year it would be held in Sweden. Garrincha’s natural position was as a right winger, however, there were two other players who played in his position, Joel and the brilliant Julinho. Julinho, played in Italy with Fiorentina, and when the CBD called him up, he said that he did not want to walk straight back into the team and take the place of those who had attempted to replace him. The CBD took this as though Julinho did not want to play for the national team, and did not call him up for the final World Cup squad. In his place would be Joel and Garrincha..

Before the World Cup started, Brasil played against Inter Milan and Fiorentina. Brasil beat Fiorentina 4 – 0 and Garrincha scored the 4th and best goal of the match. Garrincha dribbled past 3 players, and then past the keeper, Garrincha then waited for Robotti to come back, so that he could run past him again. He did so, and with an open goal in front of him, he walked the ball into an empty net. His teammates were angry with him, they believed that the Little Bird would attempt this in the real World Cup, and end up costing them a game. Garrincha saw nothing wrong with it, it was a bit of fun, and that is what football was about in his opinion, enjoying yourself and having fun.

The World Cup was only a few weeks away, but Garrincha still wasn’t guaranteed a place in the starting line up. In fact, if team psychologist Joao Carvahlhaes had his way, Garrincha would not even have made the final squad. Carvahlhaes ran a series of tests, he hoped that these tests would help him decide who might crumble under the pressure of the World Cup, and who would shine. He decided that Garrincha had no aggression, under average intelligence, and an education of a primary school child. Carvahlhaes had his doubts whether Garrincha, or Pele for that matter, should go to the World Cup, but soon, all those doubts were to be dispelled.

Brasil’s first match of the 1958 World Cup would be against Austria, Garrincha was not picked for this match, making way for Joel. Carlos Nascimento and Vicente Feola, both wanted Garrincha to start, but against the Austrians Brasil needed someone to drop back into midfield, and Garrincha simply would not do that. Paolo Amaral warned:

“ It won’t work, Garrincha won’t follow your instruction. When we are discussing tactics at Botafogo we tell him to go and play table tennis or something. He’s unpredictable out there. He’s capable of passing the ball when he has an open goal. Or shooting from an impossible angle. He just does whatever is going through his head at the time.”

Amaral’s warning was heeded and Garrincha did not play against Austria. He would not play against England either. Feola and Amaral both said that if Garrincha played against England, then he would be kicked in the air by full back Slater, Joel was again chosen, and every time he faced Slater one on one, he would pass the ball to Didi. Brasil’s final group match was against the USSR, the pioneers of the new revolutionary, ‘scientific’ footall. It was rumoured that the Russians could run for 180 minutes, and not be tired. Everyone in the World Cup feared them. Brasil knew that they had to attack them from the off, they knew that the longer the game stayed as a draw, the more chance the Russians had of exploiting the Brasilian’s weak legs. So Garrincha was called up. Amaral, Feola and Nascimento knew that with Garrincha was the man to unsettle the USSR, they knew that he could attack them from the first whistle. The team was named, and the referee blew to start the match. What took place next, were ‘The greatest three minutes in the history of football’.

Didi started the match, as soon as he got the ball he passed to Garrincha. After only 25 seconds Garrincha leaves Russian defender Kuznetov on the floor, he takes the ball past him 3 more times within the next 10 seconds. Voinov, Krijveski and Kuznetov go after Garrincha at the same time, Garrincha beats them all and fires a powerful shot against Lev Yashin’s left post. After 55 seconds Garrincha crosses to Pele, who hits the crossbar. 3 minutes into the game and Vava scores for Brasil. The USSR were left in pieces, surprised by how quickly Brasil had come out, and surprised at how deadly this little bird of a man could be. If anyone doubted Garrincha’s value to the team, no one did now.

The next match was the quarter final against Wales, a team which Brasil would not want to play. They would get all 11 players behind the ball and defend for their lives. Brasil won 1 – 0, with a great goal from Pele. Midfield tactician Didi said that his game against the Welsh was the best game he ever played.

Brasil had secured a match against France, who had Real Madrid CF player Raymond Kopa and top scorer Just Fontaine. After only 1 and a half minutes, defensive midfielder Zito scored. Fontaine equalized. In the 39th minute , Didi scored, with a folha seca shot. Pele then took the spot light, and scored a second half hat trick. By the final whistle France had pulled a goal back to make it 6 – 2 to Brasil. Brasil had made it to the final of the World Cup for the second time in 8 years, the first time, in 1950 they were the hosts, however this time they were playing the hosts, Sweden

Sweden had done well in the 1958 World Cup, but they had not been spectacular, and against Brasil, they stood no chance. Lincoln scored for Sweden, after a great passing movement. But Vava levelled the scores 4 minutes later. Pele then scored, followed by Zagalo, before Pele scored his 6th goal of the tournament. Garrincha once again played well, and by now was one of the best, and most well known players in the world.

The super super championship, and the rise of Botafogo

The 1958 Carioca championship started, and Botafogo had recently signed Mario Zagalo, giving them four World Cup winners in their side, Zagalo, Didi, Nilton Santos and Garrincha, however they were not playing well in the league, and Botafogo were in the bottom half of the table, whilst Vasco and Fluminese were both at the top. However, with only 2 matches remaining, Botafogo had clawed themselves to within 4 points of Vasco. Flamengo had also cut the gap to 4 points. Vasco’s last opponents were both Botafogo and Flamengo, they need only to draw 1 match to take the championship. However, they lost both, first 2 – 0 to Botafogo, and then 3 – 1 to Flamengo. The 3 teams were tied at the top and a ‘Super championship was played, in which all 3 teams won one match, leaving no winner. A ‘Super super championship’ was played, and Vasco eventually took the title.

If losing the title to rivals Vasco was one thing, then what was bout to happen next was anther. Garrincha was driving through Pau Grande in his new car. At the same time, his father Amaro was patrolling the streets. Amaro crossed the road, and at that time, Garrincha’s car hit him, without even stopping. It wasn’t deliberate, or malicious, it’s just that he was a terribly bad driver. The locals saw the incident and came after Garrincha. He sprinted away without even knowing whom he had hit. The locals chased after him, eventually catching him and found him in his own world, drunken and in a terrible state. By this time Amaro had got up and requested that the people leave Garrincha alone.

By now people were starting to realise the differences appearing between Pele and Garrincha, in 1959 Pele signed a new contract with Santos which entitled him to 120, 000 cruzeiros ($500) a month. He also had the opportunity to re negotiate this contract a year later. Garrincha on the other hand signed a 3 year long contract with Botafogo, which would earn him 75, 00 cruzeiros ($300) month. Pele had also hired an agent, Spaniard Pepe Gordo. Garrincha had never hired an agent, there was no need to, and after all he did not play football for the money, only for the joy.

That year, Botafogo did not win the Carioca championship, instead it was Fluminese, for the first time in 8 long years. Botafogo finished second, many people blamed this on the loss of 2 important players, Paulo Valentim and Didi. Valentim, the striker who scored 4 against Fluminese in the 1957 title decider, was sold to Boca Juniors, and the influential Didi, to the ‘Ferrari Boys’ Real Madrid CF. Didi had moved to Madrid for the equivalent of $80, 000. Madrid also made a bid for Garrincha, approximately $250, 000, but it was rejected. Even if Botafogo had accepted Madrid’s bid, Garrincha probably would not have gone he liked the simple life of Pau Grande, and moving to Real Madrid, the best side in the world, would have meant he would have had to live like a celebrity, when all Garrincha wanted to do was live a simple, modest life.

Manager Joao Saldanha was sacked at the end of the season, and replaced by Paulo Amaral. Amaral re -signed Didi, who had a bad time at Madrid, not getting on with star players, such as the legendary ‘Blonde Arrow’ Alfredo Di Stefano. Despite the return of Didi, Botafogo finished 3rd in the State championship, a disappointing result.

Botafogo often went of European tours, playing, and defeating some of the best sides in the world. It was on one such tour, in 1959 in Sweden, that Garrincha got up to his usual tricks. He would often go out and get drunk, and even got a local girl pregnant. She would go on to have Garrincha’s son, Nenem, who had the same ‘crippled’ legs as his father, and who coincidently played in the same position.

Botafogo won the 1961 Carioca championship, going 22 games unbeaten, and taking the title with 3 games to go. Their last 2 opponents were Flamengo and Vasco, both who were defeated by Botafogo.

It was in this year that Garrincha met the love of his life, the woman he would spend the next 20 years with, on and off - Elza Soares. She had helped him win a popularity contest in Brasil, he took the title of ‘The most popular footballer in Brasil’ and won a car as a reward. Garrincha had been rewarded with the car only hours before his team were play Santos in the Rio – SP Cup. Garrincha let Santos keeper Gilmar take the first ride in the new car. He had a nightmare game though, as Botafogo destroyed Santos 3 – 0, the Paulista champions had been humbled by the mighty champions of Rio – Botafogo.

The 1962 domination

The 1962 World Cup was arriving, and Brasil had chosen a similar squad to the one of 1958. But instead of going into the tournament as underdogs, they were now deemed the favourites. But they did not start of well, they only beat Mexico 2 – 0, goals from Mario Zagalo and Pele securing the win. The next match against Czechoslovakia ended up as a 0 – 0 draw, but what was even worse was the fact that Pele had been injured, it was an injury so bad that Pele would more than likely miss the entire tournament. The last match against Spain would be the important one. If Brasil won, they would advance to the next round, if they didn’t, they would go home early, and have to face an angry Brasil. Young Botafogo striker Amarildo was called up to replace Pele. He scored 2 goals in Brasil’s 2 – 1 win, which took them through to the quarter finals, where they would face England, a team Brasil had always feared.

On this occasion however, Brasil had nothing to fear. They may have lost Pele, but they had Garrincha, who in this tournament had to play for the both of them. Garrincha’s best position was on the right wing, there he could cut in and dribble and shoot, or run to the by line, dribble and cross. Against England though, he played wherever he wanted. He played on the left wing, the right wing, up front, as an attacking midfield, as a full back, in short he had a free role, with the freedom to do whatever he chose to do. Brasil won 3 –1, Garrincha got 2 and got the assist for Vava’s goal. His first goal was a header, a rarity for the Songbird. Brasil’s second came from a Garrincha free kick, was saved by English keeper Springett, only for Vava to pounce and score. The third, and Garrincha’s second was a typical folha seca shot from outside the box. Didi played the ball to Amarildo, who laid it off to Garrincha. Manuel evaded his marker, and then struck a shot into the keeper’s top left hand corner.

Brasil now faced the hosts of the 1962 World Cup, Chile. Again it was a high scoring match, and again Garrincha scored 2 goals. Garrincha’s first goal was again a headed goal. His second was a left footed half volley from outside of the area. Vava also got in on the act, scoring 2 goals also. But it was Garrincha’s actions in the 39th minute of the second half that grabbed the headlines. Chilean defender Rojas fouled Garrincha time and time again, each time Garrincha got up and dusted himself down. In the 39th minute, Rojas fouled Garrincha for the last time. Garrincha stood up and jokingly kneed Rojas in the backside. The referee Mr Yamazaki brandished a red card and Garrincha was sent off.

Had it not been for Brasilian Prime Minister Tancredo Neves, and the CBD’s grovelling, Garrincha would not have played in the final against Czechoslovakia. But his name was cleared, and Garrincha took to the field against the side that they had drew 0 – 0 with in the group stage. This time though, Brasil would triumph, winning the World Cup for the second time. Like in 1958, Brasil went behind, and like in 1958, they soon equalized, Amarildo scoring two minutes after Czechoslovakia’s initial goal. Just before half time, Zito put Brasil ahead. Vava completed the scoring in the second half. In the final few minutes, Garrincha was just having fun, for the whole of the match he had tormented the Czech defenders, including a famous run from the half way line, in which he dribbled past 4 players. Garrincha, in the final minutes, was just messing about and having fun, goading defenders to try and tackle him, but they could not catch him. As soon as the final whistle blew, all of Brasil cheered out of joy and happiness. Garrincha and Brasil were double World Cup winners with Garrincha dominating the tournament. No one would so single handedly dominate a World Cup until Diego Maradona came along 24 years later and won the 1986 World Cup with an average Argentina side.

Elza Soares

Garrincha was a hero back in Brasil, treated like a king, but this was all to change. Garrincha’s affair with Elza had been made public, and soon, much of Brasil would hate the two of them. Garrincha for leaving his wife Nair, with whom he had eight children with, and Elza for going out with a married man.

To make matters worse, Garrincha and Botafogo were playing poorly, Botafogo trailed Flamengo by seven points, and Garrincha had not played well since the 1962 World Cup, but it was not his fault. His knee was hurting, he should have had an operation on it 3 years earlier, but every time he booked an appointment, he would miss it. Garrincha was also involved in a pay dispute with his club, who refused to pay him 150, 000 cruzeiros a moth, plus a 10, 000, 000 cruzeiro signing on fee. However, when the last match of the season came, Botafogo were only a point behind Flamengo, who were there last opponents. To win their second Carioca championship in as many years, they needed to defeat Flamengo. When the match came along, Garrincha put all of the controversy surrounding his affair with Elza Soares, and his pay dispute with Botafogo behind him, as he went on to play one of the greatest performances ever seen.

Flamengo manager Flavio Costa dropped winger Joel, in place of Gerson, a future World Cup winner. His reasoning was that Gerson would mark Garrincha tightly on the right wing. If Garrincha found his way past Gerson, he would have Jordan to contend with. And if he got past Jordan, he would have Vanderlei marking him. It didn’t matter though, Garrincha ran past them all, as he tormented Flamengo, much like he did to Fluminese 5 years earlier. He scored the first goal after he escaped a challenge from a Flamengo defender, and hit a powerful shot into the back of the net. He then hit a strong shot across the face of goal, only for Vanderlei to turn it into his own net. Botafogo’s third, and Garrincha’s second came shortly after and the match, as well as the league, was decided. Most people agree that this was the last game of the real Garrincha,

During the 1964 season, Garrincha was again dogged by off field problems. This time it was Nair his childhood love, influenced by lawyer Dirceu Rodrigues Mendes had chosen to divorce Garrincha. She was entitled to half of everything Garrincha owned, and Mendes was intent on getting it. With Botafogo, things were not going well either, the club had just taken a tour of South America, and for Garrincha it had not been a success. His place in the side was threatened by new signing Gerson, and young, up and coming, right winger Jairzinho, still only 19 years of age. However, Garrincha still played, albeit injured.

1965 marked the end of an era, the great Botafogo side of 1957 had broke up. Nilton Santos retired, aged 39, Mario Zagalo also retired and Didi had left for Peru, where he too would retire. Garrincha, would also leave Botafogo, his last game was against Portuguesa on the 15th September, the first day of the Carioca championship. No one, not even Garrincha knew it would be his last match, later that year, he would be off loaded to Corinthians.

His arrival at Corinthians was surrounded by confusion and controversy, at the press conference at the local airport, he was given a Corinthians shirt, but it was not his normal number 7. Corinthians officials had forgotten the shirt, and so had to ask Rivelino, who lived only a few minutes away from the airport, for one of his number 10 shirts. At first the move seemed a success, Garrincha trained with a newfound enthusiasm, he lost weight, and his knee appeared to be healing. But in his debut against Vasco, he played terribly, and Vasco walked out 3 – 0 winners. The next match was against Botafogo, who destroyed Corinthians 5 – 1. Palmeiras then defeated Corinthians 2 – 1.

The 1966 World Cup was coming up, and Brasil were reining world champions. The squad selection was a travesty, 45 players were called up, and only 22 went to England. Only 9 of these players, Dino Sani, Altair, Zito, Orlando, Bellini, Djalma Santos, Gilmar, Pele and Garrincha had gone to a World Cup before.

Brasil’s first match was against Bulgaria. Pele opened the scoring with a free kick, and then Garrincha scored one of the best free kicks ever seen, a thunderous banana shot, one of his specialties. The match finished 2 – 0 in favour of Brasil, but hey were lucky, for they had not played well. Their next opponents were Hungary, who while not being as great as ‘The Magical Magyars’ of 1954, were still a good side. They hammered Brasil 3 – 1. Many now feared that Brasil would not make the next round, those fears were confirmed when Brasil played Portugal. The Portuguese won 3 – 1 and Brasil were eliminated. The Brasil – Bulgaria match was the last of the 57 times Pele and Garrincha played together for Brasil. They had managed to maintain their brilliant record, of never losing when they played together for Brasil.

Garrincha would play his last game for Corinthians in 1967, it was a 3 – 0 defeat, and only his 3rd match for them in a year. He then moved then moved to the small club Portuguesa, but no good ever came of it and he was regularly booed off at half time.

In March 1968, Garrincha’s life would be rocked so badly, that on he would, on two separate occasions, attempt to commit suicide. He would once again injure a member of his family whilst driving his car, but this time it would be fatal. It was his mother – in – law, Elza’s mother. She was in the same car as Garrincha who hit a lorry. Her body was thrown out of the car, lifeless and with her head almost severed from her body. Garrincha only had two small cuts, one of which would stay with him for the rest of his life.

A European nightmare

Garrincha’s next club would be Flamengo, the team he had supported as a boy, and the team he had tormented as a player. He joined on loan from Corinthians, and like at Corinthians, his first few months were good. He went from 13 stones in weight, to 11 stones 2 pounds. However the move was not a success, and Garrincha only played 4 Carioca championship games. He and Elza then left for Italy where Garrincha would fail to convince any managers that he was worth a contract. He even travelled to Portugal to try and convince Benfica to sign him, but they only signed Portuguese nationals. One of the only games Garrincha played while in Italy was a testimonial match for the retiring Lev Yashin. It was a Rest of The World select, against the best the Soviets could offer, the Rest of the World team won the match 4 – 2. Garrincha and Elza were upset at this, all the great players of the generation, Puskas, Gilmar, Pele, Di Stefano and now Yashin had a testimonial, yet whenever Garrincha asked for one, he was always knocked back. Life in Italy was also upsetting them, so they decided to move back to Rio. But even a move back to Brasil would not cheer Garrincha anymore, for his drinking was out of control, by this time he would not be able to stop it.

A Brasilian homecoming

After the moves to Corinthians and Flamengo, Garrincha decided to sign for Olaria. His debut was against Flamengo, in the Maracana., he did not embarrass himself as expected, but instead play well, and set up Gesse for a 54th minute goal. Instead of congratulating Gesse, the Olaria players jumped on top of Garrincha, showing the respect he still commanded. When he was substituted, the Flamengo players lined up and shook his hand. It didn’t matter that Olaria equalized in the 70th minute through Doval, all that mattered was that Garrincha had a club, and was enjoying his football again. He sad however, that he could not offer Olaria manager, Roberto Pinto, what he used to be able to, but none the less, he was happy with his football. Manuel only played 10 Carioca championship matches for Olaria, his lat two were against Botafogo. The last of these was on August 23rd 1972, almost a decade after the famous match in the Maracana Stadium, where Garrincha tormented the Flamengo players. But Garrincha would soon retire from professional football all together. He played for a team organised by Ivo Hoffman, a former Internacional player. The team would tour Brasil, playing friendlies in the big cities. Garrincha would only play the first half normally, and even then he would not be anywhere near as spectacular as he used to be.

Privately, Garrincha had told Elza that he planned to retire from football, that he only wanted to play little kick abouts with his friends. Elza decided that if Garrincha was to retire, he should at least go out in style, so she decided, once again, to ask the CBD, for a testimonial match for Garrincha. They agreed, it was to be called ‘The Gratitude Game’ and it would be played on December 19th. The teams that would take part were the 1970 World Cup winning Brasil side, and a Rest of the World select. Garrincha would play for the 1970 team. Tostao would make way, and Jairzinho would be moved up front, as Pele’s strike partner. Garrincha would play, as always, on the right wing. A warm up match was played, and Garrincha’s former international teammates would play in it. Orlando, Zito, Nilton and Djalma Santos, Vava, Zagalo, Bellini, Barbosa, Julinho, Zozimo, Maurinho, Altair, Pampolloni, Adalberto and Sabara all played in the warm up. When Garrincha entered the pitch, he saw a huge banner in the middle of the pitch. It read:

‘Mane, Alegria de Povo’

Or:

‘Mane, Joy of the People’
The team of 1970 read like this: Felix, Carlos Alberto, Brito, Piazza, Everaldo, Clodoaldo, Rivelino, Paulo Cesar, Garrincha, Jairzinho and Pele. After only half an hour of the game gone, the referee blew his whistle. Everyone stopped, and Garrincha, done a lap of honour around the pitch. He stopped at the only standing terrace of the Maracana, and threw his boots, shin pads and socks into the crowd. From his eyes, came a stream of tears, no one had ever seen Garrincha cry before, except for Elza, and his parents. As he went into the changing room, followed by hundreds of people, he gave his good friend, the priest Alberto, his shirt. He sat down in the changing rooms, and hundreds and hundreds of fans stuffed his pockets with trophies, medals and countless cheques. The total sum of money was 1, 383, 121 cruzeiros, or $230, 000. But, much of this money would to go to waste, after all it was Garrincha, and he was as reckless as he was brilliant. He gained custody over his youngest daughters when Nair died in March 1975. He opened bank accounts for him and his daughters.

The death of the Little Bird

But just as things seemed to be getting better for Garrincha and Elza, they sunk to a new low. Garrincha had started drinking again, heavier than ever, and for once, after so many years of tolerance, Elza gave up. She had just had Garrincha’s son, Garrinchinha, and Garrincha, in his permanently drunken state was a threat to both of them. Once, in his drunkenness, Garrincha even attacked Elza and their young son, punching her and kicking her. Elza managed to escape, and rang the police, but when they arrived, he had gone.

Garrincha’s drinking had gone from bad to worse, and he was now suffering what was known as delirium tremens, a state where the person suffering it, feels they are being attacked by grotesque animals, such as spiders, rats, cockroaches or snakes. For hours and hours, Garrincha suffered, as he believed he was being attacked by spiders, about to bite him. But Garrincha did manage to cut down on his drinking, his friend Felix, the goalkeeper who played for the 1970 World Cup winning side of Brasil, had helped him cut down. But again it was all in vain, Garrincha once again hit the bottle, and this time no one could help him. On February 17th, 1980, Garrincha had agreed to be part of a float for Carnival Sunday. He was to wear the number 7 shirt of Brasil, but Garrincha could not even move, it was almost as if he were dead, and when his friend Pele threw him a Hawaiian necklace, Garrincha did not even notice it land next to him. The end was near, and everyone knew it.

On January 19th 1983. Garrincha died. Within 10 months, Garrincha had been admitted to hospital 8 times, his dependency on alcohol had got to the point where his body would reject anything that wasn’t alcohol, and if he didn’t drink, his body would violently shake. His last football match was on Christmas day 1982, only 26 days before his death. But at 6 A.M on the morning of the 19th of January, Garrincha was announced dead, it was a sad death, for one of the world’s best ever players, and one of it's most tragic heroes. His epitaph reads : “Here rests in peace the one who was the Joy of the People — Mané Garrincha”

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great post. Very intreresting read. What player

BTW, if anyone is really interested in Garrincha, I reccomend you read Ruy Castor's Garrincha: The Tragedy and Triumph of Brasil's Forgotten Footballing Hero.

Touching, He is a truly a legend though he is not from my time.

I never really knew who Garrincha was b4 now.
Fantastic reading and fantastic story.
Thx for this.

Thank you MG for this superb post on Mané!
When I was in Brasil, I asked the opinions of people no who they consider the best of all time: Pelé or Garrincha and most of the older ones said without a pinch of hesitation: Mané. Touching to say the least. Too bad his drinking bad habits destroyed him and too bad he is not as well revered as others.

Mané, :"A alegra do povo, não sou eu; é o povo a minha alegria."

Wow, amazing information of one the greatest players ever. - Haven't really heard much about him before this. Thank you.

never saw the garrincha-trick

The most complete Garrincha Compilation ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9yd6r-1EDo&search=garrincha

thanks,a great compalation

I've seen a few sites, wikipedia in particular spelling his first name as "Manoel". Anyone know why?

Please read before asking.^

Imo he's just the newest hype. Like Che Chevera.. People get tired of well known legends and want to make new ones. Sure he has been one hell of a footballer but calling him the best footballer ever is overreacting. Touching story about hig legs though.. Amazing. But not worth calling him the best footballer.

I know I am on the wrong forum to say such thing, but it is my opinion.

did garrincha think Pele was better than him?

Garrincha was too drunk to even think aboot it

true that

He was some character. Brazils George Best but better. Its a shame he didnt take care of his lifestyle but i guess things where different then

He is legend !