Manuel Francisco dos Santos, nicknamed Mane Garrincha, best known as simply Garrincha, was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a right winger.
50 Facts About Garrincha
2.
Garrincha is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and by some, one of the greatest dribblers ever.
3.
Garrincha played a vital role in Brazil's 1958 and 1962 World Cup victories.
4.
In 1962, when Pele got injured, Garrincha led Brazil to a World Cup victory with a dominating performance throughout the tournament.
5.
Garrincha became the first player to win the Golden Ball, Golden Boot and the World Cup in the same tournament.
6.
Garrincha was named in the World Cup All-Star Teams of both 1958 World Cup and 1962 World Cup.
7.
Garrincha is a member of the World Team of the 20th Century, and was inducted into the Brazilian Football Hall of Fame.
8.
At the club level, Garrincha played the majority of his professional career for the Brazilian team Botafogo.
9.
Garrincha is credited for inspiring the first bullfighting chants of ole to be used at football grounds.
10.
Garrincha was born in Pau Grande, a district of Mage, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in 1933.
11.
Garrincha was born with his right leg 6 centimetres shorter than his left, his left leg turned outwards and his right turned inwards, leading one doctor to certify him as crippled as a child.
12.
Garrincha's father was an alcoholic, drinking cachaca heavily, a problem which Garrincha would inherit.
13.
The combined Mane Garrincha is common among fans in Brazil.
14.
Garrincha was known amongst footballing scouts but did not arrive in professional football until his late teens; he had no interest in a professional career despite his immense talent.
15.
Garrincha was already married and a parent when he signed for Botafogo in 1953.
16.
Santos was so impressed with the young Garrincha, he asked that Botafogo sign him.
17.
Garrincha continued to play brilliantly, but Brazil had other talented players in his position, notably Julinho and together with a new European style of play centered on teamwork, he was not named in the squad for the 1954 World Cup.
18.
Garrincha helped Botafogo win the Campeonato Carioca in 1957 by scoring 20 goals in 26 games finishing second in the league scoring charts and this convinced the national team selectors to name him to the 1958 World Cup squad.
19.
Garrincha played for Botafogo for 12 years, the bulk of his professional career.
20.
Garrincha won the Campeonato Carioca three times with them, scored 232 goals in 581 matches, and became a symbol of the history of the club.
21.
An entertainer renowned for his dribbling skills in taking on opposing players, Garrincha inspiring the first bullfighting chants of ole to be used at football grounds; during a 1958 club game for Botafogo he gave a footballing lesson to River Plate defender Vairo, constantly teasing, feinting and going past him to ole's from the crowd, and when he "forgot" the ball and sprinted away with Vairo running after him the chants of oles changed to laughter.
22.
Garrincha was subject to numerous transfer attempts by rich European clubs like Juventus of Turin, Italy who tried to sign him in 1954.
23.
Garrincha played 50 international matches for Brazil between 1955 and 1966, and was a starter for the national team in the 1958,1962 and 1966 World Cups.
24.
Garrincha played two matches at the Copa America of 1957 and four in the 1959 edition, Brazil finished runners up in both editions.
25.
On 29 May, ten days before the 1958 World Cup finals started, Garrincha scored one of his most famous goals, against Fiorentina in Italy.
26.
Garrincha beat four defenders and the goalkeeper, before stopping on the goal line.
27.
Garrincha received the ball on the right wing, beat three opposing players and took a shot which hit the post.
28.
Brazil ended winning the match and its first World Cup trophy, with Garrincha being one of the best players of the tournament; he was voted to the "Best XI" for the competition.
29.
Garrincha put on weight after the World Cup, partly because of his drinking, so he was dropped from the national team for a friendly match in Rio against England on 13 May 1959.
30.
Garrincha was the most outstanding player of the 1962 FIFA World Cup.
31.
When Pele 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, excelling particularly against England and Chile, scoring 4 goals in those two matches.
32.
Five minutes before the end, Garrincha took the ball on the right flank, dribbled past a defender and paused.
33.
Greaves claimed that Garrincha thought the incident was so amusing that he took the dog home as a pet.
34.
Garrincha's first goal was a 20-yard left-foot shot; the second one, a header.
35.
Garrincha could do things with the ball that no other player could.
36.
In 1973, although he was still signed by Olaria, Garrincha decided to leave professional football.
37.
Garrincha started the match, and while in the first half, at a point when Brazil had the ball in attack, the referee stopped the match so Garrincha could leave the pitch and receive the crowd's respects.
38.
Garrincha then did a lap around the pitch before disappearing through the stadium's tunnel.
39.
The success Garrincha enjoyed on the football pitch was in stark contrast to his personal life.
40.
Garrincha drank heavily throughout his adult life and was involved in several serious road accidents, notably a crash into a lorry in April 1969 which killed his mother-in-law.
41.
Garrincha was married twice, first to Nair Marques in 1952, a factory worker from Pau Grande with whom he had eight daughters, and second to Elza Soares, a samba singer whom he married in an unofficial ceremony in March 1966.
42.
Soares had been married previously, and the marriage saw Garrincha cast as a villain by the same press that had once feted him.
43.
Garrincha had other significant affairs, including one with showgirl Angelita Martinez, and he is known to have fathered at least 14 children.
44.
Garrincha had been hospitalized eight times in the previous year, and by the time of his death he was a physical and mental wreck.
45.
Garrincha nurtured his pet, the ball, and together they created such mischief that people almost died laughing.
46.
Garrincha jumped over it, it gambolled around him, hid itself away, skipped off and made him run after it.
47.
An explosive, agile, and diminutive right winger with a low centre of gravity, Garrincha is renowned for his creativity, pace, and speed of execution, as well as his remarkable ball control, technique, flair, imagination, dribbling skills and feints on the wing, which enabled him to create chances out of nothing.
48.
Garrincha was able to turn on himself at top speed and explode at unusual angles, which he used to great effect.
49.
Garrincha was an excellent header of the ball despite his relatively short stature.
50.
Garrincha is one of a few players to have scored direct from a corner, a feat he managed to do 4 times in his career.