“With Garrincha and Pele, Brazil begins this Tuesday, July 12, 1966, its run in search of a third World Cup.”
That’s how Brazil’s papers opened their coverage of the Selecao at the 1966 World Cup in England. The writers could not even imagine that Brazil’s match against Bulgaria at Goodison Park in Liverpool would also be the final game that the pair played together with the national team.
The greatest duo in world football history, who gave Brazilian sport its historic greatness and two of its five World Cups, parted with a 2-0 victory featuring a Pele goal in the first half and another by Garrincha in the second. It was the only win for Brazil at the 1966 World Cup. The pair left the pitch without any fanfare, celebration, or tributes.
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It would be the last time that Garrincha, who died in 1983, and Pele played together in an official international match. Today, maybe, they can meet again — somewhere. Pele’s passing was announced on Thursday, after spending a month at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo.
Over half a century ago, in Brazil’s second World Cup match in England, and without an injured Pele, Garrincha would suffer a 2-1 defeat against Hungary, his only international loss. Shortly after that, the right winger lost his place in the team. Despite Pele playing, the Selecao experienced yet another failure, with a 3-1 loss to Portugal sealing their elimination from the group stage.
Brazilian supporters cried at the exit of the two-time world champions in such an early and shameful fashion; however, those tears could well have been caused by the end of the storied Garrincha-Pele partnership. The famous attacking duo started its run, coincidentally, with a 3-1 win against Bulgaria on May 18, 1958 at Sao Paulo’s Pacaembu Stadium. And they said goodbye to their incredible partnership after 40 unbeaten matches, with 35 wins and five draws.
Pele was 25. More glory awaited him with Santos and his country. Pele, nicknamed O Rei (“The King”), lifted the World Cup for Brazil in Mexico 1970, before calling it quits in 1977. On the other hand, Garrincha was 33 years old, and his form was a shadow of his golden years with Botafogo. He tried a comeback with Corinthians with poor results. After that, Garrincha played with Flamengo and Olaria until his retirement in 1972.
