Manuel Francisco dos Santos is one of the greatest players to have ever put on the yellow shirt of Brazil, and yet he should never have been a footballer. He was born in 1933 with a deformed spine and one leg a full 6cm shorter than the other. He had crooked knees, with one bending inward and the other out. And, at a time when football was much more physical, he was small, leading his sister to give him the nickname that would stick for the rest of his life; Garrincha, or Little Bird. Despite his disadvantages, he showed immense talent at an early age, but worryingly for Brazilian football, little inclination to enter the sport professionally.
Find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
When he finally did enter the professional game he was an immediate sensation. In his first training session at Botafogo he nutmegged and embarrassed Brazil international Nilton Santos. Deciding that he would never want to play against Garrincha, Santos urged the club to sign him up, and Botafogo, not needing much convincing, happily did so.
Over the next five years, Garrincha become one of the most feared wingers in Brazil. He scored a hat-trick on his debut and ended his first season with 20 goals in 26 appearances, going into the 1954 World Cup. His exclusion from that squad was less to do with his only having been a professional for one year, and more to do with Brazil, desperate to make up for their home defeat in 1950, doing something very unlike Brazil, and focussing on teamwork and a European style. It led to the vicious Battle of Bern, and wouldn’t last.
Garrincha continued to terrorise the defenders in Brazil, and by 1958 the shackles had been taken off of a new Brazilian golden generation. The Seleção travelled to Sweden with a new tactical innovation that dropped a midfielder into the back line, giving the world the first modern back four, and unleashing an outrageously talented front four. This was a side in which Garrincha could, and would, shine. At the helm was Vicente Feola, who had been assistant to legendary Hungarian Bela Guttman (who would later curse Benfica).
Feola’s side hit that World Cup running and didn’t look back. They started with a 3-0 victory over Austria, and drew 0-0 with England, before Garrincha announced himself with a dazzling display against the Soviet Union, where he laid on both goals while giving the fullback a torrid time.
A moment of magic in the quarter final against Wales from 17-year-old Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele, sealed his place in the side alongside the Little Bird – there had been calls for him to be dropped beforehand. From that moment on, Brazil never lost a game in which both Pele and Garrincha played. They finally conceded in the semi-final against France, despite a thumping 5-2 win, and repeated that scoreline in the final against hosts Sweden. Garrincha had played his part in creating a global footballing superpower, but it is Pele who is remembered for the triumph.
Garrincha returned to Botafogo a hero, leading the side to two more league titles and earning the nicknames Alegria do Povo (People’s Joy) and Anjo do Pernas Tortas (Bent-legged Angel). He was already a legend, a hero in Brazil, when his pinnacle approached at the 1962 World Cup in Chile.
Brazil travelled across the continent this time as hot favourites to retain the trophy. In Pele and Garrincha, they had two of the most exciting players in the world. They opened with a 2-0 win over Mexico – Pele getting on the scoresheet – before disaster struck the young talisman, injured in the goalless draw against Czechoslovakia and ruled out of the rest of the competition. Brazil needed new inspiration, and they looked to their Little Bird.
Garrincha showed the world just how ready he was to lead his side in the next match against Spain, while also demonstrating just how exceptional he could be. With the score at 1-1 and time counting down, he picked up the ball on the right wing. He went past the first man, and then… stopped. He waited for the first defender to get back, and beat him again for good measure. Then he beat the second man and delivered an inch-perfect cross for the winner. It was an audacious display of brilliance and arrogance, and it set the tone for Garrincha’s tournament.
England awaited Brazil in the quarter-final, and were expected to provide a stern test. But Garrincha was in exceptional form, and scored early on with a header. His free kick could only be palmed to forward Vava, who doubled the lead, before Garrincha curled into the bottom corner to seal the win. His famous “banana shots” are often said to have curled more than anybody’s, with some speculating that his crooked knees helped swerve the ball even more.
Semi-final opponents Chile tried to keep Garrincha from having an impact on the game, paying him close attention. Not that it helped. The Little Bird scored a header again, and drilled home a second, before setting up two more for Vava as Brazil ran out 4-2 winners.
Czechoslovakia were to be the opponents in the final, and Brazil made two important decisions in the build up – to let their oppenents believe Pele was going to play (he wasn’t), and to keep from them that Garrincha had a fever. He played, medicated, and didn’t have the same impact, but he had done enough and his team mates saw him over the line.
Garrincha, sadly, suffered a knee injury not long after that World Cup and his star faded at a remarkable rate. He played at the 1966 competition, but the defeat against Hungary was his last international game, as well as the only defeat in his 50 caps. He descended into alcoholism and womanising, watching on as his team mates won in 1970, the greatest World Cup side of all time. But, even with his reputation forgotten and the great Pele above him, the Little Bird was still named in the Team of the Century. He played the game how everybody wanted, and nobody dared.
We aim to keep this site ad-free. Please help us by donating below.
