England 1 – 3 Brazil (WC 1962) – The Unconventional Garrincha

By Somnath Sengupta
12 years Ago

BRAZIL
v
ENGLAND

EstadioAi??Sausalito , ViAi??a del Mar
June 10, 1962

Brazil – 3 (Garrincha-2, VavA?)
England – 1 (Hitchens)

Twice in its history has a World Cup triumph been largely attributed to a single person. Diego Maradona wowed the world in 1986 but 24 years before him another man ai???single-handedlyai??? helped his country win footballai??i??s greatest prize. Garrincha. The fact that Brazilai??i??s 1962 success is often associated with a single player, despite the brilliant Selecao squad betrays the incredible heights Garrincha scaled in Chile. Hosts Chile had braved the most severe earthquake in recorded history to stage the 1962 World Cup and it was safe to say that ai???Little Birdai??i??sai??? flight did justice to their efforts.

“What planet is GarrinchaAi??from?” – Headline from El Mercurio, 1962

Backdrop

Defending champions Brazil wereAi??hands on favourites to retainAi??the Jules RimetAi??trophy but they didnai??i??t have the smoothest of rides in group stage. They began with a comfortable 2-0 win over Mexico but were held to a stalemate against Czechoslovakia in the second match. Worse, Pele was badly injured against the Czechs and that injury would eventually rule him out of rest of the tournament. The World Champions were looking down the barrel in the last group match, trailing to Adelardoai??i??s strike with 18 minutes left on the clock. Amarildo, Peleai??i??s replacement, finally eased Brazilian nerves with a brace as Brazil triumphed 2-1 over Spain to qualify for group champions.

England on the other hand, had narrowly crept into knock out stages after coming second in their group. The Walter Winterbottom coached side began their campaign with a 2-1 loss against Hungary but bounced back in style with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Argentina. A goal-less draw against Bulgaria, coupled with Argentinaai??i??s identical result against Hungary meant that England qualified ahead of the South Americans due to better goal average.

Brazil had not lost to a European side in six years but England would have been buoyed by the fact that they held Brazil to a 0-0 stalemate in the same fixture in 1958 World Cup.

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The Match

Brazil (4-2-4): Gilmar, DjalmaAi??Santos, Mauro Ramos, ZA?zimo, NiltonAi??Santos; Zito, Didi; Garrincha, VavA?, Amarildo, Mario Zagalo

England (4-2-4): Ron Springett, Jimmy Armfield, Ray Wilson, Bobby Moore, Maurice Norman, Ron Flowers, Bryan Douglas, Jimmy Greaves, Gary Hitchens, John Haynes, Bobby Charlton

The first half-chance of the match fellAi??for England seven minutes after kick-off as Douglas attempted a shot after a half turning ZA?zimoAi??inside Brazilian penalty box ai??i?? his shot was well wide. Six minutes later the defending champions almost took the lead. A long pass from ZagaloAi??to VavA?Ai??opened up England defence, VavA?Ai??passedAi??towards GarrinchaAi??who dribbled past his marker before playing the ball across the face of the goal. Springer failed to judge Garrinchaai??i??s pass properly and it would have gone in had ArmfieldAi??not made a goal-line clearance. AmarildoAi??was the next one to miss a golden opportunity as he met Didiai??i??s perfectly timed pass but failed to put his shot past Springer. Greaves forced off a save from Gilmar on the other end, a sign that English forwards were slowly getting involved in the match.

Brazil were very dangerous from set-pieces, a pattern that would last for 90 minutes. Didiai??i??s free-kick was somehow kept out by Springer just around the half-hour mark, it would be his first of a number of saves. Springer could do very little few minutes later as GarrinchaAi??rose to head in Zagaloai??i??s corner to put Brazil ahead. Ironically, it was a very English-goal scored by a man who was used to scoring more flashy goals.

AmarildoAi??had left his scoring boots in dressing room as he missed his second easy chance of first half after a miss-pass from Flower left Springer at his mercy, GarrinchaAi??also tried his luck in the same move but his shot went over as well. Brazil would rue those missed chances on 38th minute as England found the equalizer. ZA?zimoai??i??s header bounced off the frame of the goal and HitchensAi??was first to react as he bundled the rebound in. Englandai??i??s equalizer somewhat jolted Brazil as no more goal scoring chances was created as the half ended.

The South Americans were transformedAi??completely in second half as England were over-run by waves of Brazilian attacks. AmarildoAi??scored soon after the kick-off only to see his effort being chalked off for offside. Seconds later GarrinchaAi??floated in a delicious cross for AmarildoAi??whose shot was clearedAi??at the last moment by Wilson. On 53rd minute the inevitable Brazilian goal came. Garrinchaai??i??s free-kick was palmedAi??away by Springer directly towards VavA?, who headed in his first goal of the 1962 World Cup.

That goal seemed to have given VavA?Ai??greater confidence as he got more involved with Brazilian build-up play. AmarildoAi??wasted his third great chance of the game minutes after the second goal after a glorious one-two with VavA?. Brazil wrapped up the victory just before the hour mark as GarrinchaAi??scored the best goal of this match. Didiai??i??s long pass was playedAi??down for GarrinchaAi??by Amarildo. The Little Bird took a couple of touches before unleashing an unstoppable right-footer past Springerai??i??s outstretched arm.

With the ;pressure coming off, Brazil played some exhibition stuff for rest of the match as England chased shadows. GarrinchaAi??could have had a hattrickAi??but Springer pulled off a top drawer save to deny his long ranged effort. For England, JohnyAi??Haynes had couple of chances and both went well wide. When the final whistle sounded there was no denying that Brazil had completely outclassed Winterbottomai??i??s team.

Tactics

The variety in Brazilai??i??s attackAi??was astounding. The different ways in which Brazilian outside forwards operated made it very difficult for opponent teams to mark them. Mario ZagaloAi??played a much more mobile role, covering the length of the pitch on left flank. His immaculate passing along with tracking back gave defensive solidity to the left flank. Garrincha, on the opposite flank had a diametrically opposite style. Much more individualistic and offensive minded, he rarely tracked back and focused more on dribbling past multiple markers. He often took out more than one English defender with a typical body swerve. The scoreline might not expose this fact but English left-back Ray Wilson actually had a very good match and managed to stop GarrinchaAi??numerousAi??times during 90 minutes. To get away from Wilson and compensate for VavA?, who had an off-day; GarrinchaAi??began to cut back more in second half and almost played life a third center-forward in finalAi??half-hour, with DjalmaAi??Santos overlapping to take his positionAi??on the wing. English defence failed to cope with this fluidity, giving Garrincha the space he needed to dictate proceedings.

Englandai??i??s tactics relied on the late runs Jimmy GreavesAi??made into opponent penalty box. With pacyAi??outside forwards moving along the touch-lineAi??Winterbottomai??i??s very British tactics involved Greaves latching on to crosses lobbed in from wings while the center-forwards kept Brazilian central defenders busy. This tactics didnai??i??t work because of two reasons. Brazilai??i??s domination on the wings meant that English outside forwards, especially Bobby Charlton, spent more time trying to contain Brazilian forwards, rather thanAi??attacking on their own. The speed of Charlton against 37-year-oldAi??but still offensive minded, DjalmaAi??Santos could have a been a trump card for England but Charltonai??i??s ultimately futile involvement in limiting Garrinchaai??i??s movement meant he himselfAi??ventured forward lesser than needed. Secondly, Zito and especially Didi, with his accurate passing, took hold of the central midfield firmly and as the match wore on they neutralized Greavesai??i?? late runs into the box.

Man of the Match

Garrincha

Both ZitoAi??and Didi gave wonderful performances in central midfield but there was very little doubt who was Brazilai??i??s best player in this match. Ray Wilson did manage to keep him quiet for most of the first half but GarrinchaAi??still managed to wriggle his way past his marker on two occasions, one of them almost resulting in a goal. Despite a quieter first half he had gotten his name on the score-sheet. There was no stopping him in second half as Brazil ran riot. A small tactical adjustment saw GarrinchaAi??drift into a more central position as the half progressed, which took him away from Wilson and confused the English defence. Bobby Moore and Norman were man-marking Brazilian center-forwards and Wilson didnai??i??t leave his post in the right flank, giving GarrinchaAi??time and space which would have killed off any team. In second half GarrinchaAi??scored possibly one of the best goals of 1962 World Cup and also played a crucial part in Brazilai??i??s second goal. He could easily snap up a hat-trick but was only denied by two top drawer saves by the English ai???keeper.

Aftermath

GarrinchaAi??and Brazil didnai??i??t look backwards after the victory as they waltzed (sambaai??i??ed?) their way to the second World Cup title. The Little Bird and VavA?Ai??struck a brace each as Brazil brushed away hosts Chile in semi-final to set up a final with Czechoslovakia, the team which held them to a goal-less draw in group stage.

There was a haze of uncertainty surrounding Brazilai??i??s best player though, having been sent off against Chile and suffering from a bout of fever. FIFA however, allowed GarrinchaAi??to play in the finalAi??and he started despite not being physically 100%. Like the finalAi??four years back, Brazil conceded an early goal and just like that finalAi??four years ago they came back with an unstoppable display of attacking football. Garrincha had a comparatively quiet match but Brazil won 3-1 nonetheless.

Four years later he would play his last World Cup and last matches for the national team in England. He and his team was a mere shadow of themselves, getting knocked out in the group stage. But GarrinchaAi??would maintain the unique record of never losing a match when his national team had him and Pele starting together.

For Garrincha a tragic life would follow after he left the gameAi??as he lost the popularity and fame that came during his playing days. He was a broken and forgotten man when he died in 1983 after an alcoholic coma. Thankfully, his legendaryAi??status was restored after his death and he remains one of the most loved players in his country.

The Three Lions would experience their greatest moment in football four years later. Under the tutelage of Alf Ramsey the English team, perhaps their greatest of all time, won their first and only World Cup title after dispatching West Germany in a controversial final. Winterbottom, after leading his country to four consecutive World Cups (still a managerial record) would leave his post as English coach. Englandai??i??s longest serving national coach laid the foundations of their success four years later and he was knighted in 1978 for his services.

Categories: Classic Clashes, Columns, Editor's Pick, Internationals
Tags: Brazil England Garrincha

BRAZIL v ENGLAND

Backdrop

The Match

Tactics

Man of the Match

Garrincha

Aftermath

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BRAZIL
v
ENGLAND