Brazil Wins Third World Cup In Soccer. The adept ball handling, powerful shooting, and defensive strategies of the members of Brazil's soccer team coalesced in their 1970 pursuit of victory in the World Cup soccer tournament. This article recounts some of the masterful plays Brazilian players executed as they dispensed with their opponents. . Brazil Wins Third World Cup The 1970 World Cup held in Mexico was one of the most thrilling in the event's 40-year history. The tournament was won by the Brazilians, though not without brilliant plays by the English, the Uruguayans, and the Italians. Pelé (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) and fellow Brazilian stars Gerson (Gerson de Oliveira Nunes), Jairzinho (Jair Ventura Filho), and Tostao (Eduardo Goncalves de Andrade) performed with such seamless unity that many observers suspected they were communicating telepathically. The Brazilians steamrolled to the world title undefeated, vanquishing their six opponents by a combined score of 19-6. In the club's first-round match against Czechoslovakia on June 3, Pelé uncorked a 60-yard shot that caught goalie Ivo Viktor completely off guard and skidded just inches wide of the mark. The "Black Pearl" found the net once later that night, but it was right winger Jairzinho who starred with two second-half goals. Brazil crushed the Czechs, 4-1. Four days later, June 7, Brazil took on England, the defending Cup champion. The English team was attracting off-field controversy. Mexican officials, fearing the importation of hoof-and-mouth disease, destroyed the English team's private cache of bacon, sausages, and other perishable foodstuffs. Reportedly, English team members found the Mexican salchicha sausages too spicy for their liking. Meanwhile, locals were offended when they learned that the English had packed their own bottled water. When the business finally turned to soccer, English goalie Gordon Banks authored the great performance. During the first half, Jairzinho cross-passed to Pelé, who headed the one-hopper toward the left side of the net. Banks, who was positioned near the opposite post, flung his body several yards to his left, stabbed one hand into the air, and batted the ball over the crossbar out of harm's way. Most likely, neither Pelé nor the 70,000 people in the stands had ever witnessed such a remarkable save. Two Gordon Bankses, however, were needed to stop a scoring drive hatched in the 59th minute by the slick trio of Tostao, Jairzinho, and Pelé. Tostao, brilliantly dribbling downfield, evaded three defenders as he approached England's goal. "I didn't see Pelé while I was dribbling," Tostao told Sports Illustrated after the game, "but I knew where he would be because every time I go to my left he covers the center. I wasn't wrong." Without a peek, he tapped the ball to Pelé who was directly in front of the goal. Like a magician, Pelé feigned a shot that froze Banks in his tracks. Then O Rei Pelé--King Pelé--nudged the ball to Jairzinho, who sent a rocket past the diving Banks. "It's marvelous playing beside men like Pelé and Tostao," Jairzinho said later to a Sports Illustrated reporter. "They can be off for most of a game, then have an instant of genius--which is enough." Brazil clung to a 1-0 victory, despite playing without Gerson, who was nursing a strained thigh. The loss was England's first in Cup competition since 1962. England's coach, Sir Alf Ramsey, was less than gracious in defeat. "The best team did not win today," he said, according to Sports Illustrated. "Brazil was a very good team in an even match. They took their one chance and we failed in ours." Three days later, on June 10, Brazil edged Romania, 3-2, behind two goals by Pelé and one by Jairzinho. The victory put Brazil in the second round, something the team had failed to accomplish four years earlier in England. Thus, three quarterfinalists were vying to become the Cup's first three-time winner, including Italy (with wins in 1934 and 1938) and Uruguay (1930 and 1950). Tostao's two goals keyed Brazil's 4-2 victory over Peru on June 14. Jairzinho and forward Roberto Rivelino each registered a goal. Teofilo "Nene" Cubillas, considered the finest player Peru had ever produced, scored one goal to bring his tournament total to five. Playing their fifth consecutive game at Guadalajara's Jalisco Stadium, the Brazilians faced Uruguay in the semifinals on June 17. Uruguay struck first, capitalizing on a blunder by goalie Felix (Miéli Venerand Felix). Brazil equalized just before the half when midfielder Clodoaldo (Tavares Santana Clodoaldo) took a pass from Tostao and drove it home. It was all Brazil in the second half. Pelé constructed two late-game scores within 13 minutes, feeding Jairzinho and then Rivelino. The 3-1 victory avenged Brazil's loss to 10-to-1 underdog Uruguay in the 1950 finals, a match witnessed by 200,000 highly partisan fans at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Meanwhile, Italy reached the finals with a 4-3 win over West Germany in a thrilling game that featured five overtime goals. Some 110,000 people jammed into Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on June 21 to watch Brazil and Italy play for the world championship of soccer. Nearly a billion people watched the game on television. The Italians, quick and loose, looked sharp as the game unfolded. Brazil, with more of a wait-and-see offensive approach, seemed disorganized. Gerson, left relatively unguarded by the Italians due to his leg injury, gradually began to take control of midfield. Making matters easier for Gerson was Italian coach Ferruccio Valcareggi's decision, based on personal reasons, to bench star midfielder Gianni Rivera. Gerson's playmaking shredded Italy's famed defense. In the 18th minute Rivelino delivered a pretty crossing pass that Pelé headed past goalie Enrico Albertosi for Brazil's 100th World Cup goal. The goal also made Pelé only the second player in Cup history to score at least one goal in two final matches; the first to do so was former teammate Vavá (Edwaldo Izídio Neto Vavá) in 1958 and 1962. A rare defensive lapse by the Brazilians led to a game-tying goal by Roberto Boninsegna in the 37th minute. About eight minutes later, Pelé rifled a shot into Italy's net. It came moments after the halftime whistle. Gerson, infamous for his chain-smoking and aversion to training, continued his stellar play in the second half. In the 65th minute the stocky midfielder began a crafty give-and-go play with Everaldo and Jairzinho that climaxed with Gerson spanking the ball past Albertosi. Five minutes later Gerson lofted a long pass to Pelé near the goal mouth. After another of his trademark fakes, Pelé dumped the ball to Jairzinho for an easy goal. It was his seventh in six games. With his team up 3-1, captain Carlos Alberto wanted a piece of the action. With four minutes remaining Alberto abandoned his customary defensive position, raced toward Italy's goal, took a quick pass from Pelé, and gunned it into the net. The Brazilians won the championship game, 4-1. At the final whistle the crowd poured onto the field, hoisting and carrying any Brazilian player it could find. The police could only watch and pray that no one would get hurt. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
