Not sure why, but we’re having a bit of a Garrincha day here on Pies, so it’s only right be bring you some moving pictures of the man in motion.
A progenitor of what we’d now recognise as fundamental wing play, Garrincha’s fortitude was his imperious dribbling skills, perhaps aided by the asymmetric centre of balance his various birth defects combined to create.
One minute he was going this way; a befuddling shimmy of the torso and a flick of the legs later, he was heading off in that…
A little snippet of trivia for you: The Brazilian national team never lost a single match when both Garrincha and Pele were on the pitch together, and the former only ever lost once while playing for the Selecao.
Indeed, after making his debut in 1955, the first time Garrincha tasted defeat in an international match was against Hungary in the group stage of the 1966 World Cup in England – the last appearance he ever made for his country.
Not a bad run, in anybody’s book.