Zagallo, World Cup winning player-coach for Brazil, dies at 92

Brazilian football legend Mario Zagallo has died aged 92, according to a post on his official Instagram account on Saturday (January 6).

Zagallo won four World Cups as either a player or coach - including the 1970 side that is regarded by many to be the best ever.

Born in 1931, Zagallo's first dream was to become a pilot, but he had to abandon this because of poor eyesight. He went on to study accountancy and became an accidental footballer after playing with a local team in his spare time.

A tough and talented left winger, Zagallo played on the team that won Brazil's first World Cup in 1958 and he kept his place in the side that retained the title four years later.

In 1970, he coached a Brazil squad that featured all-time greats like Pele, Jairzinho, Rivellino and Tostao - one that many consider to be the greatest national team ever to play the game. They won Brazil's third World Cup in Mexico. That made Zagallo the first person in the sport to win a World Cup as both a player and a manager.

Later, he was assistant coach to Carlos Alberto Parreira when Brazil won their fourth title in 1994 in the United States.