Garrincha was as brilliant on the pitch as he was wild off of it. He is known as the greatest dribbler in soccer history. Even though he was born with crippled legs and retained a distorted left leg even after an operation, he never let this affect his wonderful ball skills, making some of the most beautiful soccer performances ever.
Manuel Francisco dos Santos, his given name, was world champion twice, 1958 and 1962. During the World Cup in Chile, when Pele was out after the second match with an injury, Garrincha had the major role in Brazil's conquest.
Garrincha played 60 games for the Brazilian team. With Garrincha, Brazil won 52 games and had 7 draws. Brazil never lost with Garrincha & Pele playing together. His only loss for Brazil came in his last game, in the 1966 World Cup in England.
He played for Botafogo, his first professional team, in 581 games, scoring 232 goals. He was champion of the Carioca League in 1957, 1961 & 1962 and of the Rio-Sao Paulo league in 1962 & 1964.
Beseiged by marital & tax problems, Garrincha (the "songbird") died in January 1983 of alcohol abuse
thanks to www.ifhof.com
PERSONALISED CARTOONS HERE
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