Garrincha Biography and Wallpapers

Garrincha Biography

Garrincha Biography - Introduction - As one of his teammates said in an interview, Garrincha should have never become a soccer player. He was dependant on alcohol, he had some natural problems on one of his feet and he was nearly crippled and most importantly, he oftentimes seemed very unfocused of what was happening on the pitch. His left leg was 6 centimeters shorter than his right one and it was curved outwards, while his right foot was bent inwards.

Yet, despite all these, he is regarded as one of the best footballers in Brazil's soccer history. One has to wonder what would have become to Garrincha if he hadn't had all those problems...But you'll find out all about it in this biography.

Full name Manoel Francisco dos Santos Date of birth October 28, 1933 Place of birth Pau Grande, Brazil Height 5.7FT - 1.69M Playing position Forward

Botafogo - Born in Pau Grande in Rio de Janeiro, He managed to surpass his birth defects and play soccer with the other kids. He started playing on an organized level at the age of 15, when he was taken in to SC Pau Grande's youth team. However, he had no intention to play soccer professionally and by the time Botafogo signed him for their senior squad in 1953, he was already married and a father.

In his first training session at Botafogo he impressed everyone with his dribbling skills and he scored a hat-trick on his debut, against Bonsucesso.

Season Club Games Goals 1953-1965 Botafogo 581 232 1966 Corinthians 10 2 1968 Atletico Junior 1 0 1968-1969 Flamengo 15 4 1972 Olaria 10 1

World Cups - Although he played brilliantly for Botafogo on his first two seasons as a professional soccer player, he was not called for the 1954 World Cup, mostly because he was still new to the scene and Brazil already had several quality players on his position. He did still play well for Botafogo, helping the team in their rampant run each year and he finally forced the hand of the Brazilian national side staff into taking him in for the 1958 World Cup.

His contribution to Brazil winning the World Cup was enormous and although Pele took the frontlines with his high goal tally, Garrincha was the man from the shadows who provided the perfect assists for his teammates.

Four years later, Brazil went to Chile to defend their 1958 World Cup title and that they did, again thanks to Garrincha. His passes helped Brazil out of a tough group stage, but he truly shined in the knockout matches.

He scored two beautiful goals in the Quarter against England, taking Brazil to the semis where he would get a double again, this time against hosts Chile. Unfortunately, a fever that stroke him just hours before the grand final against Czechoslovakia affected his performance in that match, but nevertheless Brazil won 3-1, thus adding a second consecutive World Cup to Garrincha's trophy room.

Years National Team Games Goals 1955-1966 Brazil 50 12

End of Career - After having a lot of alcohol related problems, his game had to suffer and in 1965 he would leave Botafogo, the club that he played for in 12 consecutive seasons, scoring 232 goals in 581 matches. The following years found him playing sporadically for other Brazilian teams such as Corinthians, Atletico Junior, Flamengo or Olaria, where he ended his career in 1972, after an unremarkable season.

His last years had been unhappy as he suffered from marital & financial problems but his biggest problem was his liver disease. He died when he was just 49 years old and his funeral drew thousands of fans for a walk, from the Maracana to Pau Grande to show the respect and the love for the Brazilian soccer hero, who remains in the history of Brazilian soccer as one of the artisans of the two consecutive World Cups in 1958 and 1962.

Garrincha Wallpapers