Garrincha (Paperback)

Ruy Castro

ISBN 10: 0224064339 / ISBN 13: 9780224064330

Published by Vintage Publishing, London, 2005

About this Item

Paperback. The World Cup Finals, Sweden 1958. Brazil vs the fearsome USSR. In the opening three minutes - 'the greatest three minutes in the history of football' - one man wrote himself into the record books alongside the game's greatest players, men like Pele, Di Stefano, Puskas and Maradona. Brazil went on to win the cup, and, in Garrincha, a star was born. Garrincha was the unlikeliest of footballers - with a right leg that turned inwards and a left that turned out, he looked as if he could barely walk, but with a ball at his feet he had the poise of an angel. Born in rural Brazil in 1933, the 'Little Bird' came to football by accident, discovered at the late age of nineteen by a scout from Botafogo. He played for the love of the game, uninterested in money, and ignoring tactical advice. And he was as wild off the pitch as he was mesmerising on it - mischievous, audacious and dripping with sex appeal. It was his affair and subsequent marriage to the singer Elza Soares that caught the imagination of a nation - their mouth-watering combination of soccer and samba made them the toast of 1960s Rio. But by the age of forty-nine, Garrincha was dead, destroyed by the excesses that made him so Brazil vs the fearsome USSR.In the opening three minutes - 'the greatest three minutes in the history of football' - one man wrote himself into the record books. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780224064330

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Garrincha (Paperback)
• Publisher: Vintage Publishing, London
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0224064339
• ISBN 13: 9780224064330
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

The unlikely rise and colourful life of a flawed sporting legend — one of the architects of the footballing magic that we now associate with Brazil’s “beautiful game.”

About the Author

RUY CASTRO has worked for many of Brazil's top newspapers and magazines. He is also the author of several biographies and collections of quotations. His most recent works include Bossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music that Seduced the World and Rio de Janeiro: Carnival under Fire. He is currently working on a biography of Carmen Miranda. He lives in Rio de Janeiro.