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Garrincha: The Triumph and Tragedy of Brazil's Forgotten Footballing Hero

by Ruy Castro, translated  by Andrew Downie

Yellow Jersey Press $255

If the allure of a successful sportsperson is undeniable, the story of a fallen hero is irresistible. The life of Garrincha is perhaps the epitome of this potent combination of glory and disaster.

Playing for Brazil in the late 1950s and 60s, he was a cornerstone in establishing the fearsome reputation the national team still enjoys today. Garrincha helped Brazil win the World Cup twice, scoring 34 goals in the process.

Off the pitch, he lost his virginity to a goat, slept with countless women, fathered 13 children, killed his mother-in-law in a car crash, and attempted suicide on numerous occasions, before drinking himself to death in 1983.

Manuel dos Santos was born in Pau Grande,  about 70km from Rio de Janeiro, with crooked legs. 'The left leg bent out and the right leg bent in, as if a gust of wind had blown them out of position,' says Ruy Castro. His swaying walking style earned the nickname Garrincha: 'Little Bird', or 'The Wren'.

Castro describes him as 'the most amateur footballer professional football ever produced'. With 'the poise of an angel' on the pitch, he drank and womanised like the devil off  it and had a  tumultuous 20-year affair with Brazilian singer Elza Soares.

Exploding onto the world stage at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, he  dismantled the Soviet Union in the first 180 seconds of the game - dubbed 'the greatest three minutes in the history of football'. Garrincha dribbled through his opponents as if they weren't there, at one point leaving a defender on the ground before putting his foot on the ball, helping him back up and running past him again.

He won the cup, became a star, and did it all over again in 1962. In 60 games with him in the team, Brazil lost just one match. Yet by 1966 he was ruined by drink and injuries.

Castro's account is exhaustive, based on anecdotes from a list of doctors, ex-girlfriends, fans, friends, journalists, lawyers, photographers, singers, former players, managers and directors.  He encapsulates a game before it was revolutionised by TV - compared with today's isotonic, science-driven carnival of advertising. The contrast could not be greater between now and then, as Castro  reveals details of the pre-tournament preparations of that 1958 side. 'The majority [of players] had intestinal parasites to spare; several were anaemic; one player even had syphilis ... worst of all was the state of their teeth.'

For all his rampant success, Garrincha was  a man whose desire was not to score goals or earn mountains of cash. He simply loved to dribble with the ball.  A magazine arranged a meeting between Garrincha and Pele in 1982. By this time Garrincha was ravaged by booze, while Pele had become football's global ambassador. Castro says there was not a single trace of bitterness in Garrincha when he slapped his old teammate on the back for the final time. Three weeks later, he would die alone, attached to a drip in a hospital room.



Garrincha: The Triumph and Tragedy of Brazil's Forgotten Footballing Hero