Brazil in mourning after first World Cup-winning skipper dies
Central defender Hilderaldo Luiz Bellini who battled Alzheimer’s disease for a decade died in Sao Paulo
Hilderaldo Luiz Bellini, the captain of Brazil’s first World Cup-winning team, died Thursday aged 83 after a long illness, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said.
The central defender, who had been battling Alzheimer’s disease for a decade, died in a Sao Paulo hospital three years after he suffered a stroke, which left him unable to speak.
The CBF declared three days of mourning in honour of Bellini, who will be buried on Friday in his home city of Itapira, in Sao Paulo state.
I had the chance to get to know him while he was at Sao Paulo ... he was an excellent defender, a gentleman and a true professional
“Brazilian football and its fans are in mourning following the death of someone who made a great captain,” CBF President Jose Maria Marin said.
“I had the chance to get to know him while he was at Sao Paulo, where he was an excellent defender, a gentleman and a true professional.”
Brazilian football historian Juca Kfouri credits Bellini with being the first World Cup skipper to lift the trophy high into the air – the gesture has become an integral part of the winning ceremony.
A 1960 statue of Bellini, who won 51 caps for his country, shows him holding the original Jules Rimet trophy aloft – one-handed – outside the Maracana Stadium.