The King had said goodbye to the yellow shirt in 1971, but was still physically capable of playing in the competition in Germany
In yesterday’s column, I highlighted the national defeat to , in 1974. The preparation for the World Cup, held in Germany, was turbulent and full of setbacks. With the conquest of the third championship, in 1970, the automatically classified. However, the main casualty was the absence of the greatest player of all time.
he said goodbye to the national team in 1971. In 1974, at the age of 33, he would be physically capable of playing in the World Cup. In 2013, the former athlete revealed that he had received an invitation to defend the team, but he rejected it as a sign of protest against the dictatorship. He even said that the president’s daughter asked him to return to the national team, but Pelé didn’t give in.
In addition to the absence of Santos’ eternal number 10, Brazil was also without two top stars: Gérson and Tostão. The players had participated in the Mini Cup that the country organized and won in 1972. The final was played against Portugal, at Maracanã, with the team winning 1-0, a goal by . The “hurricane” of the 1970 World Cup and Rivellino were guaranteed in Germany.
In 1973, the national team made an extensive tour of Europe and was heavily criticized. On June 21 of that year, Brazil lost 1-0 to Sweden. The press did not forgive the team for its poor performance. The next friendly was against Scotland, when the athletes signed a document that became known as the “Glasgow manifesto”, in which they cut ties with the press.
Campaign of the Brazilian team in the 1974 World Cup
First phase
- Brazil 0x0 Yugoslavia
- Brazil 0x0 Scotland
- Brazil 3×0 Zaire
Second phase
- Brazil 1×0 East Germany
- Brazil 2×1 Argentina
- Brazil 0x2 Netherlands
Third place dispute
It was an economical selection of goals that didn’t delight anyone. Perhaps the team’s best match was against Argentina. Listen to a compact version of the duel with narration by Osmar Santos over the airwaves Young Pan.
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Jovem Pan.
