Communism, Nasa and a place for Pelé: how Brazil prepared for the 1970 World Cup

In this extract from their forthcoming book on South America and the World Cup, Mark Biram and Tim Vickery describe la Seleçao’s strange buildup to the classic tournament

In January 1969, João Saldanha was appointed as Brazil’s coach. Saldanha was barely a coach – he had had a brief spell in charge of Botafogo more than a decade earlier. He was an immensely popular football journalist, who with typewriter or microphone had the fluent gift of communication, talking about the game in language that was both fresh and straightforward, easy to understand. And he was so much more. He was a charismatic powerhouse, who claimed to have popped up at many key moments in history, usually in the service of international communism. Because, yes, at the right-wing height of Brazil’s military dictatorship, a communist was appointed to coach the national football team.

João Havelange, the president of the Brazilian sports confederation, knew what he was doing. At a stroke, he had cut away all the intrigue and politicking which was surrounding the side. Saldanha’s opening move was to announce his starting lineup and his reserves. No argument, no discussion, no balancing off one region against the other. Just one man picking the team. And it worked. Brazil sailed through qualification for the 1970 World Cup.

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