Jairzinho

Jairzinho

Jairzinho in 1974
Personal information
Full name Jair Ventura Filho
Date of birth (1944-12-25) December 25, 1944
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Winger
Youth career
Botafogo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1959–1974 Botafogo 413 (186)
1974–1975 Olympique de Marseille 18 (9)
1975 Kaizer Chiefs 3 (7)
1976 Cruzeiro
1977 Portuguesa 10 (2)
1978–1979 Noroeste 2 (0)
1979 Fast Club 19 (17)
1980–1981 Jorge Wilstermann
1981–1982 Botafogo
1982 9 de Octubre
National team
1964–1982 Brazil[1] 81 (33)
Teams managed
1997–1998 Kalamata
2003–2005 Gabon

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Jair Ventura Filho (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒaˌiʁˈzĩɲu]; born December 25, 1944), better known as Jairzinho, is a retired Brazilian footballer. A quick, powerful winger, he was a member of the legendary Brazilian national team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup, during which he scored in every game Brazil played. In doing so, he became one of only two players – the other being Alcides Ghiggia – in the history of the World Cup to have scored in every game of the tournament and was thereafter nicknamed as "The Hurricane".[2][3] He was listed at number 27 in World Soccer Magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century, one place ahead of Zinedine Zidane.[4]

Due to the economic and political situation of the time, as well as the Sport Legislation, he played most of his club football in South America where he spent eleven years at Rio de Janeiro club Botafogo. He went on to play in Europe during the final years of his career, a common pattern for South American players until the 1980s, when the economic and political situation changed. Jairzinho replaced his footballing idol Garrincha in both the Botafogo and Brazil teams, and played in three consecutive World Cups: 1966, 1970 and 1974.

Biography

Jairzinho was born in Rio de Janeiro, where he went through the youth setup at local club Botafogo. He made his professional debut with the club as a striker at the age of fifteen. His hero Garrincha, whom he would eventually replace for both club and country, also played at Botafogo, albeit in Jairzinho's preferred position on the right wing. This resulted in Jairzinho spending most of his early games playing on the left wing or as a centre forward. However, he would fill in as a right winger, by far his strongest position, when Garrincha was injured.

He made his international debut as a 19-year-old in 1964 against Portugal, again when Garrincha was injured. He played in the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England, however, and with Garrincha back in the side, he played as a left winger. Jairzinho struggled to be effective in this position, and he couldn't prevent Brazil from exiting the competition at the first round. When, after the tournament, Garrincha announced his retirement from international football, Jairzinho finally took over his idol's role for Brazil on the right wing.

Now in his favourite position, Jairzinho became a far more effective and consistent performer for country. At the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, Jairzinho was one of Brazil's star players, and made history by scoring in every game for the Seleção, for which he received the epithet "Furacão da Copa" (World Cup Hurricane). He scored his seventh goal of the tournament in Brazil's 4–1 world cup win over Italy in the final. However, his impressive goals tally at the finals were not enough to win the Golden Boot, which went to Germany's Gerd Müller, who scored ten goals. Jairzinho has claimed that FIFA awarded him a "best body on the planet" prize for his athleticism; however, FIFA has no record of this award.[5] Following his display in Mexico, Jairzinho moved to Europe to play for French side Marseille. However, he struggled with Marseille and soon returned to Brazil to play for Cruzeiro, with whom he won the Copa Libertadores in 1976. The Cruzeiro team at the time included the likes of Nelinho and Dirceu Lopes.

Jairzinho scored two goals in the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which would prove to be his last World Cup for Brazil. The 3rd-Place Final was his last match for Brazil until he was given a one-off farewell cap against Czechoslovakia on March 3, 1982 in a game which Brazil drew 1–1. He scored 33 goals in 81 games during his international career.

Jairzinho finished his career playing for Portuguesa in Venezuela, making it one of the greatest teams in Venezuelan history, helping Portuguesa win a record 16 games in a row and their fourth of five championships. After retiring as a footballer, Jairzinho became a coach and managed a number of youth teams in his native Brazil. He also worked in Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In 1997, Jairzinho began his first journey as manager In Europe being appointed at Greek Super League club Kalamata. He was sacked due to poor results, his side relegated at the end of the season.[6] Jairzinho was named head coach of the Gabon national team.[7] However, he was sacked by Gabon's Football Federation after a crushing defeat against Angola in a World Cup 2006 Qualifier held in Luanda.[8] Perhaps his greatest achievement as a coach was spotting Ronaldo as a 14-year-old whilst he was coaching São Cristóvão. He kick-started the career of the future three-time FIFA World Player of the Year by recommending him to Cruzeiro, his former side, and the Brazil youth team.[9] Jairzinho is currently the manager of Esprof Atletico futebol Clube, a team based in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro state who play in the Campeonato Carioca.

Honours

Jairzinho in 2010

References

  1. ↑ "Jair Ventura Filho 'Jairzinho' – Goals in International Matches". rsssf.com. Retrieved May 6, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Jairzinho – Legends of the Football World Cup". World-cup-betting-2006.com. December 25, 1944. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Hurricane that never blew out". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "World Soccer 100 Players of the Century". Englandfootballonline.com. December 15, 2001. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  5. ↑ Doyle, Paul (December 1, 2008). "Why the Ballon d'Or is stupid and quite possibly evil". The Guardian (London). Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  6. ↑ Greece First League 1997–1998. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Jairzinho to coach Gabon". BBC News. October 18, 2003. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Gabon sack Brazilian coach Jairzinho after defeat – FIFA World Cup". ESPN Soccernet. September 11, 2005. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  9. ↑ "El Fenomeno – Ronaldo Biography". Soccer-fans-info.com. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  10. ↑ Pequeña Copa del Mundo and Other International Club Tournaments in Caracas. rsssf.com
  11. ↑ IFFHS' Century Elections

External links

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