June 21, 1970: Brazil's Masterpiece

June 21, 1970: The World Cup Final is held before 107,412 fans at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. It was the 1st World Cup televised in color around the world, and, as a recent article stated, the way it was broadcast and merchandised suggested that it was closer in style and form to the most recent World Cup, in Russia in 2018, than it was to the one it followed, in 1966 in England.

Let me get "the local angle" out of the way first. America -- or "the United States," if you prefer -- did not qualify for the 1970 World Cup. We did try, but, as was the case for every one between 1950 and 1990, we simply weren't good enough.

CONCACAF, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, put the U.S. in a Qualification Group Stage with Canada and Bermuda. On October 13, 1968, we lost 4-2 to Canada at Varsity Stadium in Toronto. On October 26, we beat Canada 1-0 at Atlanta (later Atlanta-Fulton County) Stadium. On November 2, we beat Bermuda 6-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. And on November 11, we beat Bermuda 2-0 at their National Stadium in Hamilton.

So we advanced to the Semifinal, where we faced Haiti, a team we should have beaten, but didn't. On April 20, 1969, we lost 2-0 Stade Sylvio Cantor in Port-au-Prince. And on May 11, we lost 1-0 at San Diego (later Jack Murphy) Stadium, ending our bid. Haiti then lost the Final to El Salvador, who eliminated neighboring Honduras, a series of events that included a 2-day "Football War" between the countries.

So the 16 teams involved were:

* From CONCACAF: Mexico (as the host, they qualified automatically) and El Salvador.

* From CONMEBOL, the governing body for South America: Brazil, Peru and Uruguay.

* From UEFA, the governing body for Europe: England (as the defending champions, they qualified automatically), Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Romania, the Soviet Union, Sweden and West Germany.

* From CAF, the governing body for Africa: Morocco.

* From AFC, the governing body for Asia: Israel.

* From OFC, the governing body for Oceania (centered on Australia): No teams qualified.

The Israelis were making their 1st appearance. It remains their only one. Eventually, the Muslim nations of the Middle East would refuse to allow their national teams play them, and would refuse to allow their club teams to play Israel's, resulting in FIFA, the governing body for world soccer (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), moving them into UEFA.

*

This was the 1st time the World Cup was held in a CONCACAF nation. The advantage to playing in Mexico was that the infrastructure was already in place, due to Mexico's solid Liga MX, and also to the country having hosted the Olympics in 1968. The disadvantages to playing in Mexico were the weather (much of the country is desert, so it was hot) and the elevation (the highest in World Cup history, even higher than the mountainous nations of Sweden in 1958 and Chile in 1962, thus the air was thinner, possibly dangerous when hot).

But the infrastructure already being in place meant that it wasn't an especially expensive World Cup to put on -- which helped in 1983, when Colombia, chosen as host for 1986, accepted that their internal strife was too much, and became the only nation ever to bow out as a World Cup host. As FIFA tended to alternate between Europe and Latin America, and Spain had hosted in 1982, they decided that the host had to be another Latin American nation. Mexico had done well as host in 1970, so they put it there again, and it worked pretty well again.

Brazil had hosted in 1950, but lost the Final to neighboring Uruguay, as devastating a loss as has ever been suffered in sports. In 1954, they won their Group, but were defeated in the Quarterfinal by a Hungary team known as "The Magnificent Magyars," which would also be stunned in a Final, by West Germany.

But in 1958, with 17-year-old Edson Arantes do Nascimento, a.k.a. Pelé, Brazil won their 1st World Cup, beating host nation Sweden in the Final. In 1962, in Chile, they won again, with a Final win over Czechoslovakia. Their 1966 experience was hard, with neighbors and arch-rivals Argentina literally kicking Pelé out of the tournament. England won the Final on home soil, over West Germany in extra time.

In the interim between 1966 and 1970, Brazil, as it occasionally does, fell to an autocratic government. What's more, the manager, João Saldanha, refused to pick Pelé for the 1970 team. He also refused to pick Dario José dos Santos, or simply "Dario." (Brazilian stars tend to be known by either just their first names, or nicknames as in Pelé's case.) Told that the military President, Emílio Garrastazu Médici, considered Dario one of his favorite players, and that Saldanha should pick him, Saldanha said, "Well, I also have some suggestions to give in the President's ministry choices."

Finally, his assistant manager quit, saying he was "impossible to work with." So Saldanha was fired. Mário Zagallo, who had played on the 1958 and '62 Cup winners, and had been managing Rio de Janeiro team Botafogo, was named to replace him. He named both Pelé and Dario to the team -- or, in Portuguese, O Seleção, "the Selection."

Mário Zagallo

*

Venues for the World Cup were:

* Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, the 107,000-capacity (now 87,000-seat) home of Club América, the country's most successful team, and also of club sides Necaxa, Atlante, and soon Cruz Azul and the now-defunct Atlético Español.

* Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara, then home to Guadalajara (a.k.a. Chivas, or Goats) and Jalisco; and, then as now, home to Atlas and Leones Negros (Black Lions).

* Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla, home of Puebla F.C.

* Estadio Luis Dosal in Toluca, home of Deportivo Toluca. It is now named Estadio Nemesio Díez, and, like the home of Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is nicknamed La Bombonera, or "The Chocolate Box."

* Estadio León, home of Club León. The stadium is nicknamed the Nou Camp, after the home of FC Barcelona in Spain.

Estadio Azteca

As I said, this was the 1st time the World Cup would be broadcast around the world in color, so no longer would teams be seen in shades of gray. Host Mexico would be in green. England, the Soviet Union, Belgium, Bulgaria, Morocco and Peru wore red. Brazil, Sweden and Romania wore yellow -- Brazil's shirt being nicknamed O Canarinho, "The Canary." Italy wore royal blue, the color of its former ruling House of Savoy. Uruguay and Israel wore sky blue. El Salvador and Czechoslovakia wore white for all of their matches. Peru wore white with a red sash. West Germany wore green once, and white for the rest of their matches.

Traditionally, the hosts play the 1st match, and Mexico opened against the Soviets on May 31, playing a 0-0 draw at the Azteca. Both advanced from Group 1. Italy and Uruguay advanced from Group 2, with Israel losing 2-0 to Uruguay, drawing 1-1 with Sweden, and bravely holding Italy to a 0-0 draw. West Germany and Peru advanced from Group 4.

The match everyone wanted to see was in Group 3, in Guadalajara on June 7. A cross at the corner from Jairzinho went right where he wanted it to, a spot soon met by the head of Pelé. As soon as he hit it, Pelé yelled, "Gol!"

This was a man who had already scored over 1,000 goals in all competitions -- and, contrary to what modern fans, citing Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo as the "GOAT" (Greatest Of All Time) would say, they were no more "all against farmers" than those current pretenders' goals have been -- so he usually knew what he was talking about.

Not this time. Gordon Banks, as much a reason as anyone why England won 4 years earlier, had been facing Jairzinho, expecting a shot to his left. He had just enough time to switch his dive to his right, stick out his right hand, and knock Pelé's shot over the crossbar.

Pelé, who did already speak English: "I thought that was a goal."
Banks: "You and me both."
Bobby Moore, England centreback and Captain: "You're getting old, Banksy. You used to hold on to them." (Banks was 32, Moore 29, Pelé also 29.)

It's been called the greatest save in the sport's history. But Brazil would not be denied. In the 59th minute, Jairzinho put one past Banks, and it was 1-0 Brazil, and would end that way. After the game, Moore, white, and a defender, swapped shirts with Pelé, black, and an attacker, each country's greatest sports legend joining for an act more important than anything that happened in the game.

*

In spite of the loss, England did advance to the knockout round, as did Brazil. The Quarterfinals, all played on June 14, were loaded with drama. Brazil had a little trouble with fellow South Americans Peru, but beat them 4-2. Uruguay and the Soviets went to extra time at the Azteca. Just when it looked like there might be a penalty shootout, Victor Espárrago scored in the 117th minute, allowing Uruguay, the 1930 and 1950 winners, to advance.

At Toluca, Italy eliminated the hosts. Mexico took an early 1-0 lead, but an own goal tied it up. In the span of 13 minutes in the 2nd half, Luigi "Gigi" Riva, whose spectacular strikes had given Sardinia-based Cagliari its only league title ever a few weeks earlier, scored 2 beauties. In between, Italy also got a goal from perhaps the greatest player they'd ever produced, A.C. Milan star Gianni Rivera.

At León came a rematch of the 1966 Final: England vs. West Germany. Banks came down with food poisoning, and, to this day, there are conspiracy theories that a German fan may have done it to him deliberately. (Shades of what would allegedly happen with Arsenal and Tottenham in 2006.) At gametime, manager Alf Ramsey, so dependent upon Banks 4 years earlier, dropped the Stoke City netminder for Chelsea's Peter Bonetti.

At first, things went well for England. Alan Mullery of Tottenham Hotspur scored in the 31st. In the 49th, Martin Peters of West Ham, who had scored in the '66 Final, tallied. Three-quarters of the way through the game, England were up 2-0, and looked like they were headed for a Semifinal date with Italy, who had won Euro 68.

But Franz Beckenbauer of Bayern Munich scored in the 68th minute. And then Uwe Seeler of Hamburg tied the game in the 82nd. The game went to extra time at 2-2, as had the '66 Final. This time, it was "Ze Germans" who found the 3rd goal, from Bayern striker Gerd Müller.

Looking at the tape of the game, I am firmly convinced that Banks would not have stopped any of the 3 German goals. It was England's vaunted defense that was to blame: Moore was the only '66 holdover, and newcomers Terry Cooper of 1969 Football League Champions Leeds United, and Brian Labone and Keith Newton of 1970 Champions Everton were not up to the task on this occasion.

Another conspiracy theory says that this defeat so depressed the people of England that it held down turnout in the United Kingdom's general election, allowing the Conservative Party to knock the Liberal Party out of power, resulting in Harold Wilson being replaced as Prime Minister by Edward Heath. This theory makes a bit more sense than the one about Banks being intentionally poisoned.

*

The Semifinals were played on June 17. It had been 20 years, minus a month, since Uruguay had humiliated Brazil in the World Cup Final at Estádio do Maracanã in Rio, an event known as Maracanaço, "The Agony of Maracanã." O Seleção wanted revenge.

And, for most of the 1st half in Guadalajara, it looked like they wouldn't get it. Uruguay took a 1-0 lead after just 19 minutes. But Clodoaldo scored near the end of the half. Jairzinho scored the winner in the 76th, and Rivelino added insurance in the 89th, giving Brazil a 3-1 win.

The other Semifinal, between Italy and West Germany at the Azteca, was a wild one, and has gone down in history as "The Game of the Century." It was a lot like the 1958 NFL Championship Game, a.k.a. "The Greatest Game Ever Played," in that it wasn't especially compelling most of the way, but became so, and went to overtime (or "extra time," as soccer calls it), and had a dramatic ending.

Roberto Boninsegna of Internazionale Milano put Italy on the board in the 8th minute. And 1-0 to the Azzurri (Blues) it remained. For whatever reason, Italy manager Ferruccio Valcareggi decided that he couldn’t make his country’s 2 best players, Gianni Rivera and Boninsegna's Inter teammate Sandro Mazzola, work together. So, for the 2nd half, he took Mazzola off, and put Rivera on.

Ironically, it was an A.C. Milan player, and a centreback to boot, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, who got Germany the equalizer in the 90th and last minute of normal time. As German TV announcer Ernst Huberty said, "Schnellinger! Ausgerechnet Schnellinger!" (Schnellinger, of all people!)

After the restart, an Italian defensive error led to a goal by Müller in the 94th. But 4 minutes later, another defender leveled the game -- and, perhaps answering fate for fate, it was an ethnic German, Inter's Tarcisio Burgnich, a native of Udine near Italy's border with Austria and Slovenia (then part of Yugoslavia).

Riva scored in the 104th minute, and it looked like a 3-2 Italy win. Müller scored in the 110th, and, as English announcer Brian Moore might have said, it was up for grabs now. But just after the restart, Rivera came in and buried one past Bayern goalkeeper Sepp Maier. Italy's famed defense held on for the 4-3 win.

West Germany, having won the World Cup in 1954, would win Euro 72 and the 1974 World Cup. But, for now, it was Italy, winners in 1934 and 1938, against Brazil, winners in 1958 and 1962.

It was June 21, 1970. One nation, Brazil, was under a military dictatorship. The other, Italy, was constantly changing governments, as multi-party coalitions fell apart, with the current Prime Minister being Mariano Rumor. The host nation, Mexico, was effectively a one-party state, with Gustavo Díaz Ordaz as President.

In the last year and a half, New York City had seen 3 tremendous upsets give them "World" Championships: The Jets in Super Bowl III, the Mets in the 1969 World Series, and the Knicks in the 1970 NBA Finals. Joe Namath, Tom Seaver and Walt Frazier. Broadway Joe, Tom Terrific and Clyde.

In between, Richard Nixon had become President, man had landed on the Moon, the Woodstock music festival was held, and the Ohio National Guard had murdered 4 antiwar protestors at Kent State University outside Cleveland. The Beatles had broken up. And I had been born.

In America, ABC acquired the rights to broadcast the Final. But instead of airing it live, they waited several months and broadcast it on ABC Wide World of Sports on Christmas Day. The Spanish International Network, which later became Univision, recognized the unserved soccer audience, and provided much more extensive television coverage of the games. Local Spanish UHF stations, such as WXTV-Channel 41 in New York and KMEX-Channel 34 in Los Angeles, broadcast the tournament.

*

In the end, with 107,412 fans watching at the Azteca, it didn't matter that Valcareggi couldn't make Rivera and Mazzola work together. Because this was the climax of Brazil's show. It showed them to be the best national soccer team ever assembled, and Pelé, the best player ever. And if you think either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo is better, you are a fool.

Pelé opened the scoring with a header in the 18th minute. Boninsegna tied it in the 37th, and the teams went into halftime at 1-1.

All through the 2nd half, Brazil passed the ball around in the way that led Pelé to call soccer O Jogo Bonito: "The Beautiful Game." Gérson picked the perfect time for his 1st-ever international goal, the 66th minute of the World Cup Final. Jairzinho put the game away 5 minutes later, becoming the 1st man ever to score in every round of a World Cup. Carlos Alberto, the Captain, put the cherry on the sundae in the 86th.

It ended Brazil 4, Italy 1. Brazil were the 1st 3-time winners of the World Cup. Zagallo became the 1st man ever to both play on and manage a World Cup winner.

Maybe it's the fact that it was the right time for the Baby Boomers, the largest generation ever, to see it. But the 1970 Brazil team embedded itself in the public consciousness as the greatest soccer team ever. Not just for results, but for quality. They were forerunner of the Netherlands' "Total Football" of the 1970s, the A.C. Milan mixture of Italian steel and Dutch free-flow in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and Arsène Wenger's Arsenal of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Brazil won the World Cup again in 1994 and 2002, becoming the 1st 4-time and the 1st 5-time winner. (Italy would win in 1982 and 2006.) But, in spite of legends like Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, it was never quite the same.

The late Spring and early Summer of 1970. There were wars with no end in sight. So many places in the world were a mess on their respective domestic fronts.

But 11 men from Brazil gave people all over the world something to marvel over. Then, and for the rest of their lives.

It wasn't just O Jogo Bonito, The Beautiful Game. It was Obra-Prima: A Masterpiece.

*

June 21, 1970 was a Sunday. Football, basketball and hockey were out of season. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 14-11 at Fenway Park in Boston. Fritz Peterson started for the Yankees, and only lasted 2 innings. Gary Peters started for the Sox, and didn't get out of the 4th.

In spite of the length of this game, and the total number of hits, 38, there were no home runs. The Yankees scores 6 runs in the top of the 11th, with RBI singles by Jerry Kenney and relief pitcher Lindy McDaniel, an RBI double by Bobby Murcer, and a sacrifice fly by Danny Cater. The Sox came back with 2 in the bottom of the 11th, but McDaniel held them off for the win. For the Yankees, Cater and Thurman Munson each had 3 RBIs. So did Mike Andrews and Jerry Moses for the Sox. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Senators, 4-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4 with an RBI, but Frank Robinson did not play.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros, 6-4 at Atlanta Stadium. (It was renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1974.) Hank Aaron hit 2 home runs.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Neither Roberto Clemente nor Willie Stargell got into the game.

* The Detroit Tigers swept a doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Tigers won the opener, 7-2. Al Kaline was held out, to keep him fresh for the nightcap. The Tigers won that one, too, 9-8 in 12 innings.

The Indians led 6-1 after 2 innings, 8-5 after 6, and 8-7 after 7, and blew it. Tiger starter Mike Kilkenny didn't get out of the 1st inning, and Indian starter Rick Austin didn't get out of the 3rd. Tom Timmerman pitched 3 scoreless extra innings to become the winning pitcher.

Tiger shortstop Cesar Gutierrez tied a major league record by going 7-for-7: He singled to right in the 1st, singled to left in the 3rd, beat out a grounder to short in the 5th, doubled to left in the 7th, singled to right to drive in a run in the 8th, beat out another grounder to short in the 10th, and singled to center in the 12th. Gutierrez did not play in the 1st game.

 

None of his hits were home runs. But Jim Northrup hit 2, and Kaline and Mickey Stanley each hit 1 for the Tigers, Stanley's in the 12th making the difference. Tony Horton, Chuck Hinton and Ted Uhlaender each hit 1 for the Indians.

* A doubleheader was split at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 1st game, and the Cincinnati Reds won the 2nd game. In each game, the final score was 9-3. Over the 2 games, Pete Rose went 4-for-9 with a home run and 2 RBIs, and Johnny Bench went 5-for-9 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs.

* The St. Louis Cardinals swept a doubleheader from their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, 3-0 and 3-2. Steve Carlton outpitched Ken Holtzman in the opener, and Bob Gibson outpitched Jim Colborn in the nightcap. Lou Brock went 2-for-8 with 2 walks and 3 stolen bases against his former team. Joe Torre went 3-for-7 with 2 walks and 2 RBIs. Ernie Banks went 1-for-3 in the 1st game, and got the 2nd game off.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 11-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Harmon Killebrew hit a home run, and Rod Carew went 2-for-4 with a a walk and an RBI.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 7-2 at San Diego Stadium. (It was renamed Jack Murphy Stadium in 1980, and Qualcomm Stadium in 1997.) Willie Mays went 1-for-4. 

* The Oakland Athletics swept a doubleheader with the Chicago White Sox, 6-3 and 5-4 at the Oakland Coliseum. Reggie Jackson went 3-for-6 with an RBI, and Sal Bando hit 2 home runs in the 2nd game.

* The California Angels beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-5 at Anaheim Stadium. (It was renamed Edison International Field in 1997, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 2004.) Jay Johnstone doubled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The New York Mets were supposed to play the Philadelphia Phillies at Shea Stadium, but it was rained out. It was made up as part of a doubleheader on September 9th. The Phillies won the 1st game, 3-2. The Mets won the 2nd game, 3-1.

Also on that day, Ball Four was published. It was pitcher Jim Bouton's diary of the 1969 season. Other players hated it because it showed them to be vain, immature and unfaithful to their wives. Team owners hated it because it showed just how badly they had been ripping the players off.

Bouton stood by his story for the rest of his life, and Ball Four remains the best-selling sports-themed book of all time – and maybe the funniest.