A great football mind passes on

I am not Brazilian, I have not been to Brazil, and I don’t even speak Portuguese, but I love football and the way the Brazilian national team plays it.

I remember hearing Pele, Jairzinho, Tostão, and Rivelino’s names when I was a kid as if they were Iranians. When I learned that Pele was not an Iranian, I was so upset that pouted for days.

I remember most of my older friends wanted to be Rivelino or Carlos Alberto whenever they played. But the generation of Brazilian footballers whom I idolized was that of the 1982 squad. I loved watching Junior dominate attackers who dared into his territory on the left defensive side, and then join Zico, Socrates, Falcao, Cerezo, and Eder to build an attack. When they crashed against Italy, I was so upset that I almost refused to watch the rest of the World Cup.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, because the man who put that team together died today.

Tele Santana passed away at the age of 74.

I am not lying to you when I say that I am typing these words with knot in my throat.

In times when many coaches were primarily concerning themselves with defense, and selling out to anti-football, he was a leading figure amongst a very elite group who held on to the attacking principals that made the Beautiful Game what it was.

He was once quoted as saying, “Football is art, it is enjoyment and it is not about hoofing the ball upfield. I’d rather lose the game than tell my team to foul, kick the opponents or win with an illegitimate goal.”

Tele you will be missed.