Brazil’s President Lula declares three days of mourning in honor of Zagallo

This Saturday (January 6), the Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared three days of official mourning in Brazil to honor former national team coach and player Mario Jorge Lobo Zagallo. On X, Lula wrote: "In memory of the eternal Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo, three days of official mourning have been declared in Brazil." The decision was made official through Decree No. 11,877, published in an extra edition of Brazil’s Official Gazette.

Earlier on, also on X, the president paid tribute to Zagallo, the only person to have won the World Cup four times—twice as a player (1958 and 1962); once as a coach (1970); and once as a technical coordinator (1994).

"Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo was one of the greatest football players and coaches of all time; a great winner; and a symbol of love for the Brazilian team and Brazil. He was the greatest individual winner in the history of the World Cup—having been a champion twice as player; a champion and a runner-up as coach; and champion as coordinator of the national team in 1994," wrote the president.

"Zagallo was the only one to have taken part in four world championships—and he managed the greatest football team in history, the 1970 Brazilian team. Courageous, dedicated, passionate and superstitious, Zagallo was an example of a Brazilian citizen who never gave up. It's this lesson and spirit of affection, love, dedication and overcoming hardship that he leaves to our entire country and to world football. In this moment of farewell, my solidarity goes out to Zagallo's family, his children and grandchildren, his friends and millions of admirers," added President Lula.