Book Review: A Story of Brazilian Greatness and Global Legacy
January 6 – Brazil 1970 and Pelé will forever be the standard-bearers of the beautiful game. author Sam Kunti tells the story of Brazil's historic victory.
From the pristine beaches of Caraguatatuba, where he spoke to Felix's daughter, to Baldocchi's quiet home in Batatais, Kunti crisscrossed Brazil between 2013 and 2022 and interviewed 18 members of the 1970 team, including late captain Carlos Alberto Torres, Clodoaldo, Gerson, Rivellino, Jairzinho and Tostao, as well as coach Mario Zagallo and staff member Carlos Alberto Parreira. The author draws on rich documents to recount in forensic detail how Brazil, after its decline in the 1966 World Cup, built the greatest team in football history.
In the popular imagination, the 1970 Seleçao is legendary, but their story remains largely unknown. This book gives the reader a front row seat to all the drama from the prologue onwards – a textual account by Brazilian players of England's opening minutes against Brazil and stoppage of the century.
The World Cup classic between England and Brazil is getting a lot of attention, but Kunti puts this game in a bigger context. He details the socio-political conditions of the time by drawing elaborate profiles of Joao Saldanha, Dada Maravilha and Zagallo – the communist, apolitical actor and establishment man. The book offers a broader understanding of tournament preparation.
The myth of Brazil fielding a picked XI on the beach is dispelled in the book. In 1970, technocrats had invaded football as they had invaded Brazilian society in the 1960s. The military dictatorship had left the country with a very different administration. They measured things, clipboard in hand.
In football, the national team was no longer that of Zizinho, but a team in the image of Parreira and Claudio Coutinho. Winning the 1970 World Cup was a profoundly technocratic and scientific feat. The author also argues that Brazil's unprecedented victory was also the beginning of the end of the beautiful game.
One of the final chapters is devoted to Pelé's legacy. In the 1970 World Cup, he cemented his place in the gallery of greats as well as Brazil's status as a futebol nation. With the advent of color television, Pelé and the barnstorming Brazilians played a vital role in transforming the World Cup into a global broadcast spectacle.
Although the result of the 1970 World Cup is public knowledge, Kunti manages to create enough momentum to attract the reader. The many quotations and interventions of the greats of Brazil add warmth, lightness and humor to the book.
The book is ultimately a tribute to all the players of 1970. They belong to another era but proved that football can stir the soul. Like the 1969 moon landing, Brazil's triumph seemed like a victory for humanity. As Carlos Alberto Torres said: "Our team played the 'beautiful game'."
Samindra Kunti is an editor for Insideworldfootball. His book Brazil 1970 - How the Greatest Team of All Time Won the World Cup" (Pitch Publishing) is now available and can be ordered here .
January 6 – Brazil 1970 and Pelé will forever be the standard-bearers of the beautiful game. author Sam Kunti tells the story of Brazil's historic victory.
From the pristine beaches of Caraguatatuba, where he spoke to Felix's daughter, to Baldocchi's quiet home in Batatais, Kunti crisscrossed Brazil between 2013 and 2022 and interviewed 18 members of the 1970 team, including late captain Carlos Alberto Torres, Clodoaldo, Gerson, Rivellino, Jairzinho and Tostao, as well as coach Mario Zagallo and staff member Carlos Alberto Parreira. The author draws on rich documents to recount in forensic detail how Brazil, after its decline in the 1966 World Cup, built the greatest team in football history.
In the popular imagination, the 1970 Seleçao is legendary, but their story remains largely unknown. This book gives the reader a front row seat to all the drama from the prologue onwards – a textual account by Brazilian players of England's opening minutes against Brazil and stoppage of the century.
The World Cup classic between England and Brazil is getting a lot of attention, but Kunti puts this game in a bigger context. He details the socio-political conditions of the time by drawing elaborate profiles of Joao Saldanha, Dada Maravilha and Zagallo – the communist, apolitical actor and establishment man. The book offers a broader understanding of tournament preparation.
The myth of Brazil fielding a picked XI on the beach is dispelled in the book. In 1970, technocrats had invaded football as they had invaded Brazilian society in the 1960s. The military dictatorship had left the country with a very different administration. They measured things, clipboard in hand.
In football, the national team was no longer that of Zizinho, but a team in the image of Parreira and Claudio Coutinho. Winning the 1970 World Cup was a profoundly technocratic and scientific feat. The author also argues that Brazil's unprecedented victory was also the beginning of the end of the beautiful game.
One of the final chapters is devoted to Pelé's legacy. In the 1970 World Cup, he cemented his place in the gallery of greats as well as Brazil's status as a futebol nation. With the advent of color television, Pelé and the barnstorming Brazilians played a vital role in transforming the World Cup into a global broadcast spectacle.
Although the result of the 1970 World Cup is public knowledge, Kunti manages to create enough momentum to attract the reader. The many quotations and interventions of the greats of Brazil add warmth, lightness and humor to the book.
The book is ultimately a tribute to all the players of 1970. They belong to another era but proved that football can stir the soul. Like the 1969 moon landing, Brazil's triumph seemed like a victory for humanity. As Carlos Alberto Torres said: "Our team played the 'beautiful game'."
Samindra Kunti is an editor for Insideworldfootball. His book Brazil 1970 - How the Greatest Team of All Time Won the World Cup" (Pitch Publishing) is now available and can be ordered here .
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