Brazil is the greatest footballing nation of all time. That is something I can say with absolute confidence. Those 5 stars above their badge didn’t get there by chance, after all.
Naturally, to be the greatest team ever, you probably need the greatest players ever. Or, at the very least, you need the greatest collective group. It only makes sense. Between about 1958 and 1970, Brazil showed the world what they were made of, embarrassing nations left, right and centre.
Which brings us to the man of the hour.
The subject of today’s article was not only part of the legendary Brazillian team from that era, but he also successfully took over the reigns from the legendary Garrincha and outscored the great Pelé in arguably Brazil’s greatest ever World Cup triumph. Impressive, right?
Jair Ventura Filho. More commonly known as Jairzinho.
The man was strong, the man was fast, the man could dribble and the man could score. Yet, he’s not talked about all that much in conversations regarding brilliant Brazilians of days gone by.
Until today. With that being said, how good was Jairzinho, really?
Table of Contents
A legend is born
Born in 1944, on Christmas day in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil didn’t know it yet, but they got a pretty decent gift that day.
By 13 years of age, his career in football was well underway in the youth setup of Botafogo. He doubled as a ball boy for the first team too. Adopting the right winger role, he steadily grew in stature, winning a whole host of youth championships between about 1961 and 1963.
The guy is described almost unanimouly as a quick, explosive player, with a sublime touch and a very sharp eye for goal. As is evident by the clips that we have of him today, which we’ll get into. But the characteristic that most people associate with the man is strength.
Apparently his running power was second to none and it took several men to knock him off the ball, when he got on it. Heck, the man himself once stated that FIFA awarded him the title of “best body on the planet” following the 1970 World Cup. As you’ve probably guessed by now, there is no record of the award anywhere.
And I don’t know, man. I think I’m willing to back my guy on this one.
A Botafogo legend
Anyway, his preferred position should likely come as no surprise, as, just like several Brazillian boys at the time, his idol was none other than Manuel Francisco dos Santos. Also known, as Garrincha.
By the time, Jairzinho was ready for the Botafogo first team in 1963, Garrincha was 11 years his senior, a well-established player in Botafogo’s first team and a two-time World Cup champion. And Garrincha’s preferred position? You guessed it.
You can see how this was a bit of a double-edged sword, right? Unfortunately for Jair, in his early days in the first team, he was forced to play out of position and it was evident that he wasn’t having a great time.
But as Garrincha was getting up there in age and injuries were piling up, Jairzinho slowly began to replace him on the right. And by 1965, following Garrincha’s departure, the spot was his.
A Brazillian championship in 1968, a couple state championship throughout the remainder of the 60s, and Jairzinho was cementing himself as a certified club legend and global star.
He also grew out this pristine afro along the way, so I’m inclined to agree the man was a legend even without having seen him play live.
Jairzinho and the Seleção
Slow start
In the middle of all of this, probably the main reason why he was receiving such attention on a global scale was his presence, as well as his performances on the international stage.
His journey with the Seleção began back in 1964, at 19 years of age. However, similar to how things were at club level, there was a Garrincha sized obstacle on the right wing, meaning he was forced out of position again. Usually on the left or in the centre when required.
This remained the case up until after the 1966 World Cup -Which was, unfortunately, a tournament to be forgotten by Brazil. Which must have been very odd at the time, seeing as they were coming off back to back World Cup triumphs in 1958 and 1962.
Embed from Getty ImagesPelé, who was only 25 and already thought of as the GOAT by many, was treated as such in this World Cup. Dude was kicked to hell and back in this tournament, and on one occasion, against Portugal, he was left limping around the pitch, as subs weren’t allowed back then. It’s brutal stuff.
That, coupled with Jairzinho’ discomfort out of position and some uncharacteristically bad performances by Brazil, meant they were knocked out in the group stages.
Many believed Brazil might have been done as a footballing powerhouse. Many of the stars from the previous world cup triumphs were on their last legs and didn’t have another world cup in them. It looked like the glory days were coming to an end.
1970 World Cup
And then they came right back in 1970 and won the whole thing, playing what some refer to as “the most beautiful football in history”.
Playing in a very attacking 424, Brazil had Pelé, Tostao, Rivellino and Jairzinho in the attack. Very arguably the greatest attacking line-up of all time. Swift, attacking, aggressive football was their speciality. And this man had an absolute blinder.
“Furacão da Copa” – The hurricane of the World Cup. The name given to Jairzinho due to his insane performances in this tournament.
With 7 goals in 6 appearances, he was not only Brazil’s top scorer, but he became only the second player ever to score in every match of the World Cup, including the final. The first was Alcides Ghiggia for Uruguay in 1950. To my knowledge, this feat has never been repeated.
Adding onto that, after Brazil’s group stage match over reigning champions England, Sir Alfred Ramsay, manager of England at the time, even stated that Jairzinho was harder to mark than Pelé. He stated that this man was the deciding factor in Brazil’s 1-0 win. He did score the winning goal, so this checks out.
Now, I do want to take a moment to acknowledge that it is a bit misleading to simply use the phrase, “this man outscored” Pelé. While the statement itself is true, it’s dismissive of the fact that Pelé scored 4 goals in this tournament and made 6 assists. There’s no doubt the great man was the mastermind here. Something that’s evidenced by the fact that he was named as the retrospective winner of the 1970 World Cup Golden Ball.
All the same, that takes nothing away from Jairzinho. He was immaculate.
Embed from Getty ImagesTriumphant Return, European Adventures and More
Following the World Cup win, Jairzinho returned to Botafogo and saw out the remainder of his 20s. He didn’t win much else with them, but he still managed to put in a few more iconic performances before his time with them was up.
A Hattrick in a 6-0 win against bitter rivals Flamengo in 1972 stands out as an example of just that.
All in all, despite being a wide player, Jairzinho went down as one of the most prolific goalscorers in Botafogo history. He hit the back of the net 186 times in 413 matches. This currently places him as the 6th highest goal scorer in the club’s history.
By 1974, at 30, he still had a lot to give. However, Brazil failed to repeat the back-to-back world cup triumphs that they accomplished 8 years prior, as they were knocked out in the Semis.
In the same year, while seeking something new and perhaps a well earned pay raise, he ventured over to Europe for roughly €300 000, a huge chunk at the time. His destination was Marseille. And according the official Marseille website, alongside Paulo Cézar, another Brazilian that made the switch to the French club, they were the first ever players that have won a world cup to play in the French top division. Good bit of trivia, you know.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnd the excitement surrounding Jairzinho’s arrival was justified immediately, as he scored on his debut. He added a further 8 goals in his first 18 appearances.
However, after just a year in France, things quickly turned sour. Apparently, in a quarter final match of the Coupe de France, both Jairzinho and Paulo Cézar are said to have physically attacked the referee. An action which would lead to them departing the club. Fair enough, I don’t think that’s within the rules.
Retirement and closing thoughts
From there on, oddly enough, he made a trip over to South Africa, where he had a brief stint with Kaizer Chiefs. Brief, as in 3 games. But 7 goals in those three games is a pretty decent return.
Over at Cruzeiro after that, he continued to do his thing and even got his hands on the coveted Copa Libertadores in 1976. The man completed football.
And after that, he did a bit of hopping, before eventually retuning to Botafogo at 37. He obviously barely played, but I’m certain his presence alone likely did wonders for the younger players.
And after one year back where it all began, having had a career that rivalled the greatest of the greats, he hung up his boots.
I must admit, although I had heard of Jairzinho, I knew very little about him before writing this article. Which I found a bit odd once I started to look into it. Rivellino, Tostao, Garrincha and of course Pelé, all players I knew a fair bit about, just through the grapevine. But not the hurricane.
I do chalk this down to me just being in my mid-20s, not Brazilian and also having a low IQ. but still. Through this channel, I’m working on that last one.