Flashback: Garrincha and the lost art of dribbling. Brazil v. Soviet Union, World Cup 1958

Lionel Messi may be the greatest dribbler in the modern game, but his shifts of pace and effortless sidestepping of opponents should perhaps more aptly be termed gliding rather than dribbling. Dribbling refers to an array of tricks for outmaneuvering an opposing player that include zig-zags in ball direction, rapid changes in the ball's point of contact with the foot, step-over moves, exceptional ball control and a passion for entertaining fans. Alongside Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo qualifies as an effective dribbler as does Santos's Neymar. That said, given the retirement of Ronaldo of Corinthians, and the sunset over the career of Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, dribbling is rapidly becoming a lost art. Spain's pre-eminence in modern football was built on a passing game as opposed to dribbling skill. Brazil constitutes the leading contemporary candidate to resurrect the art of dribbling owing to a long dribbling tradition epitomized by Garrincha in the 1950s and 1960s and members of the great World Cup team of 1970 such as Clodoaldo and Rivelino.

In his book Garrincha: The Triumph and Tragedy of Brazil's Forgotten Footballing Hero, Ruy Castro helps us recall the magic of Garrincha and the lost art of dribbling in a moving excerpt about Brazil's clash with the Soviet Union in the 1958 World Cup. At the time, the Soviet Union was feared because of their legendary fitness and scientific approach to both training and tactical deployment on the field. Brazil fitness trainer Paulo Amaral called up Garrincha to the first team because he knew only Garrincha could run the Soviets in circles and enable Brazil to take the lead in scoring. True to Amaral's instincts, Garrincha shocked the Soviet defenders with his looping runs that tied them up in knots in the opening seconds of the match. Within three minutes, Vava scored for Brazil. Castro describes Garrincha's effect on the Soviets as follows:

"And there were still 87 minutes to go. Had it gone on that way for the rest of the game the Soviets would have been looking at a season in Siberia. Their proud "scientific" football had never before been so demoralised, and by the most improbable source: a poor Brazilian peasant -- dark-skinned, small as a bird, cock-eyed and with ridiculously crooked legs. Garrincha was a perfect example of anti-science; he was anti-Sputnik, anti-electronic brain, Kessarev, Krijveski, Voinov, Tsarev and especially Kuznetzov were all taken to the cleaners by the little man at some point during the game, either one at a time or in pairs or threes, or sometimes even one after another.

At the start of the game, after those ferocious opening three minutes, the Soviets still thought their problem was with marking, and they began to fight among themselves. But if they did tighten up it wasn't noticeable because Garrincha continued to run rings round them. Then the Soviets resorted to trying to bring him down, largely unsuccessfully. In one memorable incident, after leaving a defender on the ground Garrincha put his foot on the ball and with his back to the player offered his hand to help him up. He lifted the player up and then started running again as it were the most natural thing in the world.

Brazil would score just once more, when Vava doubled his tally 31 minutes into the second half. But it felt like the biggest hammering in World Cup history. At no time did the Soviets threaten to score; Gilmar had only one save to make. It was a different story at the other end, where only Yashin's brilliance had helped avoid a catastroph. Brazil mounted 36 attacks, 18 of which were dangerous, and they hit the woodwork twice. Garrincha had arrived, and not just for those watching live but also for those listening in at home. From that day on there were no more Botafogo fans, Fluminense fans, Flamengo fans, Corinthians fans or Gremio fans. Everyone was now a Garrincha fan, even when he played against their own team.

In the dressing room after the game, Garrincha had no ideas who had been marking him. And why would he? He hadn't been marked by one man but by many, and all their names ended in ev or ov. What did he care? The only thing he said, which summed up his performance perfectly, was, "I was hungry for the ball today."

(Castro, 122-123)

Here, Garrincha leaves a Soviet defender for dead on the Swedish turf before returning to extend a hand to help him up and darting forward toward goal once again. Garrincha had been left out of the earlier group matches against Austria and England, but was included in the match against the Soviet Union to counteract their alleged ability to run for 180 minutes. The Soviets were favorites to win the 1958 World Cup in the heyday of the Cold War, having won Olympic gold in Melbourne in 1956 and launched Sputnik in 1957. But out of the blue, Garrincha's passion and playfulness with the ball enabled Brazil to defeat the Soviets and march towards its first ever World Cup championship.

Brazil v. France: A Brief World Cup History

France and Brazil have played four times in the World Cup, namely, in 1958, 1986, 1998 and 2006. In 1958, Brazil encountered France in the quarterfinals in Sweden en route to the championship. Brazil crushed Just Fontaine's team 5-2 thanks to goals by Didi, Vava and a hat-trick by the 17 year old Pele. But since the 1958 victory in Sweden, Brazil has lost to France at the World Cup on three successive occasions. In 1986, Brazil drew France in the quarterfinals once again, this time in Guadalajara, Mexico. France boasted a star studded squad featuring Michel Platini, Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse and Manuel Amoros. Brazil, meanwhile, featured a host of world renowned players such as 1982 World Cup stars Socrates, Zico and Junior, in addition to a crop of new faces in the form of Branco, Alemao, Muller and Careca. In the first half, Brazil flourished in the sweltering 45 degree Mexico heat. Right back Josimar found Muller, who played a give and go with Junior who in turn passed to Careca across the face of goal. The unmarked Careca emphatically buried the ball in the roof of the net to give Brazil a 1-0 lead. Later in the half, Muller hit the post as the South Americans continued their onslaught on the French goal from the left, right and center. Socrates orchestrated a bevy of Brazilian attacks and received back-up in midfield from Elzo and Alemao as he ventured forward. But in the 41st minute, against the run of play, France received the lucky break that enabled them to draw level. Michel Platini tapped in a cross from the right flank by Rocheateau, whose ball across the face of goal was fumbled by Carlos, the Brazilian goalkeeper. Nearly invisible for 40 minutes, Platini emerged out of the blue to give France the equalizer just minutes before half time.

The second half continued in the same attacking vein from both teams. Tele Santana substituted Zico for Muller in the 72nd minute, and within minutes, the Brazilian number 10, also known as the white Pele, had set Branco free on goal. French goalkeeper Bats brought down Branco giving Brazil a penalty. Barely warmed up, Zico stepped up to the penalty spot and missed, giving France another leash of life on a game that was rapidly turning into one of the most entertaining, attacking displays of football in recent memory. The match went to extra time and penalty kicks.

Socrates missed the first penalty for Brazil. Yannick Stopyra scored for France. Alemao scored, as did Amoros for France. The score was now 2-1 France. Zico and Bruno Bellone scored for Brazil and France respectively. It was now 3-2 France. Branco made it 3-3. And then, Michel Platini spooned his kick over the cross-bar. Julio Cesar went for a spectacular kick that was saved by French goalkeeper Bats. And finally, France's Luis Fernandez gave France a thrilling 4-3 victory.

The next time Brazil and France met was in the World Cup final at the Stade de France in 1998 in a dream match-up between the defending champions and the host nation. France had failed to impress in the matches leading up to the final and their strikers had, for the most part, failed to find the back of the net. Brazil, on the other hand, progressively improved as the tournament unfolded and had just come off a thrilling victory over the Netherlands on penalty kicks. Ronaldo finally seemed to find the spaces for which he had been nicknamed "The Phenomenon" in Europe. Meanwhile, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos and Cafu collectively started to emerge as a formidable strikeforce to supplement the experience and positional awareness of striker Bebeto. But there was something different about the Brazil team that stepped onto the Stade de France in the final on July 12, 1998. Ronaldo appeared sedated and off his game. Correspondingly, the entire Brazilian team lacked the rhythm and concentration displayed in their preceding matches. The game prominently featured a match-up between the two number 10 shirts in the form of Rivaldo for Brazil and Zinedine Zidane for France. Like the rest of the Selecao, Rivaldo struggled to impose himself and conversely, Zidane roamed all over the pitch as he dictated play for the French in midfield and attack, dribbling through the Brazilian midfield, organizing triangular passing formations and ensuring that the full backs Lizarazu and Thuram had the freedom to contain the marauding Brazilian fullbacks Cafu and Roberto Carlos. Zidane scored on headers from two corner kicks in the 27th minute and the 46th minute respectively, effectively sinking Brazil before the end of the first half. In the second half, Mario Zagallo brought on Denilson Oliveira and Edmundo "The Animal" but all to no avail as Brazil's possession advantage failed to translate into goals. Emmanuel Petit put the icing on the cake for the French in a counter-attacking play that sealed the score at 3-0 in what amounted to a devastating loss for Brazil. Rumors gradually spread that Ronaldo had been seen at a French hospital minutes before the match for an ankle injury, or that he had suffered a seizure or set of convulsions. To this day, no one knows the truth of what happened to Ronaldo and the Brazilian team, other than that they looked like the ghost of the team that had defeated Morocco, Chile, Denmark and the Netherlands en route to the final.

In 2006, France defeated Brazil in the World Cup quarterfinals thanks to another inspiring performance by Zidane and disciplined French marking of the Brazilian fullbacks. Brazil's "fab four" of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka and Adriano failed to trouble the French defense. Zidane, on the other hand, took control of the game for France and dominated midfield play even more so than in 1998. In the 57th minute, Zidane swept a curling free kick to Thierry Henry who volleyed the ball into the top of the net to give France the one goal they needed to launch into the semi-finals.