Brazil's "icon" Zagallo leaves hospital

The "icon" of Brazil, former player and coach Mario Zagallo, left hospital on Sunday after spending 12 days due to a respiratory infection, according to a medical source.

Zagallo, the first person to win the World Cup as a player and as a coach, was able to celebrate his 91st birthday Tuesday at his home, after being admitted to intensive care at Barra d'Or Hospital in Rio de Janeiro on July 26.

Zagallo posted on his Instagram page, where the "old wolf" has 116,000 followers, "After several difficult days, I became 113 percent better."

Attached to his post, he added, with a photo of himself raising his thumb, "Thank you so much for your support! Now you have to bear with me again!"

Zagallo wrote his name in football records after becoming the first to win the World Cup as a player (1958 and 1962), then as a coach (1970), before German Franz Beckenbauer (1974 and 1990) and French Didier Deschamps (1998 and 2018).

He is also still the only one to have participated in five World Cup finals, losing only one of them as a coach, and that was against France in 1998.

In the previous edition of the 1994 World Cup, Zagallo worked as an assistant coach to Carlos Alberto Parreira, during the fourth of the five world titles for Brazil.

But his undeniable masterpiece is still the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, after his newly appointed coach for the "samba dancers" team led him to his third world crown with a charming playing style and a group of stars led by the legend Pele, Jairzinho, Tostao, Gerson and Rivelino.

Zagallo had previously played alongside Pele (81 years) during the 1958 and 1962 titles.

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