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Udine 89: one last time with the brazilian colors

The italian city of Udine was so nice to Zico along the two seasons that he played for the local team (from 1983 to 1985), that the all-star decided to make his last game with the brazilian colors there. On March 27 of 1989, an Easter Sunday, he played for the last time with his country's colors against a rest of the world all-stars' team. The game started at 8:00 p.m. and took place on the Friuli Stadium. Brazil lost by 2 to 1, and the opponent team's goals were scored by Francescoli and Detari. Dunga scored the only brazilian goal.

The event also had the participation of the 'Italy 90' commission, a staff in charge of the organization of the World Cup that would take place there on the following year. This was the first promotional match arranged by the committee, and a big party was scheduled for that night on the stadium. Two hours before the game, it could be seen that a carnival was going to happen and samba could be heard from miles away. Friuli's stairways were covered with green and yellow flags. The fans took all the 41 thousand seats on the homage to the idol and scorer. Seven days before the celebration, 30 thousand tickets were already sold.

Leaded by the head coach Sebastião Lazaroni, Brazil entered the field with a bunch of players that would conquer brazilian's fourth world championship years later, in 1994. Among these players, the midfield anchor Dunga and the winger Branco. Lazaroni also used the match as a test for the World Cup. Zico had the opportunity to play side by side with some of the valuable players that were his teammates during those victorious times at Flamengo: Andrade, Mozer, Tita and Júnior. And, despite of the many requests for another try, he definitely ended up the speculation about his participation on the next World Cup, which would be his fourth.

On the other side, there was an all-star squad with players from every part of the world. The team was selected by Nils Liedholm and, among many others, had the goalies Preud'home (Belgium) and Dasaev (Russia), two of the most important names for this position. The team also had the hairy colombian Valderrama, the uruguayan Francescoli and the hungarian Detari.

The argentinean Diego Maradona could not be present. Two of the three Milan's dutch all-stars that were confirmed before the game did not play either, despite of their presence at the stadium. Van Basten and Rijkaard entered the Friuli at 8:05 p.m. just to salute the crowd. The loudspeaker announced that the all-stars had just finished their daily training and were very tired to play.

Even not scoring a single goal, Zico was very applauded for his perfect passing. He left the field at the 35 minutes of the second half, replaced by Douglas. Under the fans' applauses, he passed the captain's strip to Mozer and left the field, clearly touched. After this game, he only used the brazilian colors on Masters and Beach Soccer games.

THE MATCH

Brazil had a better start and, at the fourth minute of the game, Renato Gaúcho was responsible for the team's first shot against the opponent's goal. Two minutes later, the brazilian national team opened the score on a long distance direct free kick by Dunga. Zico's passing and Renato's dribbling made the show even more exciting. For the Rest of the World team, the hungarian Detari organized the game, leading them to an equalizer goal on the 34th minute. The uruguayan Francescoli scored, taking advantage of a strong kick of Detari defended the brazilian goalie Gilmar. It was their only opportunity during the first 45 minutes. Brazil controlled the game.

Along the final half, Lazaroni put almost all the backup players on the field. The local press highlighted the performance of a player from Como, Milton. Zico was constantly called to the match, since everyone wanted to see a goal from him. But the Rest of the World team scored again at the nine minutes. The goal came from a fast and beautiful move: Stoikovic passed the ball to Detari, who was coming from behind. Then the hungarian swung Gilmar's net with an incredibly strong shot.
Dasaev also made a beautiful save from a Zico's shot. The goal didn't come and when there were left only ten minutes for the end of the match, the all-star left the field, replaced by Douglas. Three minutes later, Tita had an opportunity to equalize, but the score remained 2 to 1.

An italian newspaper summarized the fans' feeling after the farewell game:
"In Udine, people start to understand what a champion like him meant during the glorious times, times that will never come back. But they were not disappointed about it. On the contrary, they showed lots of recognition and gratitude. 'Thank you, Zico' was the most heard chorus on the bleachers. For sure, the match was never boring."

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CURIOUS FACTS

OPEN LETTER TO THE FANS - Before leaving Brazil, Zico sent an open letter to Friuli's newspapers, addressed to the supporters of Udinese. A fragment: "My days at Friuli consist of an unforgettable chapter of my life (…) I was always cherished by its entire people, even from those who played a severe judgment over me (…) When I was in Udine, it is no secret that I missed my land, what made me fly to Rio de Janeiro whenever it was possible. But once there, I always counted the days until the return to Udine (…) After a few months in Udine, I already had many friends, common people; fans that made me feel like one of them due to their simplicity and spontaneity. I never felt like a foreigner".

WITHOUT MARADONA - The argentinean all-star Diego Maradona was selected for the Rest of the World team, but got injured playing for Napoli against Juventus and had to be cut from the squad.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN - On March 20, two days before Zico's arrival at Udini, 30 thousand tickets for the match Brazil x Rest of the World were already sold. The "corners" (bleachers behind the goal - in Italy, the stadiums' cheapest spots and traditional places of the local supporters) and the side chairs were sold out.

HOMAGE ON THE DAY BEFORE - On march 26, Zico watched the match between Udinese and Sambenedetesse for the A Series of the italian national championship. After a long time without winning, the black and white team won by the score of 2 to 0. After the victory, they jumped for the third place on the league. On the big day, Zico arrived at Friuli at 2:00 p.m., thirty minutes before the game start, to be homaged: Udinese put a band to play and also gave him a gold medal for all he did on the club's favor. .

NUMBER 10 - Zico autographed the shirt number 10 that he used on the farewell game and gave it to the Udine 90' Commission.

STATS

GAME:

BRAZIL 1 X 2 REST OF THE WORLD

DATE:

03/27/1989

STADIUM:

FRIULI, EM UDINE (ITA)

REFREE:

AGNOLIN DI BASSANO

ATTENDANCE:

41 THOUSAND

GOALS

6' DUNGA (BRA), 34' FRANCESCOLI and 65' DETARI (RM)

BRAZIL

Gilmar (46' João Leite), Ricardo Rocha (46' Alemão) Mozer, Ricardo Gomes (46' Júlio César), Junior (68' Branco), Dunga (46' Milton), Renato Gaúcho (46' Romário), Silas (46' Andrade), Careca (61' Evair), Zico (80' Douglas) and Valdo (57' Tita).
COACH: Sebastião Lazaroni.

REST OF THE WORLD

Preud'homme (46' Dasaev), João Pinto, Gerets, Demol, Valderrama (46' Mihailovic), Ridvan (46' Colik), Francescoli, Stoikovic, Detari, Rui Águas and Djurovisk. COACH: Nils Liedholm.

With the collaboration of: SHEILA MACHADO
Copyright © 2004, Zico Participações. The partial or total reproduction of Zico Official Website’s content for commercial purposes is strictly forbidden.

Maracanã 90: almost a goodbye

It was 1990. The sixth day of february, a tuesday, set the end of a golden age to Flamengo. With the shirt number 10, Zico led a whole generation of players on the conquest of the club's most important titles during the seventies and eighties. And at Maracanã, where he scored 333 goals and became the stadium's main scorer over its 53 years of existence, the all-star played his second farewell game, this time for Flamengo. On the first half beside the victorious team of 81 and on the second half beside the club's current squad, he played against a selection of world's all-stars (World Cup Masters). This game was meant to be the 37 year-old all-star's last one, and he even hung his soccer playing shoes on the cloakroom after the match. A symbolic gesture. But what he did not know was that he would put the shoes again, this time at the other side of the world, from 1991 to 1994.

Rio woke up smiling in one of that summer's most special days. God gave the city a bright and warm sun, on a toast for the all-star 27 years of professional soccer. In his house at Barra da Tijuca, Zico was touched after reading all the nice words meant to him on the local newspapers. Armando Nogueira's column on the Jornal do Brasil newspaper brought the chronicle "The Last Night", leading the all-star to tears. The rest of the day was very normal and the player spent it with his wife, kids and friends.

Zico entered the stadium's gate 18 at around 6:10 p.m. on the car drove by his friend and popular singer Fagner. Two other famous musicians, Pepeu Gomes and Moraes Moreira, were waiting him at the parking lot. Another friend, Marcus Vinícius Bucar Nunes, who wrote the all-star's biography (Zico: A Life Lesson), was in charge of the celebration, a duty that he accomplished with lots of success. It was called the 'Zico Project' and had the slogan "if soccer has a soul, its name is Zico". The party had begun with matches between the A and B squads of Juventude, Zico's first team back at Quintino. On the pitch, many long-term friends and four brothers: Antunes, Nando, Edu and Tonico. The all-star watched everything from the stairs that led to the pitch.

The night's second match was between two squads of boys from Nova Geração, an amateur team founded by Edu and managed by the all-star after the eighties. Zico's sons Bruno and Thiago played for both the white and blue squads. There were two halves of 20 minutes each, and Thiago scored a goal from a penalty kick. At this point, the stadium was all taken by the fans.

THE BIG MATCH

Zico climbed the stairs that led to the Temple of Soccer's field at 9:25 p.m. of that magic night. Surprising all people, he came from the officials' cloakroom, on the opposite side of the teams' ones. All the athletes were stood up straight. The stadium was put on half-light and laser rays crossed the field directly to the bleachers, to draw beautiful pictures over the fans that waved with more than 40 thousand white handkerchiefs.

During the first 45 minutes, a tribute to the Flamengo that conquered the world, since the squad's lineup to the white uniform used on the title at Tokyo. The 1981 squad, leaded by Paulo César Carpegiani, played without the defenders Figueiredo, killed on an accident, and Mozer, that could not attend the celebration. On the other side, a selection of world's all-stars.

The german all-stars Breitner, Krol and Rummenigge were some of the highlights from the World Cup Masters squad one. Among the international attractions, we can still mention the italians Gentile and Causio; the argentinean Mario Kempes, besides Valdano and Hansi Muller. The argentineans Fillol and Diego Maradona and the french Michel Platini would also be at the celebration, but had unexpected problems and could not fly to Rio. Falcão, Edinho and Roberto Dinamite provided the brazilian touch to the squad defended by the young and promising goalie Taffarel, from Internacional. He was called on a hurry to replace the colombian Renê Iguita and was the name of the match, with perfect savings that made the first half finish on an even 0 to 0.

During the second half, the Flamengo of 1990 entered the field. The squad was formed by the veterans Leandro and Júnior, together with Júnior Baiano, Leonardo, Zinho and Renato Gaúcho. The squad two of the World Cup Masters had changes: Gerets, Tarantini, Madjer, Camacho, Messey, Cláudio Adão and Bebeto replaced some of the first half's players. Taffarel suffered two goals, but miraculously saved two shots from Zico, what led him to apologize with the all-star for not letting him score on his farewell game.

The match ended on a 2 to 2 draw. The first goal was scored on the 8th minute, after a long distance pass from Zico to the defender Fernando, who broke free in front of the opposite goalie, Taffarel. Bebeto entered the field right after to be one of the World Cup Master second squad's most valuable players, with perfect assistances to the goals scored by Cláudio Adão (12') and Tarantini (34'). The left-winger Leonardo equalized the game for Flamengo at the 35 minutes of the second half.

A THRILLING GOODBYE

On the 43rd minute, precisely at 11:23 p.m., the referee Wilson Carlos dos Santos interrupted the match. Zico gave an Olympic run embraced by a thrilled chorus that sang a popular brazilian song called ''Tá Chegando a Hora" - something like "Its about time" - with the lyrics specially adapted to the all-star. Already at the field sideline, he repeated the symbolic gesture of Carlinhos in 1970, passing his soccer shoes to Pedrinho, a young player then pointed out by Flamengo's managers as a sure bet for the future. On the center of the pitch, two hundred kids from a school of the Quintino's district. The all-star made a gratitude speech, highlighting the joy that he experienced during his years of soccer and, at 11:35 p.m. said goodbye to the almost 90 thousand fans.

Still on the cloakroom, Zico felt dizzy and received medical care from doctor Giuseppe Taranto. But that was nothing serious. Later, he had dinner with guests on the Rio Palace Hotel (today called Sofitel), at Copacabana. The TV hostess Valéria Monteiro carried the party, and his friend and former teammate Júnior helped as an interpreter for some italians. The musical performers Jorge Benjor, Fagner, Pepeu Gomes, Moraes Moreira and his friend Bebeto made everyone dance until the sunrise. Zico was no exception; he had lots of fun with his family along the whole night. The all-star did not have much sleep. And on the day after, at 4:00 p.m., he was already giving a check with the amount collected on the game (approximately US$ 100K) to Rio de Janeiro's House of the Hemophiliac for the building of a hospital. The hospital was built at the district of Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro.

On the following month, Zico was named for the National Bureau of Sports and remained on the job for a year. In May of 1991, the fans were happy to hear that the all-star broke his retirement. Zico packed up and flew to Japan, to play soccer once again.

The last night

By ARMANDO NOGUEIRA

Maracanã, adorn your blenchers with flags, because today is a party day for soccer. Order a sky full of stars. Invite the moon (the full moon, if we can choose). Make your children dress their sunday clothes. Put new batteries on the fans' radios. And please do not forget to irrigate the grass (preferably, with perfume).

Tell everybody that no one can miss the celebration. Its Zico's farewell and I know, from a responsible source, that he is going to share with us the beautiful collection of goals scored along his twenty years of Maracanã. I already picked my choice. I want that masterpiece: the second brazilian goal against Paraguay for the 1986 World Cup's qualifying. I remember it as if it was yesterday. Zico receives a half-distance pass from Leandro at the paraguayan midfield. An unpredicted effect slows down the ball for a moment. Zico is going to miss it - I think. My mistake. Without a bit of hesitation, without even lowering his eyes, he grabs the ball with the foot's top and, keeping the same rhythm, he shots two steps after, putting the ball on the left corner of the paraguayan goalie.

I spent a week viewing and reviewing on tape such magic move of a body in complete harmony with time and space. And the ball, stuck to his feet, seemed tied up to his shoes. A remarkable goal. If the dear reader accepts a suggestion, please hear this one: pick one of the goals that Zico scored due to his unique art of free kicking.

The ability to kick from the boundaries of the penalty area is a gift from God, but a gift not given for free, as some may wrongly think. Zico worked hard for years and years to reach the perfection of sublime effects. Every afternoon, when the training was over, he remained alone on Flamengo's pitch - he, an artificial wall, a ball and a shirt meticulously hung over the crossbar's upper corners. This shirt was the target.

Zico spent uncountable hours kicking close to the wall and bringing the shirt to the ground. And when sundays came, on the free kicks, the ball already knew where she was supposed to go. I have no fear to say that it will take an eternity to find someone so gifted for free kicks from the penalty area's boundaries.

Let's celebrate, my dear friend, the last night of the greatest striker in the history of Maracanã. It will be a crushing farewell. If you have a wish to cry, then cry. Cry without attempting to hide the purity of your emotions. It is necessary just a tear of love to immortalize the all-star's soccer.

Let's sing, Maracanã, in the honor of your brave son, remembering together the most eye-catching moves, the most fortunate passes, the most luminous goals of the noble man who has a life replete of superlatives.

Let's praise Zico, the poet that played soccer as if the ball was a half-opened rose below his feet.

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CURIOUS FACTS

TRAFFIC JAMS - Around 5:00 p.m., the traffic around Maracanã was already heavy, making the traditional jams on the nearby Bandeira Square, West Radial and Maracanã Avenues start an hour early.

DONATION - Zico grand opened a local branch of the Caixa Econômica state bank, depositing the match's income on the House of the Hemophiliac's account, the branch's first savings account.

PERFORMANCE - The german all-star Rummenigge was the most cheered foreign player at Maracanã. Bebeto and Roberto Dinamite, both playing for Vasco at that time, were booed.

HOMAGE - The supporters homaged the two 81' champions that could not attend the celebration: Mozer, who was playing for a portuguese team and Figueiredo, killed on an accident.

PRESS - The game was live broadcasted to the whole country, including Rio de Janeiro, host city of the event. Fourteen countries watched the match on videotape: part of the South America, Italy, Japan and USA. More than a hundred foreign journalists were registered for the coverage. Most of them, from Italy. The journalist Arlérico Jácome was in charge of the press room.

PAYMENT - All the athletes gave up the payment, receiving a symbolic souvenir of the event: a blue bag of the Zico Project, with the inscriptions "World Soccer, Rio de Janeiro, Zico's Farewell". Inside the bag, they found a selection of sports supplies and two Piaget watches.

ABSENCES - The french player Michel Platini forgot to pay the visa fee and could not travel from the airport of Orly to Brazil. The goalie Fillol was not released by his club, the Vélez Sarsfield, the same happening to Maradona, who played for Napoli.

REFEREE - When he was invited to the game, Arnaldo Cezar Coelho made one only demand. He would only accept the invitation if Zico's shirt was given to him after the end of the match. He got his deal. After the end of the first half, in which the all-star played for the 1981 squad of Flamengo, both swapped the shirts.

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STATS

DATE:

02/06/1990

STADIUM:

MARACANÃ

OFFICIALS:

WILSON CARLOS DOS SANTOS
JORGE EMILIANO
ARNALDO CEZAR COELHO

ATTENDANCE:

89.622

INCOME:

US$ 100,000.00

FLAMENGO 81

Raul (Catarelli), Nei Dias, Leandro, Marinho and Júnior; Andrade, Adílio and Zico; Tita, Nunes and Lico.

WORLD CUP MASTERS SQUAD ONE

Taffarel, Gentile, Edinho, Krol and Breitner; Falcão, Causio and Mario Kempes; Valdano (Hansi Muller), Roberto Dinamite and Rummenigge. COACHES: Sebastião Lazaroni, Telê Santana, Edu Coimbra and Carlos Alberto Torres.

FLAMENGO 90

Zé Carlos, Leandro (Júnior Baiano), Júnior (Uidemar), Fernando and Leonardo; Aílton, Edu and Zico; Renato, Bujica and Zinho.

WORLD CUP MASTERS SQUAD TWO

Taffarel, Gerets, Camacho, Edinho and Tarantini; Madjer, Hansi Muller and Mário Kempes; Messey, Claudio Adão and Bebeto. COACHES: Sebastião Lazaroni, Telê Santana, Edu Coimbra and Carlos Alberto Torres.

1st GAME - JUVENTUDE A X JUVENTUDE B

Brothers and old friends of Zico. Two halves of 30 minutes each.

2nd GAME - NOVA GERAÇÃO (BLUE) X NOVA GERAÇÃO (WHITE)

Kids from the project ran by Zico. Two halves of 20 minutes each.

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Version of “Tá Chegando a Hora”

When entering the stadium, the fans received
leaflets with a famous brazilian song specially
adapted for the all-star's farewell game.
The song started after the 30 minutes of the last half.

Who leaves,
Takes the all the joy
But memories and victories
Time cannot destroy

So do not feel sorry
On the farewell
To the one who redefined glory

Oh, oh, oh, oh
Zico do not cry
'Cause you live in our hearts
A love that will never fall apart

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Below, the gratitude speech read by Zico to all the people on the field. On the stadium's scoreboard, sentences were shown in groups of four, so the fans would be able to follow the all-star's speech.

''Sometimes, describing an emotion is harder than dribbling a goalie. Mainly if this emotion is as big as Maracanã. Since the small field back at Quintino to the greatest of all. Over this grass, I did my best. At the very beginning, I was just a skinny boy with a deep lust for soccer. But certainly some did believe that I could do it. And that's why I am here. If soccer is something unpredictable, for me it has always been the source of happiness. The good friends, the unforgettable moments, the greatest emotions. Achievements that will always be related to soccer. Wherever it is. Here, with my teammates of Flamengo. With mates from all brazilian and rest of the world's teams. And for sure with the fans, whose support led me to score many goals. Now I join this colorful mass outside the game fields. And I wish the best for all those who were always by my side. Inside and outside the pitch, making the brazilian soccer even greater. Today, I score my last goal. The one that will be unforgettable. To the ones that helped me all the way, thank you very much."

Zico