Didi (footballer, born 1928)

Waldyr Pereira, better known as Didi (Portuguese pronunciation: [dʒiˈdʒi]; 8 October 1928 – 12 May 2001), was a Brazilian footballer who played as a midfielder or as a forward. He played in three FIFA World Cups (1954, 1958, and 1962), winning the latter two and was awarded the Golden Ball, given to the tournament's best player, for his performance at the 1958 competition.

For other footballers named Didi, see Didi (disambiguation).
"Waldir Pereira" redirects here. For the football player born in 1986, see Waldir Lucas Pereira.

Didi
Didi in 1958
Personal information
Full name Waldyr Pereira
Date of birth (1928-10-08)8 October 1928
Place of birth Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil
Date of death 12 May 2001(2001-05-12) (aged 72)
Place of death Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)
Youth career
1944 São Cristóvão FC
1945 Industrial
1945 Rio Branco
1945–1946 Goytacaz
1946 Americano
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1947–1949[1] Madureira 32 (8)
1949–1956 Fluminense 150 (51)
1956–1959 Botafogo 64 (40)
1959–1960 Real Madrid 19 (6)
1960–1962 Botafogo 44 (19)
1962–1964 Sporting Cristal
1964–1965 Botafogo 11 (1)
1965–1966 CD Veracruz 29 (4)
1966 São Paulo 3 (0)
National team
1952–1962 Brazil 68 (20)
Teams managed
1962–1964 Sporting Cristal
1967–1969 Sporting Cristal
1969–1970 Peru
1971 River Plate
1972–1975 Fenerbahçe
1975 Fluminense
1977 Cruzeiro
1978–1981 Al-Ahli (Jeddah)
1981 Botafogo
1981 Cruzeiro
1985 Fortaleza
1986 São Paulo
1986 Alianza Lima
1989–1990 Bangu
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

An elegant player, Didi is considered to be the best midfielder of his generation and one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, and was renowned for his range of passing, stamina and technique; he was nicknamed the "Ethiopian Prince" throughout his career. A dead-ball specialist, he became famous for inventing the folha seca (dry leaf) free kicks, notably used by modern-day players such as Juninho and Cristiano Ronaldo, where the ball would swerve downward unexpectedly at a point resulting in a goal.[2][3][4]

Early life

Didi was born into a poor family in the city of Campos, 150 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. As a youngster, he sold peanuts in order to help his family, and began playing football in the streets.[3][4]

Playing career

Didi nearly had his right leg amputated when he was 14 due to a severe infection following an injury to his knee. He recovered and played for some clubs in Campos dos Goytacazes. He became professional playing for Madureira and came to prominence when he joined Fluminense in 1949. During seven seasons with the club he won the Campeonato carioca in 1951 and 1952 Copa Rio.[3][4] On 16 June 1950, in a friendly match involving Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo youth state teams, Didi (aged 21), playing for Rio de Janeiro, scored the first ever goal at the Maracanã Stadium.[5]

During the 1954 World Cup he scored goals against Mexico and Yugoslavia, before Brazil's defeat to the favorites Hungary. This match was known as the Battle of Berne; Didi was involved with the brawl that followed this bad-tempered match.

At club level, he moved to Botafogo, winning the Campeonato Carioca (Rio state championship) in 1957. Didi had previously promised to walk from the Maracanã to his house, in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras (9,4 km), in his kit, if Botafogo won the championship; 5,000 Botafogo fans joined him as he did so.[6]

His greatest achievement came at the 1958 FIFA World Cup where he was player of the tournament.[6] From midfield, he masterminded the first of his two FIFA World Cup successes for Brazil. In 68 international matches he scored 20 goals,[7] including a dozen using his trademark free-kicks.

In 1959 he was signed by Real Madrid of Spain. Despite his great reputation after the 1958 FIFA World Cup, he played only 19 matches with 6 goals for the Spaniards and often clashed with the team leader Alfredo Di Stéfano, who felt offended by the divide in the fans' attention with this newcomer; this situation precipitated his exit from the club. After success at the 1962 FIFA World Cup, he decided to become a coach.

Managerial career

After retiring as player he began a coach career with Sporting Cristal, and was called to manage the Peru national team in the 1970 FIFA World Cup. That team included stars like Teófilo Cubillas and Héctor Chumpitaz were eventually defeated in the quarter finals by Brazil. In 1971, he managed the top Argentine club, River Plate, when he accepted a lucrative position, and had his apex in his coaching career with Turkish Giant Fenerbahçe, guiding the team to two consecutive Turkish First Division (later named Süper Lig) titles in 1973–1974 and later in 1974–1975.

He also coached important Brazilian clubs like Bangu, Fluminense, Botafogo, Cruzeiro, Peruvian club Alianza Lima, Kuwaiti national team and Al-Ahli teams.

Later years

In October 2000, he was inducted into the FIFA Hall of Champions.[8] By this time he was quite ill and died the following year in Rio de Janeiro, at the age of 72, after contracting pneumonia from complications arising from intestinal cancer.[3]

Honours

International
Brazil

Club
Botafogo
Fluminense
Real Madrid[9]

Individual

References
  1. "Jornal dos Sports". Biblioteca Nacional Digital (in Portuguese).
  2. "Kings of the free-kick". FIFA.com. Retrieved 20 May 2014
  3. Brian Glanville (15 May 2001). "Didi". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  4. "Didi". The Telegraph. 15 May 2001. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  5. Maracanã Stadium, Sambafoot
  6. Bellos, Alex (2002). Futebol: the Brazilian way of life. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 0-7475-6179-6.
  7. Waldir Pereira "Didi" – International Appearances and Goals, RSSSF, 6 September 2006
  8. "Rivaldo on top of the world". FIFA. Archived from the original on 13 December 2006. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
  9. "Didi, the unflappable genius". FIFA.com. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  10. "1982 FIFA World Cup Technical Report" (PDF). FIFA Technical Group. 1982. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2010.
  11. IFFHS' Century Elections Archived 12 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  12. "The Best of The Best" Archived 26 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 17 November 2015
  13. "The other two Ballon d'Or Dream Team XIs: Zidane, Cruyff, Iniesta, Di Stefano... but no Casillas". MARCA. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
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