Jairzinho


Jair Ventura Filho, better known as Jairzinho, is a retired Brazilian footballer. A quick, skillful, and powerful right winger, known for his finishing ability and eye for goal, he was a member of the legendary Brazilian national team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup.He is nicknamed as the The Hurricane for scoring limitless goals.
A versatile forward, he was also capable of playing in a variety of other attacking positions, as a main striker, second striker, or even as an attacking midfielder.
Due to the economic and political situation of the time, as well as the Sport Legislation, he played most of his club football in South America where he spent eleven years at Rio de Janeiro club Botafogo. He went on to play in Europe during the final years of his career, a common pattern for South American players until the 1980s, when the economic and political situation changed. Jairzinho replaced his footballing idol Garrincha in both the Botafogo and Brazil teams, and played in three consecutive World Cups: 1966, 1970 and 1974.
Regarded as one of Brazil's best players ever, and as one of the greatest players of all time, he was listed one place ahead of Zinedine Zidane, at number 27 in World Soccer Magazines list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century.

Early Life and Career

Jairzinho was born in Rio de Janeiro, where he went through the youth setup at local club Botafogo. He made his professional debut with the club as a striker at the age of fifteen. His hero Garrincha, whom he would eventually replace for both club and country, also played at Botafogo, albeit in Jairzinho's preferred position on the right wing. This resulted in Jairzinho spending most of his early games playing on the left wing or as a centre forward. However, he would fill in as a right winger, by far his strongest position, when Garrincha was injured.
He made his international debut as a 19-year-old in 1964 against Portugal, again when Garrincha was injured. He played in the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England, however, and with Garrincha back in the side, he played as a left winger. Jairzinho struggled to be effective in this position, and he couldn't prevent Brazil from exiting the competition at the first round. When, after the tournament, Garrincha announced his retirement from international football, Jairzinho finally took over his idol's role for Brazil on the right wing.
Now in his favourite position, Jairzinho became a far more effective and consistent performer for country. At the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, Jairzinho was one of Brazil's star players, and made history by scoring in every game Brazil played in for the Seleção, for which he received the epithet "Furacão da Copa". He scored his seventh goal of the tournament in Brazil's 4–1 world cup win over Italy in the final. However, his impressive goals tally at the finals were not enough to win the Golden Boot, which went to Germany's Gerd Müller, who scored ten goals. Jairzinho has claimed that FIFA awarded him a "best body on the planet" prize for his athleticism; however, FIFA has no record of this award. Following his display in Mexico, Jairzinho moved to Europe to play for French side Marseille. However, he struggled with Marseille and soon returned to Brazil to play for Cruzeiro, with whom he won the Copa Libertadores in 1976. The Cruzeiro team at the time included the likes of Nelinho and Dirceu Lopes.
Jairzinho scored two goals in the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which would prove to be his last World Cup for Brazil. The 3rd-Place Final was his last match for Brazil until he was given a one-off farewell cap against Czechoslovakia on March 3, 1982 in a game which Brazil drew 1–1. He scored 33 goals in 81 games during his international career.
Jairzinho finished his career playing for Portuguesa in Venezuela, making it one of the greatest teams in Venezuelan history, helping Portuguesa win a record 16 games in a row and their fourth of five championships. After retiring as a footballer, Jairzinho became a coach and managed a number of youth teams in his native Brazil. He also worked in Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In 1997, Jairzinho began his first journey as manager In Europe being appointed at Greek Super League club Kalamata. He was sacked due to poor results, his side relegated at the end of the season. Jairzinho was named head coach of the Gabon national team. However, he was sacked by Gabon's Football Federation after a crushing defeat against Angola in a World Cup 2006 Qualifier held in Luanda. Perhaps his greatest achievement as a coach was spotting Ronaldo as a 14-year-old whilst he was coaching São Cristóvão. He kick-started the career of the future three-time FIFA World Player of the Year by recommending him to Cruzeiro, his former side, and the Brazil youth team.
Jairzinho is currently the manager of Esprof Atletico futebol Clube, a team based in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro state who play in the Campeonato Carioca.

Career statistics

International goals

NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.7 June 1964Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil2–04–1Taça das Nações
2.12 June 1968Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil4–04–01968 Copa Río Branco
3.20 June 196810th-Anniversary Stadium, Warsaw, Poland4–26–2Friendly
4.20 June 196810th-Anniversary Stadium, Warsaw, Poland5–26–2Friendly
5.14 July 1968Estadio Nacional de Lima, Lima, Peru3–34–3Friendly
6.17 July 1968Estadio Nacional de Lima, Lima, Peru4–04–0Friendly
7.7 August 1968Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil4–04–1Friendly
8.3 November 1968Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil1–02–1Friendly
9.7 April 1969Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, Brazil1–02–1Friendly
10.12 June 1969Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil2–12–1Friendly
11.17 August 1969Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay2–03–01970 FIFA World Cup qualification
12.21 August 1969Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil6–16–21970 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.24 August 1969Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil4–06–01970 FIFA World Cup qualification
14.8 March 1970Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil1–02–1Friendly
15.3 June 1970Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico3–14–11970 FIFA World Cup
16.3 June 1970Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico4–14–11970 FIFA World Cup
17.7 June 1970Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico1–01–01970 FIFA World Cup
18.10 June 1970Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico2–03–21970 FIFA World Cup
19.14 June 1970Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico4–24–21970 FIFA World Cup
20.17 June 1970Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico2–13–11970 FIFA World Cup
21.21 June 1970Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico3–14–11970 FIFA World Cup
22.30 September 1970Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil2–13–1Friendly
23.04 October 1970Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago, Chile3–05–1Friendly
24.04 October 1970Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago, Chile4–05–1Friendly
25.2 July 1972Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil3–03–0Brazil Independence Cup
26.5 July 1972Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil1–01–0Brazil Independence Cup
27.9 July 1972Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil1–01–0Brazil Independence Cup
28.13 June 1973Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria1–11–1Friendly
29.21 June 1973Central Lenin Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union1–01–0Friendly
30.31 March 1974Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil1–11–1Friendly
31.14 April 1974Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil1–01–0Friendly
32.22 June 1974Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, West Germany1–03–01974 FIFA World Cup
33.30 June 1974Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, West Germany2–12–11974 FIFA World Cup

Personal life

Jairzinho's son, also known as Jair Ventura, is also a former footballer who managed Corinthians and Santos.

Honours

Club

;Botafogo
;Cruzeiro
;Brazil