The Brazil
team that triumphed in the 1970 World Cup is often hailed as one of the most
exceptional assemblages of footballing talent ever seen on the international
stage. It was a squad brimming with star power, each player capable of altering
the course of a match with a moment of individual brilliance. Yet, it was not
just the sum of these individual talents that made the team so remarkable; it
was the seamless fusion of their abilities into a collective performance that
transcended personal glory. Their play was not merely a display of technical
mastery, but an exuberant reassertion of *jogo bonito*, a celebration of
football that invited all who cherish the beautiful game to believe in its
power once again.
At the
heart of this team stood Pelé, the undisputed icon, often regarded as the first
among equals in a group of extraordinary talents. Yet, alongside him, were
other figures who left indelible marks on the tournament. Rivelino, with his
cannonball shots, Tostão, whose elegance was matched by an almost brutal grace,
and Jairzinho, whose star was on the rise, all contributed to the brilliance of
the Seleção. But it was Carlos Alberto, the imperious captain, whose majestic
fourth goal in the final against Italy became the defining moment of Brazil’s
World Cup triumph, leading his team to glory and immortalizing their place in
football history.
However,
there was one player whose contribution, though often overshadowed by the more
flamboyant stars, was indispensable to the team’s success. Gérson de Oliveira
Nunes, known simply as Gérson, may not have garnered the same level of
adulation as Pelé or Carlos Alberto, but his role was nothing short of pivotal.
Often described as the brain of the team, Gérson was the linchpin around which
the team’s fluid attacking play revolved. His vision and composure in midfield
allowed him to dictate the tempo of the game, pulling the strings that made the
rest of the team dance to the irresistible rhythm of their collective
brilliance. While his name may not be the first to come to mind when recalling
the 1970 World Cup, Gérson’s influence on the pitch was profound, his quiet
genius providing the foundation for Brazil’s most celebrated victory.
The Start of a Football Journey
Born in the winter of 1941, Gérson de Oliveira
Nunes—later to be immortalized by the moniker Canhotinha de Ouro (Golden Left
Foot)—seemed destined by the hand of fate to become a footballer. His lineage
was steeped in the sport; both his father and uncle were professional players,
with his father also being a close confidant of the legendary Zizinho. This
pedigree, rich in footballing heritage, would be honoured by Gérson with a
career that transcended the ordinary.
As a
teenager, Gérson’s rise to prominence was swift and inevitable. He joined
Flamengo, where his innate talent was quickly apparent. His ability to
transition the ball from defence to attack with a single, incisive pass, to
control the tempo of the game with unhurried precision, and to orchestrate play
with an almost prophetic sense of timing, set him apart. These gifts—rarely
seen even at the highest level—marked him as a player of exceptional vision and
intelligence. His capacity to read the game, to probe and prompt with an
intuitive understanding of when and how to execute each option, suggested a
maturity far beyond his years.
At this
early juncture in his career, Gérson’s talent drew inevitable comparisons to
Didi, the linchpin of the Brazilian national team at the time. It was the
highest of praises and one that placed Gérson in the company of Brazil’s
finest. Although he lacked the blistering speed that often defined great
players, his footballing intellect embodied the adage that the first five yards
of a player’s pace reside in the mind. In this, Gérson was the epitome of
cerebral football, his awareness and anticipation allowing him to outmanoeuvre
opponents without the need for rapid acceleration.
Such
mastery of the game, however, requires not only talent but the self-assurance
to recognize one’s own potential and the audacity to execute it on the grandest
stage. Gérson possessed this self-belief in abundance. It was a characteristic
that would define not only his playing days but also his post-football career.
His confidence in his abilities, coupled with a refusal to accept anything less
than the highest level of competition, would shape the trajectory of his
professional life.
Less than a
year after making his debut for Flamengo, Gérson’s prodigious talents were
recognized on a broader stage when he was selected for the Brazilian team that
contested the 1959 Pan-American Games. The following year, he represented
Brazil at the Rome Olympics, where he scored four goals, although Brazil’s
campaign ended at the group stage. By this point, it was evident to both club
and national team managers that Gérson was not merely a promising young player,
but a rare and exceptional talent in the making. His development was a story of
inevitable progression, a gem polished through experience and destined for
greatness.
The Flamengo Days
Back at Flamengo’s Ilha do Urubu
stadium in Rio, the club’s Paraguayan manager, Fleitas Solich, entrusted Gérson
with the role of the team’s primary creative force. This decision was mirrored
by national coach Aymoré Moreira, who called up the young playmaker to the
Brazilian squad that would defend their World Cup title in Chile—an honour that
had been sealed by Pelé’s iconic performances in Sweden four years earlier.
However, Gérson’s dreams of contributing to Brazil’s bid for a second
consecutive triumph were shattered by a knee injury. As Pelé, Garrincha, and
the rest of the Seleção lifted the trophy once more, Gérson was left on the
sidelines, a cruel reminder that injury would often thwart his career at
pivotal moments.
In his four
years with Flamengo, Gérson played over 150 league matches, scoring an
impressive 80 goals—a remarkable tally for a player primarily tasked with
orchestrating play from midfield. Despite this success and the adoration of the
fans, Gérson’s relentless desire to improve led him to leave the club in 1963,
seeking new challenges that would test his talents further.
One such
challenge came the previous year when Flamengo faced Botafogo in the final of
the Rio Championship. It was a high-stakes match, an opportunity for the young
midfielder to showcase his abilities on a grand stage. Yet, in a tactical move
that would test his versatility, Gérson’s manager instructed him to abandon his
attacking instincts and focus instead on a man-marking job against Botafogo’s
star player, the legendary Garrincha. It was a defensive assignment that
contrasted sharply with Gérson’s usual role as the creative heartbeat of his
team.
This
tactical shift was reminiscent of the approach taken by Helmut Schön during the
1970 World Cup, when he tasked Franz Beckenbauer with man-marking England’s
Bobby Charlton in the quarter-finals. However, there was a key difference:
Beckenbauer was a seasoned international, already in his second World Cup, and
his ability to adapt to such a role was honed through years of experience. In
contrast, Gérson was a young player still learning the nuances of top-level
football, and the task of neutralizing Garrincha—one of the most elusive and
unpredictable players of all time—was a far greater challenge. Whereas
Beckenbauer’s defensive duties allowed him to eventually unshackle himself and
influence the game once Charlton was substituted, Gérson’s inexperience made
his task far more daunting. The weight of the responsibility, coupled with the
complexity of facing a player of Garrincha’s calibre, underscored the vast gap
between theory and execution for a young talent still in the process of
defining his career.
Signing for Botafogo
The task of man-marking Garrincha was, in
fact, a challenge beyond even the world’s most accomplished defenders, a
reality underscored in two World Cups. It came as no great surprise—perhaps
only to Flamengo’s manager—that despite Gérson’s determined adherence to his
tactical assignment, the job proved insurmountable for such a young and
relatively inexperienced player. Botafogo triumphed 3-0, and Gérson’s influence
on the match was minimal, his attempts to fulfil his defensive duties largely
ineffectually.
For Gérson,
this failure was frustrating but hardly unexpected. It marked a turning point
in his relationship with Flamengo, leading him to reject a contract renewal the
following year. The decision to leave the club and join his conquerors seemed
almost inevitable. The old adage, “If you can’t beat them, join them,” may well
have echoed in his mind as he made the move to Botafogo. There, he would play
alongside Garrincha for the next few years, though the "Little Bird"
would soon leave the nest to join Corinthians, leaving Gérson to continue his
journey with the Fogão.
For any
young Brazilian footballer, a move to Botafogo was a coveted opportunity. At
the time, the club boasted one of the most illustrious squads in the country.
Alongside Garrincha, Gérson would join a roster that included Didi—whose style
had often been compared to Gérson’s own—Nílton Santos, and Mário Zagallo, each
of whom added their own creative spark to the team’s brilliance. To play
alongside such luminaries was a rare privilege, and Gérson flourished in the
company of these footballing giants. His move to Botafogo marked the beginning
of a highly successful chapter in his career. The club won the Rio-São Paulo
Championship in both 1966 and 1967, and in 1967 and 1968, they also claimed the
Rio Championship. The pinnacle of this period came in 1968, when Botafogo
secured their first national title, lifting the Brazilian Cup after defeating
Fortaleza in the final. In this fertile environment, Gérson’s talent blossomed,
and he became an integral part of a team that would go down in history as one
of Brazil’s finest.
Genesis of a World Champion
The 1966 World Cup proved to be a cruel
chapter in Gérson’s career, a tournament that did little to enhance his
reputation despite his undeniable talent. Brazil, having won two consecutive
titles, travelled to England with high hopes of completing a historic hat-trick.
Yet, the tournament unfolded as a nightmare. Brazil’s campaign was marred by a
brutal physicality that bordered on barbaric, a treatment that could be likened
to the malevolent image of breaking a butterfly upon a wheel, as Alexander Pope
once wrote. While it’s true that Gérson’s performances were underwhelming, one
could hardly blame him given the circumstances. The tournament, a cruel and
violent ordeal, left its mark on the entire team, and Gérson would take four
years to put matters right.
In 1969,
Gérson’s time with Botafogo came to an end, having achieved considerable
success. Over nearly 250 league appearances, he scored close to a century of
goals—an impressive tally for a player whose primary role was as a playmaker.
Yet, in a squad brimming with attacking talent, his goal-scoring potential
might have been even greater had he been the focal point of the attack. Seeking
new challenges, Gérson moved to São Paulo in 1969, a decision that would mark
the beginning of a fresh chapter in his illustrious career. However, just as he
had in the past, injury once again cast a shadow over his prospects for the
1970 World Cup, threatening to derail his third attempt at the ultimate prize.
Despite
these setbacks, Gérson was selected for Brazil’s opening match against
Czechoslovakia. However, just past the hour mark, with Brazil leading 3-1,
Gérson was forced to leave the field due to injury, missing the final two
group-stage matches against England and Romania. Brazil managed to secure
victories in both, including a tense 1-0 win over England, but the absence of
their cerebral midfielder was felt. When Gérson returned for the quarter-final
against Peru, Brazil’s fortunes seemed to shift. With him back in the fold, the
Seleção regained their rhythm, dispatching Peru 4-2 before cruising to a 3-1
victory over Uruguay in the semi-finals.
The final
against Italy, however, would test Brazil’s mettle in ways they hadn’t
anticipated. After Pelé’s early header put Brazil ahead, it seemed as though
the match would follow the expected script, with the Azzurri fading under the
weight of their exhaustion after a gruelling 4-3 semi-final victory over West
Germany. But when Roberto Boninsegna capitalized on a defensive lapse to
equalize, Brazil’s confidence faltered. The equalizer punctured their momentum,
and Italy, reinvigorated by the unexpected turn of events, gained belief.
It is often
said that the best team in a tournament does not always win the World Cup—just
ask the Hungarian team of 1954, who were defeated by West Germany in the final
despite having trounced them 8-3 in the group stages. Brazil needed a catalyst
to reignite their game, a player capable of lifting the team’s spirits and
reasserting control. Gérson, the orchestrator of Brazil’s midfield, was that
player. As the match wore on, Brazil regained their composure and dominance,
and it was Gérson who, just past the hour mark, struck the decisive blow. His
goal restored Brazil’s lead and propelled them towards their third World Cup
triumph. While much of the attention was rightly focused on Pelé and Carlos
Alberto, it was Gérson who had steered the ship through turbulent waters, and
his emotional reaction at the final whistle, as he was swept up in the euphoria
of Brazil’s greatest achievement, was a poignant reminder of his central role
in their victory.
After 75
league appearances for São Paulo, Gérson made his final move, returning to his
boyhood club, Fluminense. His time there, however, was brief and less
illustrious, as injuries and the toll of age began to diminish his influence on
the field. Over two years, he made 57 league appearances and scored just five
goals—far from the prolific numbers he had once posted. Gérson’s career, which
had spanned 533 league games across four clubs, came to an end in 1974, with
almost 200 goals to his name. On the international stage, he earned 85 caps for
Brazil, winning 61 of those matches and scoring 19 goals. But none of those
goals were as significant as the one he scored in the 1970 World Cup final, a
strike that restored Brazil’s lead and ultimately secured their victory. His
final appearance for the Seleção came in July 1972, a fitting conclusion to his
international career, as Brazil triumphed 1-0 over Portugal in what was another
hard-fought victory.
A Gem in The Centre of Park
Although Gérson was primarily deployed as a
holding midfielder, his role in the 1970 World Cup-winning Brazilian team
transcended the conventional expectations of the position. As Jonathan Wilson
astutely observed in a 2013 article for The Guardian, Gérson was an early and
pioneering example of a more creative interpretation of the holding midfielder
role—one focused not merely on regaining possession, but on controlling the
game through ball retention and precise passing. His approach to the position
was a harmonious blend of tactical intelligence, technical mastery, and an
almost instinctive understanding of the flow of the game.
In this
capacity, Gérson was the cerebral force behind Brazil’s triumph, often
described as the "brain" of the team. His ability to dictate the
tempo of play from midfield, to calm the game when necessary and accelerate it
when the moment demanded, marked him as a player of exceptional vision and
composure. His passing, renowned for its accuracy and elegance, allowed him to
orchestrate play from deep positions, setting the rhythm for his teammates and
ensuring that the ball was always moving with purpose. Gérson’s capacity to
switch from defence to attack with a single, incisive long ball—often delivered
with a precision that seemed almost preordained—was one of the defining
features of his game. His vision allowed him to spot runs and make passes that
would launch his team forward with devastating effect, a hallmark of Brazil's
fluid, attacking style.
Gérson’s
technical gifts were matched by his tactical acumen. He possessed an
exceptional positional sense, always appearing in the right place at the right
time, whether to intercept an opposing pass or to dictate the next phase of
play. His deep understanding of the game allowed him to remain composed under
pressure, and his decisions were invariably calculated to benefit the team as a
whole. Yet, despite his role as a facilitator, he was no stranger to taking
matters into his own hands when required. His powerful left foot, which could
strike the ball with precision and force, earned him the nickname *Canhotinha
de Ouro* (Golden Left Foot), a fitting tribute to one of the most formidable
weapons in his arsenal.
Regarded as
one of the finest passers in football history, Gérson’s influence extended far
beyond the statistics of goals and assists. His legacy lies in his ability to
shape the game, to turn fleeting moments into opportunities for his team, and
to play with a calmness and intelligence that belied the intensity of the
competition. In a team filled with stars, Gérson’s brilliance was often
understated, but his importance to Brazil’s success in 1970 cannot be
overstated. He was, quite simply, the engine that drove one of the greatest
teams ever assembled, and his contributions to the beautiful game continue to
resonate with those who understand the artistry of midfield play.
The After Years – A Bold Critic
Even after his retirement, Gérson remained a
prominent figure in Brazilian football, though not always for the most positive
reasons. In 1976, he found himself at the centre of controversy when he
appeared in a commercial for Vila Rica cigarettes. The ad, which featured
Gérson declaring, “I like to take advantage of everything, right? You too take
advantage!” was interpreted by many as a tacit endorsement of the morally
dubious "Jeitinho Brasileiro"—the cultural tendency to circumvent
laws and social norms to achieve personal gain. Whether by design or sheer
misjudgment, the phrase resonated as an endorsement of corruption and bribery,
a sentiment that Gérson would later regret. He clarified that this was never
his intention, and he expressed remorse for having participated in the
commercial, acknowledging the unfortunate implications of his involvement.
Beyond the
commercial, Gérson’s post-retirement years were marked by a series of public
spats, including a notable falling-out with Pelé. When Pelé released his list
of the 125 Greatest Footballers of All Time, Gérson was notably absent. This
omission, particularly given his instrumental role in Brazil's 1970 World Cup
victory, rankled Gérson’s strong sense of self-belief. He voiced his
displeasure with characteristic candour, publicly criticizing the list, which he
felt failed to acknowledge the greatness of himself and several of his 1970
teammates. In a memorable protest, Gérson visited a local radio station, where
he dramatically tore up a piece of paper symbolizing Pelé’s list. “I respect
his opinion, but I don’t agree,” he declared, his frustration palpable. “Apart
from Zidane, Platini, and Fontaine, I’m behind 11 Frenchmen? It’s a joke to
hear this.”
Gérson’s
outspokenness didn’t stop there. He also took aim at the new generation of
Brazilian footballers, particularly Neymar. In a conversation with Fox
Sports, Gérson expressed doubt that Neymar, despite his exceptional talent and
astronomical transfer fees, would have earned a spot in Brazil’s 1970 World Cup
squad. With the likes of Pelé, Jairzinho, Tostão, and Rivelino already
established in the starting lineup, Gérson was adamant that Neymar would not
have displaced any of them. “There wouldn’t be a space for Neymar,” he
asserted, dismissing the possibility of the modern superstar fitting into the
team, even as a substitute. He pointed to Caju, a player of immense talent who
had struggled to secure a starting role in that illustrious squad, as an
example of the competition Neymar would have faced. “I don’t even know if
Neymar would have a place on the bench in that team,” Gérson remarked,
reinforcing his belief that the current generation of players, despite their
fame and success, did not measure up to the legendary figures of Brazil’s
golden era.
In his
later years, Gérson transitioned into a new role as a football commentator for
Rio’s radio stations, lending his distinctive voice and insight to the games he
once played. While he may no longer be on the pitch, his passion for the game
remains evident as he provides a bridge between the action on the field and the
fans who listen intently to his every word. Despite the emergence of players
like Neymar, who commands global attention, there remains a deep nostalgia among
many Brazilian football fans for the days when Canhotinha de Ouro donned the
Canarinho shirt. In their eyes, Gérson’s golden left foot and cerebral approach
to the game represent a standard of excellence that the modern generation may
never quite reach.
Conclusion
Gérson de Oliveira Nunes was undeniably a
player of rare and exceptional talent, a once-in-a-generation figure whose
career was marked by both extraordinary fortune and poignant misfortune. To
have played alongside the constellation of stars at Botafogo, with the likes of
Garrincha, Didi, and Nilton Santos, must have been a source of immense pride
and joy. Yet, it was his role in Brazil’s national team, which triumphed in
three World Cups over four tournaments, that truly elevated his legacy. Few
footballers can claim to have been part of such a golden era, and for Gérson,
the opportunity to display his remarkable talents on the world stage was the
fulfilment of any footballer's dream.
However,
the brilliance of Gérson’s career is tempered by a lingering question: in any
other generation, would his extraordinary midfield talents have received the
recognition they deserved? In an era where the dazzling brilliance of Pelé
often cast a shadow over his contemporaries, one wonders whether Gérson’s
contributions—so central to the success of Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winning
team—might have been more widely acknowledged. Would his cerebral style of
play, marked by his precise passing, exceptional vision, and ability to dictate
the tempo of the game, have garnered greater acclaim had he not been
overshadowed by the presence of Pelé and other luminaries?
It is a
question that remains speculative, but one that speaks to the complexities of
footballing history. Perhaps, in a different context, Gérson's genius might
have shone even more brightly, and he might have secured a place on Pelé’s
infamous list of the greatest footballers—a place he undoubtedly earned through
his intellectual mastery of the game. Ultimately, Gérson was the brain behind
one of the most extraordinary teams in football history, and his contribution
to Brazil’s success is a legacy that should not be diminished, even if the full
recognition of his greatness remains a matter of what might have been.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
