1962 World Cup: Remembering the ‘Bent-legged Angel’ Garrincha

With the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States due to get underway on 11 June, we are paying a homage to a star of the 1962 World Cup, Garrincha, and the Brazilian's quality despite his bent legs.

Manuel Francisco dos Santos, as he was born, was a Brazilian midfielder who played on the right wing.

Garrincha was born with several physical defects, so one would have thought that his chances of becoming a superstar in the world of football were slim to none.

He was born with a spine that was not straight, which doctors feared would impact his ability to even walk normally, and his two legs were not the same length – the right leg was reportedly 6cm shorter than the left.

Garrincha also had knees that were described as ‘warped’ by medical professionals, and as for the nickname of Garrincha given to him by his younger sister, he earned another nickname once he established himself on the professional stage – the ‘Bent-legged Angel’. 

1962 World Cup: Remembering the ‘Bent-legged Angel' Garrincha

Garrincha at the World Cup

Most World Cup titles in history
Brazil	1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002	5
Germany (incl. West Germany)	1954, 1974, 1990, 2014	4
Italy	1934, 1938, 1982, 2006	4
Argentina	1978, 1986, 2022	3
France	1998, 2018	2
Uruguay	1930, 1950	2
England	1966	1
Spain	2010	1

• Garrincha played in three World Cups for Brazil, 1958, 1962 and 1966
• Garrincha scored five goals at World Cups, four in 1962 (two against England and two against Chile) and one in 1966.
• Garrincha played a total of 12 games at World Cups, starting each match and winning two Jules Rimet Trophies.

After just a couple of years playing at Botafogo, Garrincha received the call-up to represent Brazil in the national team.

Between the years 1955 and 1966, Garrincha would play a total of 50 matches in the Brazil shirt.

He played for Brazil in both the 1958 and the 1962 World Cup tournaments, which Brazil won.

He also played for Brazil during the 1966 World Cup, but his career and subsequent abilities on the pitch were declining at that point.

Garrincha at the 1962 World Cup

🏆 World Cup winners: 1930 to 2022
Year	Winner	Runner-up	Host
2022	Argentina	France (pen)	Qatar
2018	France	Croatia	Russia
2014	Germany	Argentina	Brazil
2010	Spain	Netherlands	South Africa
2006	Italy	France (pen)	Germany
2002	Brazil	Germany	Japan / S. Korea
1998	France	Brazil	France
1994	Brazil	Italy (pen)	USA
1990	West Germany	Argentina	Italy
1986	Argentina	West Germany	Mexico
1982	Italy	West Germany	Spain
1978	Argentina	Netherlands	Argentina
1974	West Germany	Netherlands	West Germany
1970	Brazil	Italy	Mexico
1966	England	West Germany	England
1962	Brazil	Czechoslovakia	Chile
1958	Brazil	Sweden	Sweden
1954	West Germany	Hungary	Switzerland
1950	Uruguay	Brazil (final group)	Brazil
1938	Italy	Hungary	France
1934	Italy	Czechoslovakia	Italy
1930	Uruguay	Argentina	Uruguay

The 1942 and 1946 tournaments were not held due to the Second World War. The 1950 tournament used a final round-robin rather than a knockout final.

During the successful 1958 campaign for Brazil, the duo of Garrincha and Pele was almost untouchable, so the fact that they were both in the squad for the 1962 World Cup was exciting for Brazilians, to say the least.

But Pele actually got injured during one of the early games, which sidelined him for the entire tournament.

Therefore, the duo was split, which left Garrincha to carry the hopes of a nation on his shoulders.

It would seem that he dealt with the pressure and expectation extremely well too.

When the World Cup was over, Garrincha took home the Golden Boot award (most goals), Golden Ball (best player in the event) as well as the World Cup – all in the same tournament.

This was helped by the fact that Garrincha scored four goals during the tournament, with two in the quarter-final and two in the semi-final.

His overall performance saw him torment defenders and create assists that were out of this world, while his leadership was also sensational. 

Garrincha silenced doubters despite bent legs

Those in the professional world of football were somewhat reluctant to take Garrincha on as a paid player.

Doctors for many of the respective teams had major reservations about how long he could keep that level going before the obvious deformities started to cause problems.

However, Garrincha proved these doubters wrong time and time again, and he just kept getting better for both club and country, hence the success that he enjoyed throughout his career.

Unfortunately, Garrincha passed away at just 49 years of age due to many years of heavy drinking.

The legend was taken too soon, but the fact that he is still regarded as one of the best of all time tells you all you need to know.