At the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Brazil participated for the 9th time in the event. The country remained as the only national team to have participated in every installment of the FIFA World Cup. The 1970 Brazil line-up is often considered to be the greatest football team in history.

The Brazilian front five of Jairzinho, Pelé, Gérson, Tostão and Rivellino were all Number 10s in their own right and together they created an irresistible attacking momentum, with Pelé having central role in Brazil's way to the final, playing a part in 14 of Brazil's 19 goals in the tournament. In the first match, against Czechoslovakia, Pelé gave Brazil a 2–1 lead, by controlling Gerson's long pass with his chest and then scoring. In this match Pelé audaciously attempted to lob goalkeeper Ivo Viktor from the half-way line, only narrowly missing the Czechoslovak goal.The Greatest? For Century, Pele Eclipses Muhammad Ali The New York Times. Retrieved 6 May 2011. Brazil went on to win the match, 4–1. In the first half of the match against England, Pelé nearly scored with a header that was spectacularly saved by Gordon Banks.The 100 greatest World Cup moments: (No.18) The Independent Retrieved 13 May 2011. In the second half, he assisted Jairzinho for the only goal of the match. Against Romania, Pelé opened the score on a direct free kick goal, a strong strike with the outside of his right foot. Later on in the match he scored again to take the score to 3–1. Brazil won by a final score of 3–2. In the quarter-finals against Peru, Brazil won 4–2, with Pelé assisting Tostão for Brazil's third goal. In the semi-finals, Brazil faced Uruguay for the first time since the 1950 World Cup final round match. Jairzinho put Brazil ahead 2–1, and Pelé assisted Rivellino for the 3–1. During that match, Pelé made one of his most famous plays. Tostão gave Pelé a through ball, and Uruguay's goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz took notice of it. The keeper ran off of his line to get the ball before Pelé, but Pelé got there first and fooled the keeper by not touching the ball, causing it to roll to the keeper's left, while Pelé went right. Pelé went around the goalkeeper and took a shot while turning towards the goal, but he turned in excess as he shot, and the ball drifted just wide of the far post.

Brazil played Italy in the final, with Pelé scoring the opener, with a header over Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich.Memorable Celebrations 1: Pele's iconic leap of joy after scoring Brazil's century goal Goal Retrieved 8 May 2011. He then made assists on Jairzinho's and Carlos Alberto's goals, the latter one coming after an impressive collective play.Benson, Andrew (2 June 2006) The perfect goal BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2011.Football First XI: Best goals ever CNN. Retrieved 13 May 2011. Brazil won the match 4–1, keeping the Jules Rimet Trophy indefinitely, and Pelé was named player of the tournament.Brazil's heroes of 1970 relive their days of glory FIFA.com. Retrieved 6 May 2011. Burgnich, who marked Pelé during the final, was quoted saying "I told myself before the game, he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else — but I was wrong".Pelé, King of futbol, ESPN. Retrieved 6 May 2011.

Brazil were given the Jules Rimet Trophy for keeps after winning in 1970. Housed in the Brazilian Football Association's Rio de Janeiro headquarters, the cup was stolen in 1983. It is thought the thieves melted it down for its more-than 3 kg of solid gold for the resell in the black market.

Squad

Head coach: Mário Zagallo

Brazil competed in Group 3 of the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Guadalajara's Estadio Jalisco between 2 and 11 June 1970. Brazil won the group, and advanced to the quarter-finals, along with World Cup holders England. Romania and Czechoslovakia failed to advance.

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Czechoslovakia vs Brazil

GK 1 Ivo ViktorDF 2 Karol DobiašDF 5 Alexander Horváth (c) DF 3 Václav MigasDF 4 Vladimír Hagara MF 16Ivan Hrdlička MF 9 Ladislav KunaMF 18František Veselý MF 8 Ladislav PetrášFW 10Jozef AdamecFW 11Karol JoklSubstitutions:MF 6 Andrej Kvašňák MF 7 Bohumil Veselý Manager:Jozef Marko GK 1 FélixDF 4 Carlos Alberto (c)DF 3 PiazzaDF 2 BritoDF 16EveraldoMF 5 ClodoaldoMF 8 Gérson MF 7 JairzinhoFW 9 TostãoFW 10PeléFW 11RivellinoSubstitutions:MF 18Caju Manager:Mário Zagallo Assistant referees: Abraham Klein (Israel) Arturo Yamasaki (Mexico)

England vs Brazil

Brazil were putting defending champions England under enormous pressure and an attack was begun by captain Carlos Alberto who sent a low ball down the right flank for the speedy Jairzinho to latch on to. The Brazilian winger sped past left-back Terry Cooper and crossed the ball into the six-yard box, where Pelé connected with a powerful header to send the ball low towards the right-hand corner of the goal. In the knowledge that his header was placed to perfection, Pelé immediately shouted "Gol!" (Portuguese for goal).

The split-second incident only allowed England goalkeeper Gordon Banks time for one conscious thought – that the shot was impossible to catch, and the only way to prevent Pelé from following up on the rebound would be to parry the ball over the bar. The ball bounced two yards in front of the goal-line, and Banks managed to make contact with the ball with the fingers of his right hand, and rolled his hand slightly to angle to ball over the crossbar. He landed in the inner netting of the goal, and knew he had saved the ball after witnessing Pelé's reaction. Banks then rose to his feet to defend the corner, and broke into laughter after the following exchange:

The only goal of the game was scored by Jairzinho in the 59th minute, a powerful right footed shot from about seven yards out on the right of the penalty area after receiving a pass from Pele.

GK 1 Gordon BanksDF 14Tommy WrightDF 5 Brian LaboneDF 6 Bobby Moore (c)DF 3 Terry CooperMF 4 Alan MulleryMF 8 Alan BallMF 9 Bobby Charlton MF 11Martin Peters FW 10Geoff Hurst FW 7 Francis Lee Substitutions:MF 19Colin Bell FW 22Jeff Astle Manager:Alf Ramsey GK 1 FélixDF 4 Carlos Alberto (c)DF 3 PiazzaDF 2 BritoDF 16EveraldoMF 5 ClodoaldoMF 18CajuMF 7 JairzinhoFW 9 Tostão FW 10PeléFW 11RivellinoSubstitutions:FW 13Roberto Manager:Mário Zagallo Assistant referees: Arturo Yamasaki (Mexico) Roger Machin (France)

Romania vs Brazil

GK 21Stere Adamache DF 2 Lajos SătmăreanuDF 3 Nicolae LupescuDF 5 Cornel DinuDF 4 Mihai Mocanu MF 15Ion Dumitru MF 10Radu NunweillerMF 7 Emerich DembrovschiMF 16Alexandru NeaguFW 9 Florea Dumitrache FW 11Mircea Lucescu (c)Substitutions:GK 1 Necula Răducanu FW 17Gheorghe Tătaru Manager:Angelo Niculescu GK 1 FélixDF 4 Carlos Alberto (c)DF 3 PiazzaDF 2 BritoDF 16Everaldo DF 15FontanaMF 5 Clodoaldo MF 18CajuFW 7 JairzinhoFW 9 TostãoFW 10PeléSubstitutions:DF 6 Marco Antônio FW 19Edu Manager:Mário Zagallo Assistant referees: Ramón Barreto (Uruguay) Vital Loraux (Belgium)

Quarter-Final Brazil vs Peru

GK 1 FélixDF 4 Carlos Alberto (c)DF 3 PiazzaDF 2 BritoDF 6 Marco AntônioMF 5 ClodoaldoMF 8 GérsonFW 7 Jairzinho FW 9 Tostão FW 10PeléMF 11RivellinoSubstitutions:FW 13Roberto MF 18Caju Manager:Mário Zagallo GK 1 Luis RubiñosDF 2 Eloy CamposDF 14José FernándezDF 4 Héctor Chumpitaz (c)DF 5 Nicolás FuentesMF 6 Ramón MifflinMF 7 Roberto ChalleFW 8 Julio Baylón FW 9 Pedro Pablo León FW 10Teófilo Cubillas FW 11Alberto GallardoSubstitutions:DF 19Eladio Reyes FW 20Hugo Sotil Manager: Didi Assistant referees: Ferdinand Marschall (Austria) Gyula Emsberger (Hungary)

Semi-final Uruguay vs Brazil

Luis Cubilla opened the scoring for Uruguay in the 19th minute when he hit a right footed shot from the right of the six yard box that went past the goalkeeper and just inside the back post. Clodoaldo equalised for Brazil just before half time when he received the ball on the left side of the penalty area from a cross from the right and shot right footed past to the right of the net. Pelé made one of his most famous plays. Tostão then gave Pelé a through ball, and Uruguay's goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz took notice of it. The keeper ran off of his line to get the ball before Pelé, but Pelé got there first and fooled the keeper by not touching the ball, causing it to roll to the keeper's left, while Pelé went right. Pelé went around the goalkeeper and took a shot while turning towards the goal, but he turned in excess as he shot, and the ball drifted just wide of the far post. Jairzinho got the second goal for Brazil in the 76th minute, after receiving the ball he made a run past the defender and into the penalty box before shooting a low right footed shot into the net. The third goal for Brazil was scored by Rivellino in the 89th minute, a powerful low left footed shot from the edge of the penalty area into the right corner of the net.

GK 1 Ladislao MazurkiewiczDF 4 Luis Ubiña (c)DF 2 Atilio AnchetaDF 3 Roberto MatosasDF 6 Juan MujicaMF 10Ildo Maneiro MF 20Julio César CortésMF 5 Julio Montero CastilloMF 7 Luis CubillaFW 15Dagoberto FontesFW 11Julio MoralesSubstitutions:FW 9 Víctor Espárrago Manager:Juan Hohberg GK 1 FélixDF 4 Carlos Alberto (c)DF 3 PiazzaDF 2 BritoDF 16EveraldoMF 5 ClodoaldoMF 8 GérsonMF 7 JairzinhoFW 9 TostãoFW 10PeléFW 11RivellinoManager:Mário Zagallo Assistant referees: Ferdinand Marschall (Austria) Tofiq Bahramov (Soviet Union)

Final

The 1970 FIFA World Cup Final was contested by Brazil and Italy on 21 June 1970 in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico, to determine the winner of the 1970 FIFA World Cup. This final marked the first time that two former world champions met in a final; Italy had previously won the World Cup in 1934 and 1938, while Brazil won in 1958 and 1962.

Brazil struck first, with Pelé heading in a cross by Rivellino at the 18th minute. Roberto Boninsegna equalized for Italy after a blunder in the Brazilian defence. In the second half, Brazil's firepower and creativity was too much for an Italian side that clung to their cautious defensive system. Gérson fired in a powerful shot for the second goal, and then helped provide the third, with a long free kick to Pelé who headed down into the path of the onrushing Jairzinho. Pelé capped his superb performance by drawing the Italian defence in the centre and feeding captain Carlos Alberto on the right flank for the final score. Carlos Alberto's goal, after a series of moves by the Brazilian team from the left to the centre, is considered one of the greatest goals ever scored in the history of the tournament.