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| Vicente Feola | |
|---|---|
| Name | Vicente Feola |
| Fullname | Vicente Feola |
| Birth date | 20 November 1909 |
| Birth place | São Paulo, Brazil |
| Death date | 6 February 1975 |
| Death place | São Paulo, Brazil |
| Position | Midfielder |
| Years1 | 1929–1940 |
| Clubs1 | São Paulo FC |
| Manageryears1 | 1942–1950 |
| Managerclubs1 | São Paulo FC |
| Manageryears2 | 1958 |
| Managerclubs2 | Brazil national football team |
| Manageryears3 | 1961–1962 |
| Managerclubs3 | Brazil national football team |
Vicente Feola was a Brazilian football manager and former midfielder best known for leading the national team to victory at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. He managed prominent clubs and the Brazil national football team during a transformative era featuring players who became icons of Brazilian football and global football. Feola's tactical choices and squad management influenced later generations of coaches across South America and Europe.
Born in São Paulo in 1909, Feola began his football involvement amid the growth of organized clubs such as São Paulo FC, Corinthians, Palmeiras, Santos FC, and Fluminense FC. He played as a midfielder for São Paulo FC during the 1930s, contemporaneous with figures like Leônidas da Silva and coaches influenced by trends from Italy and Hungary. Feola's playing days overlapped with the professionalization of Brazilian leagues, interactions with visiting European teams such as Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona, and the domestic prominence of competitions including the Campeonato Paulista and matches against sides like Boca Juniors and River Plate.
Feola transitioned to management at São Paulo FC, joining a lineage that included managers inspired by tactics from Herbert Chapman, Árpád Weisz, and South American contemporaries such as Helenio Herrera and Osvaldo Brandão. At club level he won regional honours while competing against rivals like Corinthians Paulista and Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva. His reputation led to involvement with the Brazil national football team, where he succeeded predecessors influenced by the Mário Zagallo school and the tactical environments shaped at tournaments like the Copa América and international friendlies featuring teams such as England national football team, France national football team, and Uruguay national football team.
As manager of the Brazil national football team for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, Feola oversaw a squad that included future luminaries such as Pelé, Garrincha, Didi, Vavá, and Zagallo. He navigated qualification and preparation matches versus teams like Scotland national football team and Austria national football team and managed training influenced by continental methods from Italy national football team and the innovative approaches of Hungary national football team. Feola implemented a system emphasizing technical skill and positional fluidity against opponents including Sweden national football team in the final. Brazil's victory in the tournament marked the country's first FIFA World Cup title and had immediate cultural impact across Latin America, prompting celebrations involving figures such as politicians from Brazil and endorsements from sports institutions including the FIFA executive.
After 1958 Feola returned to club duties and had further stints with the national team, including during the early 1960s when Brazil prepared for tournaments like the 1962 FIFA World Cup. His tactical legacy informed coaches such as Mário Zagallo, Telê Santana, and later practitioners in Europe and South America. Feola's World Cup-winning selection and use of youth talent influenced academy policies at clubs like Santos FC and São Paulo FC and resonated with international managers including Vic Buckingham and Béla Guttmann. Historians of sport connect Feola's tenure to broader evolutions seen in competitions like the Copa Libertadores and to the professional pathways of players transferred to clubs such as AC Milan, Juventus FC, and FC Barcelona.
Feola maintained ties to São Paulo and to institutions such as São Paulo FC until his death in 1975. He received recognition from Brazilian football bodies and was commemorated by supporters alongside fellow national team members and coaches honored by CBF events and museum exhibits related to the FIFA World Cup. His name appears in discussions with contemporaries and successors including Flávio Costa, Cláudio Coutinho, Carlos Alberto Parreira, and in retrospectives covering moments from the 1958 FIFA World Cup final to landmark matches in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.
Category:1909 births Category:1975 deaths Category:Brazilian football managers Category:São Paulo FC managers Category:Brazil national football team managers