Bellini’s super-super champion bond with Vasco before the immortal trophy lift | OneFootball

On 29 June, Hilderaldo Luís Bellini etched his name in football by becoming the first champion to raise the World Cup aloft, a gesture that set the template. Long before that lift, he had built a defining bond with Vasco.

He spent 10 years at São Januário after arriving in 1952 amid a rebuild following the break-up of the Expresso da Vitória side, growing into a commanding centre-half and captain. Globo.com notes that he came to be seen as one of Brazil’s best defenders.

For Vasco he played 430 matches and won 12 trophies. These included three state titles in 1952, 1956 and 1958, the last dubbed super-super champions because Vasco, Flamengo and Botafogo played two mini-championships, known as supercampeonatos, to break a tie.

At the 1958 World Cup he joined Orlando and Vavá as the club’s representatives and captained a team with Garrincha, Didi, Nilton Santos and Pelé. After the 5-2 win over Sweden, King Gustavo handed him the Jules Rimet, and Bellini lifted it skywards, later commemorated with a statue outside the Maracanã. Years later he said he did it because he was unsure what to do and to satisfy photographers.

He became a two-time World Cup winner in 1962 after moving to São Paulo that year. Bellini died in 2014 aged 83. His later years were affected by an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and his family donated his brain for research into head impacts in football. Subsequent study found he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated head blows and seen mainly in violent sports.

Vasco later published an obituary on its website, signed by Roberto Dinamite, praising his legacy and offering thanks to their super-super champion.

Source: Globo.com