Brito, 1970 World Cup winner and Vasco great, dies aged 86 | OneFootball

Brito, 1970 World Cup winner with Brazil and a Vasco idol, died on Thursday aged 86. He anchored a feared backline for the club in the 1960s.

Born Hércules Brito Ruas, he was named for his strength after weighing five kilos at birth. According to Globo.com, the WHO considered him the best conditioned player at the 1970 World Cup.

A São Januário youth product, he stepped up in 1957 but initially sat behind Bellini and Orlando Peçanha. He won the 1957 Torneio de Paris, then spent 1958 on loan at Internacional.

Back at Vasco in 1959, he cemented a decade in defence and captained the side. In 1963 he partnered Fontana, a hard marker dubbed the 'Inimigo do Rei' for duels with Pelé, and the pair were sent off together in clashes with Santos.

Their partnership lasted until mid 1968 when Fontana left for Cruzeiro. Brito played 405 games and scored 11 goals across two spells, adding the 1965 Taça Guanabara and 1966 Rio-São Paulo.

His displays took him to the 1966 World Cup. By 1970, at Cruzeiro, he started every game in Mexico and paired Piazza, with Fontana among the reserves. He won 61 caps for Brazil, with 45 wins, 11 draws and five defeats.

Brito became the seventh member of the 1970 squad to be mourned, following Félix, Carlos Alberto, Everaldo, Joel Camargo, Pelé and Fontana, who died in 1980 aged 39 after a heart attack. Coach Zagallo also died in January 2024.

Source: Globo.com