Moacir Barbosa do Nascimento (27 March 1921 – 7 April 2000) was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His career spanned 22 years. He was regarded as one of the world's best goalkeepers in the 1940s and 1950s, and was known for not wearing gloves, as would be typical. Barbosa is mainly associated with

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

's defeat against underdogs

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

in the decisive match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, an upset dubbed the '' Maracanazo''. Barbosa is also known for his achievements at Vasco da Gama, especially the first South American Championship, and the club's domination in the Campeonato Carioca in 1940s and 1950s.

Club career

Success with Vasco da Gama

At club level, Barbosa had his greatest successes with

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

side CR Vasco da Gama. He won several trophies at Vasco, including the 1948 South American Championship of Champions, the original precursor to the Copa Libertadores.

International career

1949 Copa América

With the Brazilian national side, Barbosa won the 1949 Copa América. The 7–0 final victory over

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

remains to date the highest victory in a final of the competition.

The ''Maracanazo'' and its aftermath

At the 1950 FIFA World Cup held on home soil, Brazil played

in the decisive match of the World Cup finals at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil was heavily favoured to win and needed only a draw to win the round-robin tournament, but despite scoring first, they lost 2–1 when Alcides Ghiggia scored the winning goal for Uruguay in the 79th minute after skilfully dribbling past defender Bigode and then drilling the ball into the net while Barbosa was out of position, expecting a cross into the middle. The loss stunned Brazilians and plunged the country into mourning over what became known as the '' Maracanazo'', or "the Maracanã blow". Barbosa was blamed for the defeat, for which he suffered for the rest of his life as the match became part of Brazilian folklore. In 1963, Barbosa was presented with the old square wooden goalposts from the Maracanã as a present, which he took home and burned. Thirty years later, the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, Ricardo Teixeira, did not allow him to be a commentator for the broadcast of an international match. In 2000, Barbosa said in an interview: "The maximum punishment in Brazil is 30 years' imprisonment, but I have been paying, for something I am not even responsible for, by now, for 50 years." On 7 April of the same year, he died of a heart attack at the age of 79.

In popular culture

Barbosa plays a large role in Ian McDonald's science fiction novel '' Brasyl''. He is the subject of the biography '' The Last Save of Moacyr Barbosa'', by Darwin Pastorin. A Brazilian short film named ''Barbosa'', premiered in 1988, in which a 49-year-old man (played by Antônio Fagundes) travels back in time trying to prevent Ghiggia's goal.

Honours

Official

Vasco da Gama * South American Championship of Champions: 1948 * Torneio Rio–São Paulo: 1958 * Campeonato Carioca: 1945, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1958 * Torneio Octogonal Rivadavia Correa Meyer: 1953 Brazil * Copa América: 1949 * FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1950 Individual * IFFHS Brazilian Keeper of the 20th Century: (3rd place) * IFFHS South American Keeper of the 20th Century: (11th place)IFFHS' Century Elections
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Unofficial

* Copa Roca (unoff.)¹: 1945 * Copa Rio Branco (unoff.)²: 1947, 1950 ¹) irregular friendly tournament between Brazil and Argentina
²) irregular friendly tournament between Brazil and Uruguay

Club

*Torneio Quadrangular do Rio (inoff.)¹: 1953 *Torneio Internacional de Santiago de Chile (inoff.)²: 1953 ¹) with CR Vasco da Gama, CR Flamengo (both R.d Janeiro), CA Boca Juniors and. Racing Club (both Argentina)
²) with CR Vasco da Gama, Millonarios (Bogotá) and CSD Colo-Colo (Santiago)

References

External links

El Mundo (Spain)
– Obituary
Casa do Cinema de Porto Alegre
– Barbosa the film

Books

* Darwin Pastorin, ''L'ultima parata di Moacyr Barbosa'' ('' The Last Save of Moacyr Barbosa'') Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 2005 (Published in Italy

*Alex Bellos, ''Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life'', Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury, 200

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbosa, Moacir 1921 births 2000 deaths Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers 1950 FIFA World Cup players CR Vasco da Gama players Santa Cruz Futebol Clube players Footballers from Campinas Brazil men's international footballers 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen