Moacir Barbosa do Nascimento (27 March 1921 – 7 April 2000) was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. 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 The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the 4th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. It was the first Wo ...

, an upset dubbed the ''

Maracanazo The match between Uruguay and Brazil was the decisive match of the final stage at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. It was played at the Maracanã Stadium in the then-capital of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, on 16 July 1950. Unlike in other editions of the to ...

''. Barbosa is also known for his achievements at

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

, especially the first South American Championship, and the club's domination in the

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

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 Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama (; English: Vasco da Gama Club of Rowing), commonly referred to as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, is a sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although originally a rowing club and then a multi-sport club, Va ...

. He won several trophies at Vasco, including the 1948 South American Championship of Champions, the original precursor to the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

International career

1949 Copa América

With the Brazilian national side, Barbosa won the 1949

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

. 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

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 A round-robin tournament or all-play-all tournament is a competition format in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & ...

, but despite scoring first, they lost 2–1 when

Alcides Ghiggia Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia Pereyra (; 22 December 1926 – 16 July 2015) was a Uruguayan football player, who played as a right winger. He achieved lasting fame for his decisive role in the final match of the 1950 World Cup, and at the time of ...

scored the winning goal for Uruguay in the 79th minute after skilfully dribbling past defender

Bigode João Ferreira, usually known as Bigode ("moustache" in Portuguese) (4 April 1922 – 31 July 2003), was a Brazilian footballer who played left back and also played in the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Club career Bigode started his career playing for ...

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 ''

'', 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 The Brazilian Football Confederation (, CBF) is the governing body of football in Brazil. It was founded on Monday, 8 June 1914, as , and renamed Confederação Brasileira de Desportos in 1916. The football confederation, as known today, sepa ...

Ricardo Teixeira Ricardo Terra Teixeira (; born June 20, 1947) is the former president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). He was in the office from January 16, 1989 to March 12, 2012. In July 2012 a Swiss prosecutor's report revealed that, during his ...

, 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 ''Brasyl'' is a 2007 novel by British author Ian McDonald (author), Ian McDonald. It was nominated for the 2008 Hugo Awards in the best novel category. In 2008 it was nominated for, and made the longlist of, the £50,000 Warwick Prize for Writing ...

''. He is the subject of the biography ''

The Last Save of Moacyr Barbosa ''The Last Save of Moacyr Barbosa'' (Italian: ''L'ultima parata di Moacyr Barbosa'') is a book by Darwin Pastorin, describing the life and times of the Brazilian goalkeeper of the 1950 World Cup, Moacyr Barbosa. Barbosa failed to stop a shot by U ...

'', by Darwin Pastorin. A Brazilian short film named ''Barbosa'', premiered in 1988, in which a 49-year-old man (played by

Antônio Fagundes Antônio José da Silva Fagundes Filho (born 18 April 1949) is a Brazilian actor, playwright, voice actor, and producer. Renowned for his several performances in stage, film and television, where he frequently works in telenovelas. Biography Fa ...

) travels back in time trying to prevent Ghiggia's goal.

Honours

Official

Vasco da Gama *

South American Championship of Champions The South American Championship of Champions (, ) was a association football, football competition played in Santiago, Chile in 1948 and the first continental-wide clubs football tournament in South America. Hosted and organized by Chilean club Col ...

: 1948 *

Torneio Rio–São Paulo The Torneio Rio–São Paulo () was a traditional Brazilian football competition contested between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro teams from 1933 to 1966, in 1993 and from 1997 to 2002. Organized by the state football associations of the state o ...

: 1958 *

: 1945, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1958 *

Torneio Octogonal Rivadavia Correa Meyer The Torneio Octogonal Rivadavia Correa Meyer was an intercontinental club football tournament held in Brazil in 1953. It was organised by the Brazilian Sports Confederation (''Confederação Brasileira de Desportos'') as a successor of Copa Rio, ...

: 1953 Brazil *

: 1949 *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

runner-up:

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

Individual * IFFHS Brazilian Keeper of the 20th Century: (3rd place) * IFFHS South American Keeper of the 20th Century: (11th place)IFFHS' Century Elections
/ref>

Unofficial

Copa Roca The Roca Cup () was a football competition contested between Argentina and Brazil national teams from 1914 to 1976 on irregular basis. The Copa Roca was the first trophy, official or unofficial, ever won by a Brazil national team. History The c ...

(unoff.)¹: 1945 *

Copa Rio Branco Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Association * Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association * Parlia ...

(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 Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

(both R.d Janeiro), CA Boca Juniors and. Racing Club (both Argentina)
²) with CR Vasco da Gama,

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club, known simply as Millonarios, is a Colombian professional football club based in Bogotá, that competes in the Categoría Primera A, top flight of football in Colombia. It is one of the most successful and iconic clubs i ...

(Bogotá) and

CSD Colo-Colo Colo-Colo (), officially Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo, is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano, it competes in the Chilean Primera División, from which the club has never been r ...

(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'' (''

'')

Arnoldo Mondadori Editore Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In ...

, 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