Carlos Alberto dead of heart attack at 72

Ale Xander

Hamilton
SoSH Member
Oct 31, 2013
72,463
Carlos Alberto Torres, the captain of arguably the great soccer team of all-time (1970 Brazil), has died of a heart attack, according to numerous sources. He was on air as a commentator on Brazil TV just 2 days earlier.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,731
RIP to a key piece of what is probably still the most intense sporting event I've been to, even though I was only 11...

In 1978, the defending champion Cosmos absolutely dominated the NASL in the regular season going 24-6, with a bench that could have held their own against most other teams.

But in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, the Cosmos went to Minnesota and absolutely got their asses kicked, somehow losing 9-2 (they had only given up 39 goals in 30 games all year).

So NY came home, needing to win to force an immediate 30 minute 'mini-game' that would decide who advanced to the semis. They won the game 4-0, and the mini-game was scoreless. onto OT, also scoreless.

So a shootout to decide who moved on, with a sold-out Giants Stadium of 77,000+ all standing and going nuts. NY was down 1 in the shootout with Alberto needing to score or their season was over. It was the kind of shootout where they allowed the shooter to dribble in from 35 yards away, Alberto had never before been in a shootout (it was very new then), this was his first. Instead of normal dribbles, he started bouncing it up in the air, eventually chipping it in over the head of the onrushing goaltender to tie the game and keep NY alive for Beckenbauer to score in the next round and let them go on to win their second straight title.

 

Stanley Steamer

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 11, 2012
1,436
Rossland, BC
RIP to a key piece of what is probably still the most intense sporting event I've been to, even though I was only 11...

In 1978, the defending champion Cosmos absolutely dominated the NASL in the regular season going 24-6, with a bench that could have held their own against most other teams.

But in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, the Cosmos went to Minnesota and absolutely got their asses kicked, somehow losing 9-2 (they had only given up 39 goals in 30 games all year).

So NY came home, needing to win to force an immediate 30 minute 'mini-game' that would decide who advanced to the semis. They won the game 4-0, and the mini-game was scoreless. onto OT, also scoreless.

So a shootout to decide who moved on, with a sold-out Giants Stadium of 77,000+ all standing and going nuts. NY was down 1 in the shootout with Alberto needing to score or their season was over. It was the kind of shootout where they allowed the shooter to dribble in from 35 yards away, Alberto had never before been in a shootout (it was very new then), this was his first. Instead of normal dribbles, he started bouncing it up in the air, eventually chipping it in over the head of the onrushing goaltender to tie the game and keep NY alive for Beckenbauer to score in the next round and let them go on to win their second straight title.

Great story, and awesome post.
 

h8mfy

New Member
Jul 15, 2005
336
Orange County, CA
Thanks for this write-up...I was there, too, and it was indeed an intense atmosphere at Giants stadium that night, unlike the moribund NFL games of that era. I was a little older but still remember vividly the exhuberant joy of the crowd post-game, and remarking on how starkly different the multicultural celebrations were from what I had been used to, and was a soccer fan from that point on.

RIP Carlos Alberto and thanks for exposing the intensity of world-class soccer to a suburban NJ kid like me.