Immortal icon – Vavá, the steel chest Sports Betting Winners

Immortal icon – Vavá

People have been debating over the years on which was the best ever national football team. A null point actually as the comparison is made between two rosters of the Seleção. The one that won the World Cup in 1958 and 1962 and the one that did the same in 1970. It is a pity that the means of recording the events where not as sophisticated as they are now in any of the three competitions. This makes it rather difficult to form a fully informed opinion on the subject.

However, it is worthy to try and make online references to the legends of these teams. People that were so influential during a match, that all of the best footbal betting tips sites would have been running around to find out every single detail about their condition before making any recommendations. Let’s begin this tribute with one of the players that has not enjoyed as much publicity as many of his co-players. Edvaldo Izidio Neto, or, as most of the world knows him, Vavá.

The story

It all begins in Recife on November 12, 1934 when he was born. Unfortunately, not much is known about his parents, other than the fact that his father was a travelling salesman. At the age of 15 he joined his first club, Sport Recife, beginning a stellar career that lasted for 20 years, until his retirement in 1969.

It would seem that the number 20 (or a number beginning by 2 and ranges between 20 and 30) has a significant meaning for him. This is the number that shows the times he appeared wearing the national team colors. It is also the number that was printed on the back of his jersey during the 1958 World Cup. 27 appearances for the first season with Atlético Madrid and 29 for the second. 28 participations during the time he was included in the San Diego Toros roster.

The person

Many consider him one of the best frontline strikers of his era mainly because of his ability to score goals. He scored 191 goals for Vasco Da Gama, 71 for Palmeiras, 31 for Atlético Madrid, and another 5 for the Bulls of San Diego. Adding his 15 goals for Seleção, he scored a total of 303 goals in 717 appearances. This record of almost one goal per two matches is unmatched by many modern center forwards.

However, it was his strength and endurance that earned him the nickname «Peito de Aço» (steel chest) as he never showed fatigue while playing. Perhaps the greatest impression that people of the time have for him, is his reserved way of smiling, while he kept his personal life with his wife Eliana and his four children away from the press and publicity in general. And that kept on until his death from a heart attack at the age of 67.

Had he been playing nowadays

The story could be quite different as he would probably be recruited by one of the great European clubs, a long time before the age of 26 that he did. While he did play in Spain, he did so for only three years, only to return to Brazil on account of his family been homesick. Every single betting establishment claiming to be worthy of the name, would have been looking to see if he was in good shape, in a scoring spree, or injured and out of action, before making an offer of odds.

It would require the services of the best betting agent for both Sportsbooks and Exchanges, to let people know which of them would be trustworthy and which did not deserve the title. In fact, punters would derive even more benefits through such a venture as they would also:

Players of Vavá’s caliber, have been around since the first day the first ball was kicked. It falls to us to keep their memories and their accomplishments alive, so that the older can remember and the younger can learn.