Vavá

Vavá
	Vavá in 1962
Personal information
Full name	Edvaldo Izídio Neto
Date of birth	12 November 1934
Place of birth	Recife, Brazil
Date of death	19 January 2002 (aged 67)
Place of death	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team
1949–1950	Sport Recife
1951–1958	Vasco da Gama
1958–1961	Atlético Madrid
1961–1963	Palmeiras
1964–1967	América
1967–1968	Toros Neza
1968	San Diego Toros
1969	Portuguesa
Total
International career
1955–1964	Brazil
Managerial career
1971–1972	Córdoba
1974–1975	Córdoba
1977–1978	Granada
1984–1985	Al Rayyan
Medal record
Men's Football
Representing Brazil
FIFA World Cup
	* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Edvaldo Izidio Neto (12 November 1934 – 19 January 2002), commonly known as Vavá, was a Brazilian professional footballer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest strikers of his generation. Nicknamed "Peito de Aço" (Steel Chest), he most notably played for Vasco da Gama, Atlético Madrid, Palmeiras and the Brazil national team.

Career

At club level, Vavá started his career with Sport Recife from 1949 to 1950. Between 1958 and 1961, he played for Atlético Madrid, moving abroad for the first time. Vavá finished his career with Potuguesa de Desportos in 1970.^[3]

Vavá earned twenty caps with the Brazil national team between 1955 and 1964, scoring a total of fifteen goals. On 13 November 1955, he debuted in the Oswaldo Cruz Cup against Paraguay.^[1] Vavá was part of the team that won both the 1958 and 1962 FIFA World Cups,^[4] in which he scored five and four goals respectively. Furthermore, he was a joint-recipient of the 1962 World Cup Golden Boot as one of the tournament's top scorers. Vavá was also part of Brazil's squad for the 1952 Summer Olympics.^[5]

Vavá scored in the World Cup finals of both 1958 (twice) and 1962 (once), thus becoming the first player to score in two finals. Only five players have achieved this feat, the other four being Pelé, Paul Breitner, Zinedine Zidane, and Kylian Mbappé. He remained the only player to have scored in two consecutive World Cup final matches until Mbappé achieved the feat in 2022, having also scored in the final in 2018.^[6]

Death

On 19 January 2002, Vavá died in a Rio de Janeiro clinic on Saturday aged 67.^[2]

Club statistics

Club performance			League
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals
Spain			League
1958–59	Atlético Madrid	La Liga	27	16
1959–60			29	10
1960–61			15	5
Country	Spain		71	31
United States			League
1968	San Diego Toros	North American Soccer League	28	5
Country	United States		28	5
Total			99	36