C LOTHES MAKERS | CW
TIME
SPAN
28 sec. Mexico City, 1970
When we think of football’s greatest goals, we picture the whirling, unstoppable genius of Maradona’s second strike against England in 1986 or Zinedine Zidane’s super-volley in the 2002 Champions League final. Yet, for sheer perfection, it’s hard to think of a better goal than the one Carlos Alberto scored in the 1970 World Cup Final for Brazil against Italy. Not just a great goal, but a great team goal. The move started with Brazil’s numberfive Clodoaldo’s dainty dribble in which he beat four Italian players with the nonchalance of a man out walking his dog. Roberto Rivelino received the ball, passed it up the left wing to Jairzinho, who nudged it to Pele, who in turn – after a short pause – rolled the ball to Carlos Alberto. Without breaking stride, the right back – the right back! – drilled the ball with vicious, stinging power into the corner of the net, making the score 4-1 and sealing a third World Cup victory for Brazil. A glorious moment. The first World Cup to be televised in colour provided us with the first great side of the modern age, a team that played with fluidity, freedom and intelligence, winning all six of their matches in Mexico. This goal was the crowning moment of that campaign. It was football for the space race. Football for the age of mass communication. Football as modern art.
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