The Player of the 1958 World Cup "DIDI" is no more!

Former Brazilian soccer legend Valdir Pereira, popularly known as "Didi" died in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, May 12, 2001, aged 72. He died of pneumonia after a surgery, after spending two weeks in the hospital.

Born on October 8, 1928 in Campos, Didi, a defensive mid-fielder, was named the Player of the 1958 World Cup. He was the member of the Brazilian World Cup winning teams in 1958 and 1962.

As a child, a serious knee injury, left him with a slight limp. However he overcame this handicap by dedicated practice and spent many years perfecting his famous 'dry leaf' kick. He was the pioneer of this curving dead-ball shot, which is now part of every great player's armoury.

Didi, then aged 21, joined the Brazilian club, Fluminense in 1950 and within two years he appeared for the national team for the first time. In 68 international appearances for Brazil from 1952 to 1962, he scored 20 goals.

In 1956 he moved to another Brazilian club Botafogo, but in 1958 he was transferred to Real Madrid in Spain. However, here he did not get along with former Argentine great Alfredo Di Stefano and in an attempt to relieve the unpleasant situation, he was loaned to Valencia. But when things did not go right for him, he decided to move back to his old club Botafogo in 1960. He then took his club to the League title in 1961.

In 1962 he joined the Peruvian club, Sporting Crystal as manager. He was a great success here and was asked to manage the Peru national team for the 1970 Mexico World Cup. Under his guidance the team reached the quarter-finals, which even exceeded the team's own expectations.

In 1971, he managed the top Argentine club, River Plate when he accepted a lucrative position. On his return to Brazil, he organised many soccer coaching clinics in the country.