April 9 – Manga, one of Brazil’s goalkeepers at the 1966 World Cup, has died at the age of 87 following a battle with prostate cancer.
Haílton Corrêa de Arruda, who went by the football name Manga, passed away on Tuesday at the Rio Barra Hospital in Rio de Janeiro. He ranked as one of Brazil’s and South America’s finest goalkeepers.
He rose to fame at Botafogo where he played from 1959 to 1968 alongside greats like Mario Zagallo and Garrincha. Manga won the Carioca championship four times and the Rio-Sao Paulo tournament, which doubled as the national championship, on three occasions. In total he won 20 prizes with the Rio club, featuring in 442 matches.
On social media, Botafogo wrote: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Haílton Corrêa de Arruda, our unforgettable former goalkeeper and idol Manga, at the age of 88, at the Rio Barra Hospital. Manga was one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of world football and defended our Glorioso from 1959 to 1968, having been part of two of the greatest teams in our history, the two-time Rio de Janeiro champions of 61/62 and 67/68. A starter in the 66 Brazilian National Team, Manga leaves behind a history of unforgettable saves and a lot of love for Botafogo.”
He also represented Brazil 12 times and featured at the 1966 World Cup in England. He replaced Gilmar in Brazil’s last group game as the defending world champions were on the brink of elimination, but Manga failed to keep out Eusebio and Brazil exited the tournament in disgrace.
Manga also played for Uruguay’s Nacional, Internacional, Operário-MS, Coritiba, Grêmio and Barcelona de Guayaquil, Ecuador. With Nacional, he won both the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup in 1971.
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