Vavá


Edvaldo Izidio Neto, 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", he most notably played for Vasco da Gama, Atlético Madrid, Palmeiras and the Brazil national team.

International career

Vavá earned twenty caps with the Brazil national team between 1955 and 1964, scoring a total of fifteen goals. He was in the side that won both the 1958 and 1962 FIFA World Cups, 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.
Vavá scored in the World Cup finals of both 1958 and 1962, 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.

Honours

Club

Sport Recife
Vasco da Gama
Atlético de Madrid
Palmeiras
Club América

International

Brazil national football team

Individual