The woman Garrincha ran off with was Elza Soares, the nationās most-celebrated chanteuse, whose voice could be heard throbbing out of car radios and cafe sound systems round the clock. They didnāt come bigger. The scandalous bit was that Garrincha had not only abandoned his wife, whom he married when both were impoverished teenagers, but also nine children. All nine were daughters. But, for two stars who had idolatrous followings in their respective fields, there was a huge mitigating factor. Within a year of their liaison, albeit as yet without the benefit of wedlock, Miss Soares gave birth to a child. It was a son. The nation rejoiced at the arrival of Master Manoel dos Santos II. GARRINCHA proudly bounced him on his knee as we spoke. It was a somewhat stilted interview since Garrin-chaās English was on a par with my Portuguese. Paulo Paladinho did the interpreting. āAfter nine daughters it must be wonderful at last to have a son,ā I ventured. Paladinho, who is very black, almost turned white with shock as he translated Garrinchaās reply. āHe says you are very wrong. He says he has had a son for many years. I canāt believe it. No-one in Brazil has ever heard of it. Perhaps heās just saying it because he felt you were suggesting he wasnāt man enough to have fathered a boy.ā Maybe my remark had touched a nerve because Garrincha then went into details. āIt was in 1958,ā he said. āThat year Brazil won the World Cup in Stockholm. Afterwards there was a big party and I met a very beautiful Swedish girl. Iām sure you will understand the rest. My other son was born the following year and I sent money to his mother. I have never seen him but I do have a photograph.ā Driving back, Paulo Paladinho kept repeating: āI canāt believe it. You canāt keep secrets like that in Brazil.ā Act III: London and Stockholm 1977 The Daily Mailās news desk began to check out the story. They called in Sten Berglind of the Stockholm Expressen. Three days later Berglind knocked on the door of a middle-class home in Halmstad. There he met the 17-year-old Ulf Lindberg. Heād been adopted by a caring couple at the age of nine months. The adoption papers named Manoel Francisco dos Santos as the natural father. āMy parents told me about it when I was 10,ā said Ulf. āIt has never been a problem. Look, I have short legs like him. I saw him on television once when they replayed the 1958 World Cup Final. He was brilliant. I also play on the right wing but I donāt think Iāll ever be quite as good as he was.ā Act IV: Halmstad, summer 1977 The now 40-year-old Garrincha flew to Sweden a few months after the Daily Mail published the authenticated story. There, privately, to avoid a crush of paparazzi, he met the elder son he had never seen. Apparently they got on well together and no emotional damage was inflicted on the teenage Ulf. Thus, almost, ends a story which began because James Hunt couldnāt come to lunch. But not quite. Garrinchaās first wife and mother of his nine daughters died two years after he deserted her. He then married the glamorous Miss Elza Soares. He died, leaving 11 children, at the age of 49.
Id take on wille clancy in a fiddle off playing the Masonās apron and Iād fancy my chances to be honest, cc @HBV
I do a savage siege of Ennis on the tin whistle too
Thats a life
Could you not fire up a video or a sound clip?
Garrincha was a heavy drinker, and was driving drunk when Soaresā mother was killed in a car crash in 1969. Soares tried to help him, touring the bars trying to stop them serving her husband, but this made her all the more unpopular with his friends. Garrincha died of cirrhosis in 1983, by which time the couple were separated, but she was said to be devastated. Three years later their only son, who was named after his father, was killed in another car accident.
Darts is not a sport.
I donāt think thatās unpopular.
Factually correct. Itās not a sport if you donāt have to change your footwear.
Did you ever play soccer in your runners?
Played it in me bare feet even, jumpers for goalposts etc 
Footwear aside, I broke a sweat.
Henderson was better than Scholes
Ah stop
The EPL would benefit from playoffs and finals
sound this one out, itās after intriguing meā¦ from what position up gets in the playoffs?
8th. Shorter season. Final in a different city every year
2 legged games up to the final?
Iām not decided yet
I remember reading about him years ago. Incredible life. I always thought it should be made into a film. Not sure who would play him though.
Fair fucks to anyone that makes a living as an āinfluencerā. It seems like fucking grand sport and if you are that interesting to people that they want to follow you and people want to give you money then fair fucks.