Vavá

For other uses, see Vava.

In this Portuguese name, the second or paternal family name is Izídio. "Neto" is a generational suffix meaning "grandson", which is used for someone whose name is the same as their father and grandfather, like "III" in English.

Edvaldo Izidio Neto (12 November 1934 – 19 January 2002), 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" (Steel Chest), he most notably played for Vasco da Gama, Atlético Madrid, Palmeiras and the Brazil national team.

Vavá

Vavá in 1962
Personal information
Full name	Edvaldo Izídio Neto
Date of birth	(1934-11-12)12 November 1934
Place of birth	Recife, Brazil
Date of death	19 January 2002(2002-01-19) (aged 67)
Place of death	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1949–1950	Sport Recife
1951–1958	Vasco da Gama	456	(191)
1958–1961	Atlético Madrid	71	(31)
1961–1963	Palmeiras	142	(71)
1964–1967	América
1967–1968	Toros Neza
1968	San Diego Toros	28	(5)
1969	Portuguesa
Total		697	(298)
International career
1955–1964	Brazil	20	(15)
Managerial career
1971–1972	Córdoba
1974–1975	Córdoba
1977–1978	Granada
1984–1985	Al Rayyan
Medal record Men's Football Representing  Brazil FIFA World Cup Winner 1958 Sweden Winner 1962 Chile
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

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.^[1]

Vavá scored in the World Cup finals of both 1958 (twice) and 1962 (once), thus becoming the first player to score in two finals. To this day, 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 Kylian Mbappé achieved the feat in the 2022 World Cup final, having also scored in the final in 2018.

Club statistics

Club performance			League
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals
Spain			League
1958–59	Atlético Madrid	La Liga	27	16
1959–60			29	10
1960–61			15	5
Country	Spain		71	31
United States			League
1968	San Diego Toros	North American Soccer League	28	5
Country	United States		28	5
Total			99	36

Honours

Club

Sport Recife

• Campeonato Pernambucano: 1949

Vasco da Gama

• Campeonato Carioca: 1952, 1956, 1958
• Torneio Rivadavia Correa Meyer: 1953
• Tournoi de Paris: 1957
• Torneio Rio–São Paulo: 1958

Atlético de Madrid

• Copa del Rey: 1959–60, 1960–61

Palmeiras

• Campeonato Paulista: 1963

Club América

• Liga MX: 1966

International

Brazil national football team

• FIFA World Cup: 1958, 1962

Individual

• FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe: 1962
• Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame