In this April 16, 1982, file photo, soccer player Pele, right, gets a hug from New York Cosmos coach Julio Mazzei at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. , the day before the Cosmos’ opener.
Prof. Julio Mazzei, the confidant of the great Pele and a man who coached the Cosmos to the 1982 North American Soccer League title, died on Sunday at age 78.
Mazzei, a beloved soccer figure because of his charm and his storytelling, battled Alzheimer’s for the past nine years while living in Santos, Brazil.
“In all my life in soccer, I never met a guy who achieved the heights that he did and who never lost his simple passion for the game,” said former Cosmos goalkeeper Shep Messing, now an analyst on Red Bulls telecasts. “There is no better man I’ve met in soccer.”
Mazzei’s daughter, Marjorie, said a wake and funeral will be held today in Brazil.
“His health declined rapidly in the last couple of months and we’re relieved his long struggle of nine years is finally over,” Marjorie said in an e-mail. “Mammy’s (his wife, Maria Elena) spirit is good and she’s surrounded by a wonderful support group down there including Pele.”
Ex-Cosmos president Clive Toye said that Mazzei – who was in the Cosmos organization from 1979-82, including two stints as coach – was “helpful and pleasant at all times and a great assistance in helping Pele, and the rest of us, settle into a brand new life. It is doubly sad that he suffered from Alzheimer’s for many years and had no recollection of his wonderful experiences and contributions.”
National Soccer Hall of Famer Werner Roth, the Cosmos’ captain, remembered the Professor’s humanity.
“My thoughts go out to his wonderful and close family especially Pele, who I know looked upon Prof as a surrogate father,” Roth said. “I will always remember the Prof as a kind, intelligent and honorable man who always put the human relationship with his players before the professional one.
“He was of course Pele’s ‘guy’ when he first came to the Cosmos and quickly adopted the rest of us into his extended family.”
Marjorie said she plans to set up an online memorial and that her family wants to host a memorial service in the metro area in the near future.
