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Tost\u00e3o (right) was a legendary figure on Brazil’s 1970 World Cup team, but needed an eye operation in Houston to play in the tournament after being injured in Brazilian league play.<\/p>\n
Peter Robinson – EMPICS\/PA Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Every list of the greatest national soccer teams in history includes the Brazilian team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrazil\u2019s World Cup victory in 1970 still has a mythic quality, their performance still is used as a shorthand for the best that soccer can be,\u201d writes acclaimed soccer journalist Jonathan Wilson in \u201cThe Power and the Glory,\u201d his recent book on the history of the World Cup.<\/p>\n
At the center of the 1970 Brazilian team was Pel\u00e9, the legendary Brazilian attacker unanimously considered among the greatest soccer players of all time.<\/p>\n
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But he wasn\u2019t the only star on the squad. Jairzinho, who led that Brazil team in goals at the World Cup, and\u00a0Rivellino excelled in attack. G\u00e9rson thrived as a deep-lying playmaker. Carlos Alberto captained the team from right back.<\/p>\n
Born Eduardo Gon\u00e7alves de Andrade, Tost\u00e3o\u00a0\u2014 which means \u201clittle coin\u201d in Portuguese\u00a0\u2014 started as the Brazilian center forward in the team\u2019s 4-2-3-1 formation, forming a fluid partnership with Pel\u00e9. He wasn\u2019t asked to be a goal scorer like a typical striker. Instead he was tasked to play in a way that let his teammates shine even brighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cPel\u00e9\u2019s left-footed attacking partner in the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o was priceless to the team,\u201d writes Sam Kunti in \u201cBrazil 1970: How the Greatest Team of All Time Won the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
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But if not for a Houston doctor, Tost\u00e3o\u00a0might never have gotten a chance to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy in Mexico City.<\/p>\n
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Brazil’s 1970 World Cup team frequently comes up on the list of soccer’s best squads of all time. The team is pictured before its first-round match against England in\u00a0Guadalajara, Mexico. Team members are back row,\u00a0from left: Captain Carlos Alberto,\u00a0Brito, Wilson Piazza, goalkeeper Felix, Clodoaldo, Everaldo and trainer Admildo Chirol. Front row: Jairzinho, Rivelino, Tost\u00e3o, Pele and Paulo C\u00e9zar Lima.<\/p>\n
Mirrorpix\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
A Houston doctor and thousands of postcards<\/p>\n
Tost\u00e3o was already among the top soccer players in Brazil by the fall of 1969. He made the 1966 FIFA World Cup squad at just 19, and ended up as Brazil\u2019s top goal scorer during World Cup qualifying for the 1970 tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But then came a freak incident during a Brazilian league game. An opposing defender tried to clear the ball during a September 1969 match but the ball smashed right into Tost\u00e3o\u2019s left eye from close range, detaching his retina.<\/p>\n
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The injury was serious, threatening not just his World Cup but his career and his eyesight.<\/p>\n
Tost\u00e3o consulted doctors in Brazil, according to his 1997 autobiography \u201cTost\u00e3o: Lembran\u00e7as, Opini\u00f5es, Reflex\u00f5es sobre Futebol,\u201d and they recommended he travel to Houston Methodist for surgery under Dr. Roberto Abdalla Moura.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoberto Moura, even though he practiced here, was an extremely famous doctor in Brazil,\u201d said Dr. Art Willis, who worked with Moura for many years after his treatment of Tost\u00e3o. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t unusual for Brazilians to come up here to see him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tost\u00e3o underwent eye surgery to repair his detached retina on Oct. 6, 1969, at Houston Methodist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The surgery lasted three hours, and one unnamed surgeon told the Houston Post there was no damage to Tost\u00e3o\u2019s optic nerve.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI had been involved in countless retinal detachment surgeries,\u201d said Dr. Alice R. McPherson, who worked with Moura at the hospital, according to FIFA.com<\/a>. \u201cThe first question was always, \u2018Will I get my sight back? \u2019 This gentleman\u2019s was, \u2018Will I be able to play in the World Cup? \u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Tost\u00e3o stayed in Houston for a few weeks after the surgery. Postcards completely covered two walls of his hospital room. He received 200 postcards a day, according to the Post.<\/p>\n A third wall in the room featured Brazilian newspapers. Six reporters came to Houston to provide updates on Tost\u00e3o to millions closely following in Brazil.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBrazil is watching Tostao\u2019s progress as closely as the world watched Apollo 11\u2019s lunar success,\u201d reads an Oct. 19, 1969 Houston Post article.<\/p>\n The on-field connection between the legendary\u00a0Pel\u00e9 and Tost\u00e3o was critical for Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winning team.<\/p>\n 4Imagens\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Disneyland and the Promised Land<\/p>\n Returning to the field was not guaranteed.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n