1949 Copa América With the
Brazilian national side, Barbosa won the 1949
Copa América. The 7–0 final victory over
Paraguay remains to date the highest victory in a final of the competition.
The Maracanazo and its aftermath At the
1950 FIFA World Cup held on home soil, Brazil played
Uruguay in the decisive match of the World Cup finals at the
Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil was heavily favoured to win and needed only a draw to win the
round-robin tournament, but despite scoring first, they lost 2–1 when
Alcides Ghiggia scored the winning goal for Uruguay in the 79th minute after skilfully dribbling past defender
Bigode and then drilling the ball into the net while Barbosa was out of position, expecting a cross into the middle. The loss stunned Brazilians and plunged the country into mourning over what became known as the
Maracanazo, or "the Maracanã blow". Barbosa was blamed for the defeat, for which he suffered for the rest of his life as the match became part of Brazilian folklore. In 1963, Barbosa was presented with the old square wooden goalposts from the Maracanã as a present, which he took home and burned. Thirty years later, the president of the
Brazilian Football Confederation,
Ricardo Teixeira, did not allow him to be a commentator for the broadcast of an international match. In 2000, Barbosa said in an interview: "The maximum punishment in Brazil is 30 years' imprisonment, but I have been paying, for something I am not even responsible for, by now, for 50 years." On 7 April of the same year, he died of a heart attack at the age of 79. ==In popular culture==