This story is part of Billboard’s Global World Cup Series, a collection of 11 cover stories which pairs top soccer stars across the world competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with highly-touted musicians in accompanying countries.
Zeca Pagodinho is an endless source of stories and anecdotes. One of the most remarkable took place in 2012, during the celebrations of Corinthians’ world title, when he asked for a round of applause for Luiz Felipe Scolari, the coach of Palmeiras, Corinthians’ archrival. After many boos, a kind soul explained that Scolari was their coach, while Corinthians was led by Tite.
It’s almost ironic that this 67-year-old Carioca — one of the greatest names in Brazilian music of all time, and admittedly averse to soccer (“I don’t have the patience to watch matches, and whenever I do watch, my team concedes a goal,” he deflects) — ended up being the interpreter of one of the biggest anthems in recent Brazilian soccer history. The samba “Deixa a Vida me Levar” (“Let Life Take Me”), by Serginho Meriti and Eri do Cais, which Zeca recorded on his 2002 album of the same name, was adopted as an anthem by the team that won the World Cup that year. And the sambista, of course, has no idea how the song ended up there. “My son told me the players were singing it. Then they threw a party with it,” he says.
