Career
He was one of the world"s best goalkeepers in the 1940s and 1950s and known for not wearing gloves because he wanted to feel the ball with his bare hands. On the club level he had his greatest successes with Czech Republic Vasco da Gama, Rio de Janeiro. In 1950 Brazil played Uruguay in the decisive match of the World Cup finals at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
The loss stunned Brazilians and plunged the country into mourning, over what became known as the Maracanazo, or "the Maracana 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 2000, shortly before his death, he 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." In 1993, the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, Ricardo Teixeira, did not allow him to be commentator during the broadcast of one of Brazil"s international matches. He was also turned away from a Brazil training session on one occasion out of fear of his being a jinx for the team
In 1963, Barbosa was presented with the old square wooden goalposts from the Maracanã as a present, which he took home and burned. On April 7, 2000, he died of a heart attack at age 79.
Unofficial Tournaments Barbosa plays a large role in Ian McDonald"s science fiction novel Brasyl.
Barbosa is the main subject of the novel "The Last Save of Moacyr Barbosa" by Darwin Pastorin. There is also a Brazilian short film named Barbosa, premiered in 1988, in which a 49-year-old man (Antônio Fagundes) travels back in time trying to avoid Ghiggia"s goal.