Brazil

Team Overview

Brazil has a vast history of success and titles in the world of football. Since the early years of the sport in the country one could see how easily the Brazilians assimilated the rules and using what they call “ginga” created a unique offensive style based on skills and technique. Generation after generation Brazil produced some of the finest athletes who ever played the sport and their names can be recognized in almost every part of the world.

History

Early Years

Football arrived in Brazil in 1894 when Charles Miller, a Brazilian who lived in England since age 9, returned to São Paulo with a ball and a book of rules. In 1895 the first football match was played in Brazilian soil but no one would imagine that the tropical country would become the perfect place for the development of the sport.

The Brazilian National Team played it’s first match in 1914 in Rio de Janeiro. The unofficial friendly match against Exeter City FC, a club from England, ended 2-0 for the Brazilians. Oswaldo Gomes, a Fluminense player scored the first goal for Brazil in history.

A few months later a world famous rivalry would begin in great fashion. Brazil played its first official international match against neighbor Argentina and was smacked 3-0 by the Porteños. One week later Brazil would get its revenge when the first Roca Cup was played. Brazil the beat Argentina 1-0 and won its first international title. Many more would still come.

Five years later Brazil broke Uruguay’s hegemony and won the South American Championship. In 1922 the Brazilians would win it again after beating Paraguay 3-0 in the final.

First World Cups

A disagreement between Clubs Executives from Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro ended up with Brazil sending to the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay a team formed almost totally only with players from Rio de Janeiro. Brazil was seeded in Group 2 along with Yugoslavia and Bolivia and after losing the first match 2-1 to the European squad Brazil’s chance to qualify to the next round disappeared when Yugoslavia beat the Bolivians 4-0. Preguinho became the first Brazilian player to score a goal in a World Cup.

Four years later Brazil didn’t perform well and got knock out after the first match against Spain in the 1934 World Cup in italy. The score was 3-1 and Leonidas scored the only Brazilian goal in the tournament.

In 1938 the World Cup was played in France and 16 teams participated in the competition. The tournament was again a direct knock-out and Brazil needed extra-time to beat Poland 6-5 with Leonidas scoring a hat trick. A peculiarity about this match is that Leonidas scored one of the his goals barefoot. He is also regarded as the inventor of the bicycle kick.

1950 World Cup – The Maracanã Tragedy

Brazil was chosen to host the first post World War II World Cup in 1950. The country breathed football and Brazil was the favorite to win the title.

In the first group stage the Brazilian Team won its matches against Yugolslavia and Mexico and tied against Switzerland to take the first place in the Group 1.

In the final round Brazil, Uruguay, Sweden and Spain were to play each other and the club with most points would become World Champions.

The 1950 Brazil Squad

Brazil started of with an amazing 7-1 over Sweden with Ademir scoring 4 goals. Another great match against Spain and a 6-1 victory made the more than 150,000 spectators and the whole country that Brazil would take the trophy. All they needed now was a simple tie against Uruguay who had struggled to beat Sweden 3-2 and tied 2-2 with the Spaniards.

The Maracanazo

July 16, 1950 has already become a legendary date in the history of football, especially for Brazilians and Uruguayans. At 3:00pm the English referee started the match and 200,000 people packed the biggest football stadium on the planet to watch what they thought would be another game in which Brazil would easily win.

After a goalless first half both teams returned to the pitch. For the Brazilian players and fans it was just a matter of waiting 45 minutes for the team to lift the Cup. And with two minutes played in the second half Albino Friaça gave the crowd what they wanted. The quick forward scored the opening goal and drove the country wild. People ran to the streets to celebrate and many didn’t even notice when Juan Alberto Schiafinno tied the match. It was all good for the fans. Brazil had one had on the trophy still.

But the unthinkable happened. With 10 minutes to the end of the match Ghiggia ran with the ball on the right side, invaded Brazil’s box and took a shot. The ball ran fast on the ground and found a space between the post and goalkeeper Barbosa to go in. 200,000 people went silence. The quietude was transformed in tears when the referee blew the whistle to indicate the end of the game. Uruguay won its second World Cup and the ghost of Maracanazo still haunts the Brazilians.

After 1950 Brazil never wore the white jersey again. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wy6n1DURsc&NR=1

Pele and Garrincha - the beginning of Brazil’s Supremacy

In 1954 a team with new players was sent to the World Cup in an attempt to erase the 1950 disaster but the after losing 4-2 in the quarter-finals to the amazing Hungary with Puskas, Kocsis and Hidegkuti the South Americans would wait another four years to finally have something to celebrate.

For the 1958 World Cup Brazil’s coach Vicente Meola required the presence of a psychologist on the team. The reason was that the ghost of 1950 still haunted some of the players and besides that he wanted to make sure the young ones were mentally ready for the task.

The Brazilian Team was placed in one of the most difficult groups along with Austria, England and the Soviet Union. Brazil won the first game against Austria by 3-0 and tied 0-0 with England.

Soviet Union’s coach Gavril Kachalin then visited Brazil’s training site to get a hint of how the South Americans were going to play. The soviets were famous for their advanced science to get the best of the players’ physical attributes. Coach Kachalin found out that Brazil was going to use three reserve players on the match against Soviet Union. He left the training site ready to beat Brazil and take the first place in Group 4.

Zito was one of the reserves that stepped on the pitch on that june 15 of 1958. The other two would become legends of the sport: the king of dribbles Garrincha and a 17-year old Pelé. At the second minute of the match Garrincha showed the Soviets what he was capable of when he dribbled back and fourth on right side, invaded the box, dribbled again and shot. The ball hit Yashin’s left post. Less that one minute later Pelé found Vavá in the box and Brazil opened the score. Another goal from Vavá at minute 77 would seal the South American’s triumph.

After leaving behind Wales and favorites France, Brazil lined up for the final match against hosts Sweden. After a timid start with Sweden scoring the first goal Brazil’s squad took control of the game with Vavá scoring twice after being assited by Garrincha and then the 17-year old Pelé received a ball in the box, trapped it with the chest, put it over a defender’s head and score one of the most beautiful goals in the a World Cup Final. Zagallo would still score once and Pele another one right after Simonsson scored Sweden’s second goal.

Brazil won 5-2 and the trauma of eight years earlier finally seemed to be over.

In 1962 Pelé’s injury on the first match put in question the possibility of Brazil’s repeating the same success of four years earlier. But the team had Garrincha. The right-forward took the responsibility and with astonishing performances led the Seleção to its second World Cup with a 3-1 win over Czechoslovakia in the final played in Santiago, Chile.

1970 World Cup

With a disappointing performance in the 1966 World Cup, in which Brazil couldn’t move past the group stage of the competition after losing two of the three group matches against Hungary and Portugal the team arrived for the 1970 without the label of favorites as they used to have.

But the now coach Mario Zagallo had in his hands a perfect mix of youth, experience and incredible talent. Some of the main players of that squad were:

Wilson Piazza: an implacable defender but that always aimed for the ball. Played for Cruzeiro EC

Clodoaldo: dedicated and talented defensive midfielder. Played for Santos FC

Carlos Alberto: one of the best right-wingers that ever played the game. Played for Fluminense, Botafogo, Flamengo, Santos, e o New York Cosmos

Gérson: he was a heavy smoker but on the pitch his creativity and talent for long passes and long range shots made a big difference. Played for Flamengo, Botafogo, São Paulo and Fluminense.

Rivelino: the short temper young midfielder had a cannon on his foot. His explosive runs and blasting shots helped Brazil win the title. Played for Corinthians and Fluminense

Tostão: Pelé’s perfect partner in the attack of the team, Tostão was patient and accurate in his passes and shots. Played for América-MG, Cruzeiro EC and Vasco da Gama.

Jairzinho: playing on the right side of the attack Jairzinho scored goals in every match of the 1970 World Cup. He was the team’s topscorer with 7 goals. Played for many teams but mainly Botafogo and Cruzeiro EC

Pelé: one of the most recognizable names in the planet. Pelé was 29 years old when in 1970 he played his 4th and last World Cup. He is regarded as the player of the century. He played for Santos and Cosmos.

Brazil started the 1970 World Cup in Group 3 with England, Romania and Czechoslovakia. In the first match the team started timid and the Czechs opened the score at minute 12 but as Brazil felt more and more comfortable in the match and the heat of Guadalajara started draining the Europeans’ energy, Brazil socred 4 goals to secure their first and convincing win in the competition.

The second Brazilian match was against the 1966 World Cup Champions England. The English team was basically the same the won the tournament four years earlier and they were confident to repeat the success. Bob Moore was in charge of marking Pelé and the strategy worked pretty well but Brazil had Jairzinho and at minute 59 Pelé received a great cross from Tostão and just roll the ball to the right as he saw Jairzinho running ready to blast the shot. Brazil 1-0 and the team seemed more in tune than ever.

Another win on the last group match, 3-2, against Romania and Brazil moved to the quarter-finals as first of Group 3 to play Peru.

After beating Peru 4-2, Brazil went to the semi-finals just to face the team that, 20 years earlier, made the whole country cry: Uruguay.

The revenge came in great fashion. A convincing 3-1 for the Brazilians sent them to the finals to play Italy who needed 120 minutes to beat West Germany in the semis.

The final match of the 1970 World Cup put together two opposite styles of football: the disciplined, strong Italian defense against the free flowing, creative offensive Brazil.

The 4-1 win for Brazil represented the victory of talent, creativity and offensiveness. The Beautiful game. And with the 3rd title Brazil won the Jules Rimet Trophy definitely.

Pelé also won his 3rd World Cup and so did Coach Mario Zagallo, who became the first footballer to win the tournament as a player (1958 and 1962) and as a coach (1970).

1974 and 1978

Lacking the main players from the 1970 squad Brazil’s team of the 1974 was not even close to display the good football the mesmerized the world four years earlier.

The Brazilian team still managed to reach the final round of the tournament and finished in fourth place.

In 1978 after having a tough time to qualify in second place of Group 3 with only one win against Austria and two draws, Spain and Sweden, and only 2 goals scored, Brazil got to the final round and was placed in Group B along with Argentina, Peru and Poland. The Brazilian side got to the final match against Poland with the same number of points as hosts Argentina. Brazil beat Poland 3-1 and forced Argentina to beat Peru by a six-goal difference. The Argentines did it and moved to the finals. Brazil then beat Italy 2-1 to secure the third place in the tournament.

The six goals scored by Argentina on Peruvian (but Argentine born) goalkeeper Ramón Quiroga are still surrounded by rumours of illicit facilitation.

Brazil of 1982: The Beautiful Football is back

In 1982 Brazil send to the World Cup in Spain a team that for many can only be compared to the 1970 squad. The team had players like Luizinho, Junior, Falcão, Socrates and Zico as the main leaders and mesmerized the crowds with talent, intense offensive style and goals, beautiful goals. The beautiful football was not only due to the players’ amazing abilities but it also was Coach Telê Santana’s philosophy.

Brazil won all three matches in the first group stage and with 10 goals scored and only 2 allowed the team was the favourite to win the title. In the second round and final group stage, Brazil beat continent rivals Argentina and staged one of the most memorable matches in the history of the world cups against Italy. Brazil’s offense didn’t work and mistakes by the defense were costly. Paolo Rossi scored a hat trick and the two goals scored by Brazil were not enough to avoid the elimination. Italy moved on to the finals and tied with Brazil in number of World Cup titles after beating West Germany in the final.

As for Brazil, the team that didn’t win the World Cup became part of the history of football as one of the best ever.

1994 World Cup: No glamour but nevertheless Champions

Some members of the 1982 Brazil squad were recalled for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico including, Zico and Coach Telê Santana but the team were stooped by France in the quarter-finals. The match was decided in the penalty shootout after a 1-1 tie in 120 minutes of football.

In 1990 a very forgettable Brazil were eliminated in the Round of 16 by title holders Argentina with a goal scored by Claudio Caniggia after a perfect pass from Diego Maradona.

The United States were oddly chosen to host the 1994 World Cup. Brazil was seeded in Group B with Cameroon, Russia and Sweden. Romario, who was the main striker for Barcelona at the time, led Brazil through the group stage and the kockout rounds until the reached the final against Italy.

Almost 95,000 people packed the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to watch Brazil and Italy. After 120 minutes of intense football and some good chances a penalty shootout would decide the first team to become four times World Cup Champions.

And if Romário was the main responsible for taking Brazil to the final, goalkeeper Cláudio Taffarel became the hero after saving Daniele Massaro’s shot and watching Franco Baresi and Roberto Baggio miss their chances.

Fifth Star

Brazil had a good performance in the 1998 World Cup but in the final match against France the team suffered with a mysterious convulsion attack of striker Ronaldo and couldn’t resist the great football shown by the Frenchmen led by the amazing Zinedine Zidane.

Four years later, in the Japan/Korea World Cup, Brazil had Felipe Scolari (Felipão for the Brazilians) as the team’s coach and a discredit Ronaldo that had just returned from a serious knee injury. But the team also had Rivaldo and Ronaldinho in the midfield to support the attack and it worked from the beginning.

In the group stage Brazil cruised and with the three win against Turkey (2-1), China (4-0) and Costa Rica (5-2) the team reached the round of 16 and beat Belgium 2-0.

The quarterfinal match against England started with the English team showing much more intensity than the Brazilian side. The British scored the opening goal at minute 23 with Michael Owen but Brazil showed concentration and Rivaldo tied the game in the last minute of the first half and with 5 minutes in the second half, Ronaldinho scored the winning goal from a free kick.

Turkey was the opponent in the semi-final and Ronaldo scored the goal that gave Brazil a passport to their 7th World Cup final.

About 70,000 people attended the final match between Brazil and Germany in the International Yokohama Stadium in Japan. Ronaldo proved the world wrong and with 2 goals he not only became the tournament topscorer but also gave Brazil the fifth World Cup title.

Copa América

Brazil had a huge hiatus in winning the continental competition after the 1949 Copa América title. Argentina became the country with most South American titles and only 40 years later, in 1989 Brazil would claim the Copa America after a 1-0 win over Uruguay at the Maracanã. The date was July 16th, the same as the 1950 world cup final.

After that Brazil became, once again the “kings” of football in the continent winning 4 more Copa America titles (1997, 1999, 2004, 2007) while rivals Argentina didn’t win any.

Stars of the Current Squad

Robinho

• Full Name: Róbson de Souza
• Date of Birth: January 25, 1984
• Position: Forward
• Height: 172cm
• Robinho was regarded by Pelé as the prince of Vila Belmiro when he played for Santos FC. He was transferred to Real Madrid in 2005 and gained maturity and experience. He was the leader of the team that won the Copa America in 2007. His amazing skills terrify defenses whenever he’s on the pitch.

Kaká

• Full name: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite
• Date of Birth: April 22, 1982
• Position: Attacking Midfielder
• Height: 186cm
• The best player of the world in 2007 started his career playing for São Paulo FC and in 2003 was transferred to AC Milan where he continued collecting titles and having incredible performances. He is, along with Ronaldinho the brain of Brazilian midfield.

Alexandre Pato

• Full Name: Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva
• Date of Birth: September 2, 1989
• Position: Striker
• Height: 179cm
• The eighteen-year old AC Milan striker is a vindication that generation after generation Brazil continues to give the world amazing talented players. Pato scored on his debut for the National Team on the friendly match against Sweden on March 26, 2008.

Team Legends

Leonidas

• Full Name: Leonidas da Silva
• Date of Birth: September 6, 1913 (1972-08-30)
• Position: Forward
• Caps: 6
• Goals: 8

Didi

• Full Name: Waldyr Pereira
• Date of Birth: October 8, 1929 (1945-11-03)
• Position: Midfielder
• Caps: 68
• Goals: 20

Garrincha

• Full Name: Manoel Francisco dos Santos
• Date of Birth: October 28, 1983
• Position: Forward
• Caps: 50
• Goals: 12

Jairzinho

• Full Name: Jair Ventura Filho
• Date of Birth: December 25, 1944 (1970-06-01) (1960-04-13) (1951-09-05)
• Position: Forward
• Caps: 81
• Goals: 33

Carlos Alberto

• Full Name: Carlos Alberto Torres
• Date of Birth: July 17, 1944(1969-06-09)
• Position: Right Wing
• Caps: 53
• Goals: 8

Tostão

• Full Name: Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade
• Date of Birth: January 25, 1947(1964-05-09) (1960-04-13) (1951-09-05)
• Position: Forward
• Caps: 52
• Goals: 29

Cafu

• Full Name: Marcos Evangelista de Moraes
• Date of Birth: June 7, 1970(1964-05-09) (1960-04-13) (1951-09-05)
• Position: Right Wing
• Caps: 148
• Goals: 5

Rivaldo

• Full Name: Rivaldo Vitor Borba Ferreira
• Date of Birth: April 19, 1972(1964-05-09) (1960-04-13) (1951-09-05)
• Position: Attacking Midfielder
• Caps: 74
• Goals: 34

Romario

• Full Name: Romário de Souza Faria
• Date of Birth: January 29, 1966(1964-05-09) (1960-04-13) (1951-09-05)
• Position: Striker
• Caps: 85
• Goals: 71

Ronaldo

• Full Name: Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima
• Date of Birth: September 22, 1976(1964-05-09) (1960-04-13) (1951-09-05)
• Position: Striker
• Caps: 112
• Goals: 74

Rivaldo

• Full Name: Rivaldo Vitor Borba Ferreira
• Date of Birth: April 19, 1972(1964-05-09) (1960-04-13) (1951-09-05)
• Position: Attacking Midfielder
• Caps: 74
• Goals: 34

Zico

• Full Name: Arthur Antunes Coimbra
• Date of Birth: March 3, 1953(1964-05-09) (1960-04-13) (1951-09-05)
• Position: Attacking Midfielder
• Caps: 94
• Goals: 68

Pelé

• Full Name: Edison Arantes do Nascimento
• Date of Birth: October 23, 1940(1964-05-09) (1960-04-13) (1951-09-05)
• Position: Forward
• Caps: 114
• Goals: 95

Most International Matches Played

Most Appearances

Most Goals

Player Recognition & Awards

Team Honours

• Copa America Champions: 1919, 1922, 1949, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2007
• Confederations Cup Champions: 1997, 2005
• World Cup Champions: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002

Management

Head Coach: Dunga (Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri)

Dunga was named Brazil’s coach in 2006 and already won the 2007 Copa América title in 2007. Although not having any previous experience as a coach and having suffered a lot with criticism from the press the former member and team captain of the 1994 World Champion squad has shown determination and leadership to prove his critics wrong. Under his management the Brazilians played 26 matches up to now, with a record of 19 wins, 5 draws and only 2 loses.

Uniforms

http://cbfnews.uol.com.br/uniformes/

Important Links

• http://www.cbfnews.uol.com.br

References

• http://cbfnews.uol.com.br/selecao/