There is no one thinking of international football without pointing out the five-time winners of the World Cup, Brazil. The football history of this South American country is so illustrious that one might even think that they invented contemporary soccer. From this obvious thought comes this popular quip: “The English invented it, the Brazilians perfected it.”
Brazil’s history:
Brazil may now be ranked fourth in the world by FIFA, but A Seleção Canarinho have a high status worldwide created by their particular and unique history filled with success.
In the beginning
Ironically, Brazil’s first national team football game was a 2-0 win against English club Exeter City F.C. However, despite enjoying a good debut to the game of football, the Brazilians failed to make any impact in the following years to come. The Brazilian Football Confederation’s struggle to find quality players, due to the country’s internal discord within football, resulted in the national team’s class being far from the expected level of professionalism.
Brazil’s Football Confederation suffered from disputes between the football federations of Sao Paulo and of Rio de Janeiro, making it impossible for the national team to fill in players from any of these federations. These huge internal problems saw Brazil dumped out from the 1930 and 1934 World Cups at the earliest stage.
The South Americans bounced back four years later with a third-place finish and this successful campaign was marked by Brazil’s Leonidas da Silva coming out as the top scorer of this particular tournament.
Brazil staged the 1950 World Cup (for the first and only time currently) as the competition returned from its break after the World War II. This event became particularly unique not only because of the composition of the tournament – who didn’t have a single final – but also because of how the hosts, Brazil, brutally lost against Uruguay in the tournament’s most deciding encounter. The match was played at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro and attracted a massive number of 199, 845 spectators watching Brazil who only needed a draw to win triumph on the day. The hosts were a goal up at every fans’ delight, but a stunning comeback from the Uruguayans saw Brazil loose 2-1 in a brutal manner. This defeat – called “Maracanzo” in South America and “Final Fatidica” in Brazil – provoked an uncontrollable upset within Brazilian fans. This match will always be remembered as a “fateful final”.
The country almost completely changed its squad of players for the 1954 World Cup in order to brush away the disaster at the Maracana stadium in 1950. Either way, the Brazilian team still lacked of talent; an ugly 4-2 defeat against the hosts Hungary – later portrayed as the Battle of Berne – ousted them from the tournament.
Brazil’s Golden Years
But then came Brazil’s true moment in the world of football. The 1958 World Cup in Sweden was meant to be their time. Vicente Feola, Brazil’s coach in those days, was determined to build a disciplined side capable of being champions. Strict rules were imposed to put some missing order in the national team while a psychologist and a dentist were appointed to help the players who were suffering from the effects of the 1950 World Cup as well as from some dental problems affecting their performances.
The 1958 World Cup in Sweden was a memorable success for this South American country. They became the first to win the World Cup trophy outside their continent. On their road to glory, Brazil beat Austria 3-0 in their opening game but it was the match against the USSR which proved to be the real challenge. Brazil’s team leaders, Bellini, Nilton Santos, and Didi, influenced the coach to include Zito, Garrincha, and Pele. They eventually won the match 2-0. In the quarter-finals against Wales, youngster Pele scored the only goal for Brazil to advance to the next stage. They met France and defeated them heavily in the sem-finals by five goals to two. Brazil ultimately came up against hosts Sweden in the final of the tournament where a repeat of the semi-final score line gave Brazil the cup.
Brazil successfully defended their World Cup trophy in 1962 on South American soil, in Chile. But unfortunately for Pele, a serious injury in Brazil’s first game against Mexico ruled him out for the rest of the competition where Garrincha emerged as the star player.
Once again, Brazilian football had to face the consequences of intense pressure caused by disputes between Brazil’s major clubs and the national team. Vicente Feola’s attempt to cut his 46-man squad to only 22 players who would travel to the 1966 World Cup in England provoked a lot of internal problems as everyone wanted to enjoy the exposure of being at the World Cup. The two-times World Cup winners at that time displayed their worst World Cup performance in England and saw their dream of retaining their trophy fall apart disastrously. Brazil could not even manage to qualify from the group stages. They and Bulgaria were the casualties of Group 3, while Hungary and Portugal (who went on to clinch the third place) progressed at their expense.
Pele’s injury problems throughout the tournament definitely came at the misery of the Brazilian national team. The striker was constantly fouled by opponents and his many injuries cost him a bad tournament.
But an in-form Pele powered Brazil to their third World Cup triumph in 1970. It was an All-star team that made history in Mexico, with the likes of Carlos Alberto, Jairzinho, Tostao, Gerson and Rivelino all along side Brazil’s playmaker Pele.
A Seleccao also won the Jules Rimet Trophy for the third and final time.
Unfortunately for the Brazilians, the departure of the country’s great stars and of Pele as well saw the national team’s standard fall under the feet of the Netherlands.
After finishing fourth in the 1974 World Cup, Brazil bounced back with a good performance in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina where controversy against the former World Champions saw them loose a place to the final. They had to content themselves with a third place finish after beating Italy 2-1.
In 1986, Brazil were eliminated from the tournament by Italy after a thrilling 3-2 game where Paolo Rossi’s hat-trick made the difference. Four years later, they were once again eliminated, this time by France.
Brazil went on like this without lifting the World Cup trophy but the country’s ‘dangerous elites’ brand didn’t fade away.
The four-time World Cup champions were 90 minutes away from clinching their fifth trophy in 1998 but a sizzling display from the hosts, France, spiced up by Zinedine Zidan’s brace crushed Brazil 3-0 in the final.
Brazil ended their disappointment in 2002, beating Germany 2-0 in the final to emerge as the country with the most World Cup trophies to their name. Brazil then went on to win the Copa America two years later and followed their achievement with an unforgettable Confederations Cup campaign where a crushing 4-1 victory against rivals Argentina handed them the title.
The Seleccao were expected to play at a very high tempo and retain their World Cup crown four years later but the team failed to leave to the fans’ expectations. Their campaign was also hugely tarnished by a so-called 3-0 victory over Ghana. It was believed by many that Ghana’s claims of being the ‘true Brazilians’ let the South American Giants to get stressed up and forge their way through to the quarter-finals.
Brazil were accused of playing with 12 men as the referee’s decisions on the day went all against the four-time African champions. Adriano and Ze Roberto’s goals were completely offside but all the same stood up and the game was sealed 3-0 in the end. It provoked so much controversy that offside debates rose on many soccer programs around the world.
Brazil were punished for their unprofessional and unfair behavior in the quarter-finals by Thierry Henri’s suspicious offside goal which gave France a 1-0 victory to progress to the semi-finals.
Their exit from the 2006 World Cup in Germany was followed by a lot of criticism on Brazil’s Star player Ronaldinho and on the coach Carlos Alberto Parreira – who later resigned on July 19th. Former Brazilian captain Dunga replaced him and despite suffering from criticism for his ‘boring’ tactics, Brazil managed to defend their Copa America crown.
The country is now second behind Paraguay in the 10-team table in the road to the World Cup in South Africa.
How Brazil reached the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa
A 3-0 victory in the 2007 Copa America final against Argentina gave Brazil the cup and ultimately saw them qualify as South America’s representatives for this year’s Confederations Cup. Brazil are the defending champions of this competition and a repeat of the form they had four years ago could see them retain their title. Brazil failed to qualify to the Confederations Cup twice (in 1992 and 1995) but bounced back in 1997 by emerging as Champions. They lost in the final in 1999 and only secured the fourth place in 2001. It was worse in 2003 as they exited in the first round but a dazzling performance in 2005 brought them glory. How will Brazil fair in 2009?
About Brazil’s coach
Carlos Dunga isn’t the supporter’s best football personality. The former World Cup captain’s strategy of deemphasizing the status of Brazil’s star players hasn’t come under appreciation despite some recent results showing Brazil’s ability to score and defend as well. Anyway, the coach will have some points to prove after some poor performances in the Olympics saw Brazil crush out at the expense of long-time foes Argentina.
Brazil’s key and star players
AC Milan ace Ricardo Kaka could enjoy his first Cup tournament for Brazil since the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The 2007 World Player of the Year excluded himself from the Copa America two years ago and was refused the right to feature in last summer’s Olympics by his Italian club Milan.
Injuries and match-fitness have often been Kaka’s problem; The 27-year-old attacking midfielder has proven to be a true inspiration within the Brazilian national team. Kaka is not only good on the ball with fluid runs, but also an excellent stunner. The AC Milan midfielder has scored a number of long range shots at the surprise of opponents.
Ronaldinho might be out of the spotlight as at now, but the former Barcelona playmaker could make a good return to his international career when Brazil play in South Africa. Ronaldinho hasn’t featured as a regular player for his country and club over the course of the year 2008/09 but he has shown that he sometimes possesses the perfect touches.
Manchester City’s ace Robinho is Brazil’s new kid on the block. The 25-year-old forward is best known for his spicy performance on the ball. Robinho can play everywhere on the pitch and therefore cause trouble at any given time. Robinho is still looking for his way to become a Football Great and perhaps June’s Confederations Cup tournament might see him perform at his highest level.
In defence, Brazil can boast about Julio Cesar’s presence in goal. The Inter Milan stopper has been constantly impressive throughout the whole year and has been equally good for his club and for his country.
