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The Brazil national football team is the national team of Brazil and is managed by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) that represents Brazil in international football competitions. They are the most successful national football team in the history of the World Cup, with five championships (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002). A common quip about football is: "The English invented it, the Brazilian perfected it."[5] Currently ranked second by FIFA, Brazil is consistently among the strongest football nations in the world and is the only team to have played in every World Cup.
[edit] History[edit] Early historyThe first match of the Brazil national football team is generally considered to be a 1914 match between a Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo select team and the English club Exeter City. Brazil won 2–0 with goals by Oswaldo Gomes and Osman,[6][7][8] whilst others claim a 3–3[9][10] draw. In contrast to future successes, the nation's early appearances were far from brilliant, partly due to internal strife within Brazilian football over professionalism, which rendered the Brazilian Football Confederation unable to field full-strength teams. .jpg) In particular, disputes between the São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro state football federations meant that the team would not be composed of players coming from either of the federations.[11][12] In both the 1930 and 1934 tournaments, Brazil were knocked out at the very first stage.[13][14] But 1938 was a sign of things to come, as Brazil finished a strong third, with Leonidas da Silva finishing as the top scorer of the tournament. Brazil hosted the 1950 FIFA World Cup which was the first tournament to be held after World War II. It is the only time Brazil has hosted the tournament to date (not counting the upcoming 2014 tournament). The 1950 tournament was unique in not having a single final, but rather a final round-robin stage of four teams; however, for all intents and purposes the deciding game between Brazil and Uruguay acted as that tournament's "final". The match was hosted at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro, watched by 199,854 people, and Brazil only needed a draw to win, but lost the match 2–1 after being 1–0 up; this match has since been known in South America as "Maracanazo". In Brazil it is called "Final Fatídica" ("fateful final").[15] For the 1954 FIFA World Cup, in Switzerland, the Brazilian team was almost completely renovated, so as to forget the Maracanã defeat, but still had a group of good players, including Nílton Santos, Djalma Santos, and Didi. Brazil didn't go very far though. The quarterfinals saw the favorites Hungary beat Brazil 4–2 in one of the ugliest matches in football history, which would become infamous as the Battle of Berne.[16] [edit] The Golden Era and Pelé (1958 to 1970)Brazil's coach, Vicente Feola, imposed strict rules on the squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, held in Sweden. The players were given a list of forty things that they were not allowed to do, including wearing hats or umbrellas, smoking while wearing official clothing and talking to the press outside of allocated times. They were the only team to bring a psychologist (because the memories of 1950 still affected some players) or a dentist (for, because of their humble origins, many players had dental problems, which caused infections and also had negative impact on performance) with them, and had sent a representative to Europe to watch the qualifying matches a year before the tournament began. Brazil were drawn in the toughest group, with England, the USSR and Austria. They beat Austria 3–0 in their first match, then drew 0–0 with England. The Brazilians had been worried about their match with the USSR who had exceptional fitness and were one of the favourites to win the tournament; their strategy was to take risks at the beginning of the match to try and score an early goal. Before the match, the leaders of the team, Bellini, Nílton Santos, and Didi, spoke to coach Vicente Feola and persuaded him to make three substitutions which were crucial for Brazil to defeat the Soviets and win the Cup: Zito, Garrincha, and Pelé would start playing against the USSR. From the kick off, they passed the ball to Garrincha who beat three players before hitting the post with a shot. They kept up the pressure relentlessly, and after three minutes which were later described as "the greatest three minutes in the history of football",[17] Vavá gave Brazil the lead. They won the match 2–0. Pelé scored the only goal of their quarter-final match against Wales, and they beat France 5–2 in the semi-final. Brazil beat the hosts Sweden, in the final 5–2, winning their first World Cup and becoming the first nation to win a World Cup title outside of its own continent. A celebrated fact was that Feola would sometimes take naps during training sessions and would sometimes close his eyes during matches, giving the impression that he was asleep. Because of this, Didi was sometimes said to be the real coach of the team, as he commanded the mid-field. In the 1962 FIFA World Cup, Brazil got its second title with Garrincha as the star player; a mantle and responsibility bestowed upon him after regular talisman, Pelé, was injured during the first group match against Mexico and unable to play for the rest of the tournament. In the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the preparation of the team was affected by political influences. All the major Brazilian clubs wanted their players included in the Brazilian team, to give them more exposure. In the final months of preparation, the coach Vicente Feola was working with 46 players, of which only 22 would go to England; this caused lots of internal dispute and psychological pressure. The result was that, in 1966, Brazil had their worst performance in all World Cups. Of course, another perhaps bigger issue, was that Pelé (who may have been at the height of his career) was chopped at seemingly every opportunity in the group matches. Brazil won its third World Cup in Mexico in the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Brazil fielded what has been considered to be the best football squad ever, led by Pelé in his last World Cup final, captain Carlos Alberto, Jairzinho, Tostão, Gérson and Rivelino. After winning the Jules Rimet Trophy for the third time Brazil were allowed to keep it for good. [edit] 1974–1990After the international retirement of Pelé and other stars, Brazil were not able to overcome Netherlands' Total Football and could not defend its title in the 1974 FIFA World Cup, finishing in fourth place, after failing to achieve victory against a strong Polish side.[18] The 1978 FIFA World Cup was notoriously controversial. In the second group stage, Brazil were competing with tournament hosts Argentina for top spot and a place in the finals. In their last group match, Brazil defeated Poland 3–1 to go top of the group with a goal difference of +5. Argentina were only on a goal difference of +2, but in their last group match, they managed to, controversially, defeat Peru 6–0 and thus qualify for the final. Brazil were forced to settle for the third place match, where they defeated Italy 2–1. In the 1982 FIFA World Cup, the tournament favorites Brazil easily moved through the early part of the draw, but a 3–2 defeat to Italy, in one of the classic games in finals history, eliminated them from the tournament. Paolo Rossi scored all three of Italy's goals. The seleção was defeated in the match they still refer to as the "Sarrias Disaster", a reference to the stadium's name, and Telê would be much blamed for using an attacking system while a 2–2 draw was enough. The 1982 squad, with players like Sócrates, Zico and Falcão, is remembered as one of the greatest teams to be eliminated from the World Cup. In 1986, Telê and several players of 1982 returned to play in the World Cup hosted by Mexico. The players were older but still capable of an enchanting performance. They were troubled, however, by an injury Zico picked up before the World Cup. Incessant questions about whether and when he could play undoubtedly had some negative effect on the team. Brazil met France in the quarter-finals and the match is considered an absolute classic of "total football". Neither side deserved to lose but when Zico finally came on in the second half (with the score 1–1), and Brazil were awarded a penalty late in the game, Brazil seemed set to win. But Zico, the hero of a whole generation of Brazilian football fans, missed the penalty - and after a goalless but thoroughly exciting extra time it all came down to a penalty shoot out. There Zico managed to score from his penalty but Júlio César da Silva and Sócrates missed, and despite French captain Michel Platini sending his effort over the cross bar, Brazil nevertheless were eliminated 4–3. Memories of the afternoon at Sarria's came back to haunt the crowd. In the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Brazil was coached by Sebastião Lazaroni, who was hardly known before the Cup and became even more anonymous afterwards. With a defensive scheme, whose main symbol was mid-fielder Dunga, and three full-backs, the team lacked creativity but made it to the second round. Against a weaker Argentinian side, the Brazilians applied heavy pressure and had numerous chances to score, but it was Claudio Caniggia who managed to find Brazil's net and eliminate them. [edit] More successes (1994–2002)[edit] 1994 World CupBrazil, to the surprise of many, went 24 years without winning a World Cup or even participating in a final. Their struggles ended at the 1994 tournament in the United States, where a solid, if unspectacular side headed by the likes of Romário, Bebeto, Dunga, Taffarel, and Jorginho won the World Cup for a then-record 4th time. Highlights of their campaign included a 1–0 victory over the hosts in the round of 16, a sensational 3–2 win over the Dutch in the quarter-finals (often cited as the game of the tournament) and a 1–0 win over the Swedes in the semis. This set up a classic confrontation, Brazil vs. Italy, in the final. After a dour and unexciting 0–0 draw, penalty kicks loomed, and when Roberto Baggio lifted his spot kick over the crossbar, Brazil were champions once again. A new era of dominance had begun. [edit] 1998 World CupBrazil finished runner-up in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. After a very respectable campaign during which they beat Netherlands on penalties in the semi-final following a 1–1 draw with goals from Ronaldo and Patrick Kluivert, the team lost to hosts France 3–0 in a problematic final game. Brazilian marking at defensive set pieces was poor, and Zinédine Zidane was able to score two headed goals from France's corner kicks. Also, Brazilian star Ronaldo suffered an epileptic seizure a few hours before the match. Many criticized the decision to reinstate Ronaldo into the starting lineup as he put in a poor performance. [edit] 2002 World CupFuelled by the scintillating play of the "Three R's" (Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho), Brazil won its fifth championship at the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in South Korea and Japan. When the groups were drawn, Brazil seemed to have been lucky; Their adversaries would be Turkey, China and Costa Rica. At the end, it turned out that Turkey finished the tournament in third place. Brazil went on beating all three opponents, scoring 11 goals and conceding only three, and topping the group. In Brazil's opening game against Turkey, Rivaldo fell to the ground clutching his face after Turkey's Hakan Ünsal had kicked the ball at his legs. Hakan Ünsal, who had already been booked, was sent off while Rivaldo jumped to his feet and continued playing. Rivaldo escaped suspension but was fined £5,180 for play-acting, he became the first player to be punished in FIFA's crackdown on "simulation" and "diving". Next they defeated Belgium 2–0, in the most difficult match for Brazil in the tournament. Against England in the quarter finals, Brazil won 2–1. Ronaldinho scored the winner with a remarkable lofted free kick and also assisted teammate Rivaldo for their first goal, but was sent off for stamping on the right ankle of England's Danny Mills. The semifinal was against Turkey, which Brazil had faced in their group. Again, this match was difficult, as Brazil won 1–0 with a goal by Ronaldo. Rivaldo had scored one goal each in all five game up to this one but did not manage to hit the target in the sixth. He had seemed all set to repeat Jairzinho´s great achievement in 1970 when he scored in every game of the World Cup. The final was between two of the most successful teams in the competition's history: Germany and Brazil. Incredibly, the teams had never played each other in the World Cup before, besides a match between Brazil and East Germany in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn had been the tournament's best keeper, but could not maintain that level of play, as Ronaldo vanquished his France '98 demons, scoring both goals in the Brazilian 2–0 triumph.[19] [edit] 2002–2006On June 29, 2005, Brazil won the Confederations Cup for the second time with an emphatic 4–1 victory over arch-rivals Argentina in Frankfurt, Germany.[20] They also won another championship, the 2004 Copa América in which Brazil defeated Argentina in a penalty shootout.[21] Argentina had defeated Peru in the quarterfinals, and Colombia in the semifinals. In the 2002 World Cup, Brazil made it to the final to face the powerful German squad again. The Brazilian striker Ronaldo scored two goals in the final, leaving Germany in the dust, as the experienced Brazilian captain Cafu lifted the World Cup for Brazil a fifth time. [edit] 2006 World CupMain article: Brazil at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Brazilian's coach Parreira presented a formation nicknamed "The Magic Square", based in 4 offensive players: Ronaldo, Adriano, Kaká, and Ronaldinho. During preparation stages the team showed up some problems. Team's greatest star Ronaldo had a bad build-up, after returning from a two months injury. He also had blisters on his feet and a fever during the training matches.[22] Despite winning the first 2 games against Croatia (1–0) and Australia (2–0), the "Magic Square" didn't seem to work as expected and it was hard to beat the opponents defense. In the 3rd game, the coach tried a new squad with 5 former reserve players, including Robinho, and Cicinho. The changes were successful, as the team put a comfortable 4-1 win against Japan.  During the second round, they defeated Ghana 3–0. However, Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinals against France by a score of 1–0. France was led by a rejuvenated Zinédine Zidane and by a strong defence which kept the Brazilian strikers under check for the duration of the game. Brazil were shut out, attempting just one shot at French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. The game was also notable for being the first time that the Brazil team had been shut out in consecutive matches against a particular team. France now has a 2–1–1 all-time record against Brazil in World Cup play. After elimination, the team was largely criticized by the press and the fans. The media circulated images from the left wingback Roberto Carlos tying his shoes while Henry runs unmarked to score the winning goal. The sporting legend Pelé, blamed coach Parreira and Ronaldinho for the team's early elimination.[23] [edit] After the 2006 World Cup1994 World Cup champion Dunga was hired as Brazil's new team coach on July 24.[24] Dunga's former teammate, Jorginho was hired as his assistant. His first match in charge was against Norway which was played in Oslo on August 16, ended in a 1–1 draw.[25] His second match was held against arch rivals Argentina on September 3 in Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium in London, in which Brazil defeated Argentina by a 3–0 scoreline.[26] On September 5 they defeated Wales 2–0 at Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane ground. They later defeated Kuwait club Al-Kuwait 4–0, Ecuador 2–1 and had a 2–1 away win against Switzerland. Dunga's first defeat as Brazil's coach occurred on February 6, 2007 in a friendly match against Portugal, which at that time was coached by former Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.[27] Respectively on March 24 and March 27, 2007, Brazil bounced back from their first defeat under Dunga with wins in friendly matches against Chile (4–0) and Ghana (1–0) in Sweden.[28] Unlike Parreira, Dunga has focused on the task of deemphasizing all players and treating them as equals. He did not just look for players in popular clubs such as Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid, etc., but looked at the whole scope of Europe, finding individual talents such as Vágner Love and Dudu Cearense who were playing for Russian club CSKA Moscow and Elano who was playing for Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk. Of the four players who was dubbed as Magic Quartet, Ronaldinho and Kaká were the only players who had a regular place in the Brazil squad. Adriano was called back in the squad for a friendly against Portugal in February 2007, which Brazil lost 0–2. Dunga is yet to select the last member of the Magic Quartet, Ronaldo. Instead, Luís Fabiano has made the majority of appearances at striker. [edit] Copa América 2007Brazil participated in the Copa América 2007 which was hosted by Venezuela. They were placed in Group B with Mexico, Ecuador, and Chile. Brazil surprisingly lost to Mexico 2–0 in their opening match, then bounced back with a comfortable 3–0 victory over Chile with three goals from Robinho, and won 1–0 against Ecuador, Robinho scoring on a penalty kick. They advanced to the quarter-finals, where they defeated Chile again 6–1. The semi-final was against Uruguay, after a 2–2 draw, Brazil won 5–4 on penalties. Their opponent in the final was Argentina, which were the favorites to won, having won all their matches on the way to the final. However Brazil scored early in the 4th minute when Júlio Baptista scored, and then in the 45th minute, defender Roberto Ayala scored on an own goal. Later in the second half, in the 69th minute, substitute Dani Alves scored Brazil's third goal, as the scoreline became 3–0. After the tournament, Robinho was awarded the Golden Boot in addition to being named the best player in the tournament. [edit] 2009 FIFA Confederations CupThe Brazilian team won the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. Although they started with a shaky victory over Egypt with a 4–3 win with a last minute penalty as Egypt is also credited as the only African team to score three goals against Brazil, they comfortably beat the USA, as well as Italy, both with a 3–0 scoreline. After beating South Africa in the semi-final with a late free kick, they went on to a rematch against USA in the final which they won 3–2, after coming in 2–0 down at half-time, to seal their third Confederations Cup title.[29] Kaká was named as the player of the tournament and Luís Fabiano won the top goalscorer award with five goals in five matches. [edit] 2010 FIFA World Cup qualificationAfter a 3-1 victory over Argentina in Rosario, on September 5, 2009, Brazil qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[30] 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) standings
[edit] Recent results^ a: Dunga was banned for two matches following his sending off on September 12, 2007, he was replaced by his assistant, Jorginho.[31][32] [edit] OlympicsMain article: Brazil Olympic football team The Olympic football tournament is the only international competition in football organized by FIFA that Brazil has never won, although they have won two silver medals (1984 and 1988) and two bronze medals (1996, 2008).[33] The Brazilian Olympic team is often coached by the current national team coach, such as Mario Zagallo in 1996 and Dunga in 2008. [edit] NicknameThe Brazilian national team has many nicknames and are known in different parts of the world by different nicknames. The most common name used to refer to them, especially in Brazil, is A Seleção, which literally means the selection. Brazilians call any team from any country or sport a seleção and because of this it has become common for the national team to be referred to as the Seleção Brasileira or to more specifically refer to it, the Seleção Brasileira de Futebol.[34] Although Brazilian media have popularized Seleção, other nicknames for them in Brazil include Canarinho, meaning Little Canary, a phrase that was popularized by the late cartoonist Fernando Pieruccetti during the 1950 World Cup.[35] Other names like Amarelinha, Little Yellow, Verde-amarelo, Green-Yellow, Pentacampeão, Five-time Champions[36] and Esquadrão de Ouro (the Golden Squad), among others. It can also be noted that American and British media outlets have referred to Brazil as the Auriverde, coming from the Portuguese words verde and amarela (or dourada) which mean green and yellow (or gold), but is not used in Brazil itself.[37] Some English newspapers colloquially use the nickname "Samba Kings". [edit] VenuesBrazil does not have a home national stadium like many other national teams and as such rotate their home World Cup qualifying matches through various venues: the Estádio do Maracanã or Estádio Olímpico João Havelange in Rio de Janeiro, the Estádio do Morumbi in São Paulo, the Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, the Estádio Mané Garrincha in the capital Brasília and the Estádio Beira-Rio in Porto Alegre. Some smaller provincial stadia were used in the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign. Since September 2006, Brazil have played many international friendlies at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium in London. After their initial 3-0 win over Argentina drew a near sell-out attendance and was screened live on BBC Two, Brazil have returned to the ground regularly, facing Portugal and Sweden and lastly against Italy in February 2009. [edit] Colours
Brazil's first team colours were white with blue collars, but following defeat in the Maracanã at the 1950 World Cup, the colours were criticised for lacking patriotism. With permission from the Brazilian Sports Confederation, the newspaper Correio da Manhã held a competition to design a kit incorporating the four colours of the Brazilian flag.[38] The winning design was a yellow jersey with green trim and blue shorts with white trim drawn by Aldyr Garcia Schlee, a nineteen year old from Pelotas.[39] The new colours were first used in March 1954 in a match against Chile, and have been used ever since. The use of blue as the away kit colour dates from the 30s, but it became the permanent second choice accidentally in the 1958 World Cup final. Brazil's opponents were Sweden, who also wear yellow, and a draw gave to the home team Sweden the right to play in yellow. Brazil, who travelled with no spare kit, hurriedly purchased a set of blue shirts and sewed on emblems cut from their yellow shirts.[40] [edit] Kit evolution
[edit] Competitive record
Below is a list of all matches Brazil have played against FIFA recognised teams[42]
[edit] Players[edit] Current squadThe following players have been called up for the international friendly against England on November 14, 2009 in Doha, Qatar and against Oman on November 17, 2009 in Muscat, Oman.[43] Caps and goals as of November 17, 2009, including the match against Oman.
[edit] Recent call-upsThe following players have been called up to the Brazil squad in the past 12 months.
[edit] Most appearancesBelow is a list of the 20 players with the most appearances for Brazil, as of November 17, 2009:[2]
*Denotes players still available for selection [edit] Most goalsBelow is a list of the 20 players with the most goals for Brazil, as of November 17, 2009:[2]
*Denotes players still available for selection [edit] IFFHS Player of the 20th CenturyBelow are the results of a poll by IFFHS for the best Brazilian player of the 20th century.[44]
*Denotes players still available for selection [edit] Brazilian Football Museum Hall of FameThe following Brazilians players have been inducted into the Pacaembu Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame in October 2008.[45]
Honorable Mention in the "Heroes of Brazilian Football" section, on the Pacaembu Brazilian Football Museum: [edit] Previous squads[edit] CoachesWorld Cup winning coaches in bold.
[edit] Honours [edit] Senior team[edit] Official titles[edit] Friendly titles
[edit] Olympic team[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
[edit] External links
[edit] Titles
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