Early history
Brazil's first match: At home against
Exeter City in 1914.
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
1934tournaments, Brazil were knocked out at the very first stage.
But
1938 was a sign of things to come, as Brazil finished a strong third, with
Leonidas da Silvafinishing 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 host
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.
[edit]1974–1990
After 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
[citation needed]. In the second group stage, Brazil were competing with tournament host
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, controversially
[citation needed], to 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 after a brilliant assist from Maradona.
[edit]More successes (1994–2002)
[edit]1994 World Cup
Brazil, 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
Jorginhowon the World Cup for a then-record 4th time. Highlights of their campaign included a 1–0 victory over the host 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 Cup
Brazil 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 host
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 on a poor performance.
[edit]2002 World Cup
Fuelled 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". They followed with a 4–0 win over China and a 5–2 win over Costa Rica.
Next they defeated
Belgium 2–0, in the round-of-16. 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]2002–2006
On 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 Cup
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 five 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 Zidaneand 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 Cup
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 2007
Brazil 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 win, 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 Cup
The 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.
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