The Golden Eras Of Brazilian Football

Brazil is the most successful national team in the world, having won the FIFA World Cup 5 times. They are the only team to have qualified for every World Cup without having to play any playoff matches. Brazil's squad has had strong links back to the Brasileirão Série A, regularly using players from their domestic league in international fixtures. 

In this article, we are going to go over Brazil's greatest-ever periods of success by recounting every World Cup win and discussing the players and managers who made this happen. We will also discuss how Brazil looks currently and

opportunities that could come from an extended knowledge of Brazilian players. 

Brazil 1958

1958 was Brazil's first-ever World Cup win and established them as a top International side. Their squad at the time was home to many world-class players such as Vava, Jose Altafini, Djalma Santos, and many more. However, their most famous player was undoubtedly Pele, who carried them to the final. Pele didn't score in the group stage but went on to score in every knockout game, including a hat-trick in the semi-finals and a brace in the finals. He finished the tournament with 6 goals and Brazil's first-ever World Cup. 

To get to the final, Brazil beat France 5-2. This France side was home to striker Justin Fontaine, who scored 13 goals throughout the tournament, a record that still remains to this day. They also had to beat hosts Sweden in the final, who had previously knocked out current champions West Germany.

Brazil 1962

In 1962, Brazil defended the World Cup and won it for the second time in a row. This squad once again featured brilliant players such as Vava, Amarildo, Didi, and more. This World Cup, however, belonged to Garrincha. Garrincha was included in the previous tournament's squad, but he did not score a goal or get many minutes at all. In this World Cup, Pele received an injury in the second game and was ruled out for the entire tournament. Luckily for Brazil, Vava and Garrincha stepped up and guided Brazil to their second World Cup.

Brazil topped their group and then went on to beat England, Chile, and Czechoslovakia with ease to win the competition. 

Brazil 1970 

Following a disappointing tournament in 1966, where they were knocked out in the group stage, Brazil was looking for redemption during the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Brazil had yet another incredible squad with a front five consisting of Jairzinho, Pele, Gerson,  Tostao, and Rivelino. They also had players such as Carlos Alberto and Marco Antonio. 

This was once again Peles's competition as he contributed towards 14 of Brazil's 19 goals throughout the tournament. They topped the group after winning every game and then moved into the quarter-finals, which they won 4-2. They then won the semi-final 3-1 and won the final 4-1 against Italy. Jairzinho ended the competition with 7 goals and became Brazil's top goal scorer for the tournament. 

Brazil 1994

Brazil participated in the 1994 World Cup and won the tournament after a 24-year wait. Their squad consisted of legends such as Jorghino, Zinho, Rai, and Cafu, a 17-year-old Ronaldo and Romario. Romario was the star of this World Cup, scoring 5 goals across almost every game and scoring one of the penalties in the final against Italy. 

This was another very successful competition as they were unbeaten in the group, only drawing against Sweden. They then went on to beat the USA and Netherlands before facing Italy in the final. This game finished 0-0 by the end of regular and extra time, but Brazi went on to win on penalties. 

Brazil 2002

Brazil won their 5th and last World Cup in 2002 at the Korea World Cup. This team will have more familiar names than others and include players such as Cafu, Lucio, Roque Junior, Edmilson, Roberto Carlos, Gilberto Silva, Juninho, Kleberson, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Dida, and a young Kaka. 

Brazil's attack was incredible, with Ronaldinho being instrumental in their build-up, Rivaldo on the other side scoring 5 goals in 7 games, and golden boot winner Ronaldo scoring 8 goals in 7 games. 

The Teams Link To The Brasileirão Série A

The Brazilian national team has always held many players from their domestic league. This can be seen as recent as the 2002 win, with players like Marcos playing for Palmeiras, Gilberto Silva playing for Atletico Mineiro, and Kaka playing for Sao Paulo. 

The 1970 World Cup squad is often referred to as one of the greatest teams to have ever played. The entire squad played for teams within the Brasileiro Serie A at the time. Even nowadays, with the majority of Brazilian players moving to European leagues such as the Premier League or La Liga, their team still features many Brasileiro Série A players. These players include Lucas Perri from Botafogo, Nino from Fluminese, Raphael Veiga from Palmeiras, and more. In the recent 2014 World Cup, their starting striker was Fred, who played for Fluminese at that time. 

Brazil Nowadays

Brazil's squad nowadays is in safe hands. Neymar is Brazil's tied top goalscorer alongside Pele and looks likely to overtake his record in the coming years. However, with his age, it looks as though his opportunity for World Cup glory could be coming to a close. The same can be said for Brazilian legend Thiago Silva. However, Brazil's current squad looks more than capable of winning silverware with players such as Allison, Ederson, Marquinhos, Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes, Rodrygo, and Vinicius Jr all being dominant in their own respective leagues. 

Summary

These have been Brazil's Golden eras in football. 1958-1970 is known as the golden era of football for Brazil due to the quality of the national team and the quality within the Brasileiro Serie A. Brazil is a very successful national team, and the Brazilian league is a very interesting one with some very interesting players.