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 Brazilians perfected it."[4] Currently ranked fourth 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.

History

Early history

The 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.[7][8][9], whilst others claim a 3-3[10][11] 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.

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.[12][13] In both the 1930 and 1934 tournaments, Brazil were knocked out at the very first stage.[14][15] 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, to 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").[16]

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.

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 1951 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",[18] 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.

1974–1990

Brazilian team before playing Poland in the third place match at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.

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.[19]

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.

More successes (1994–2002)

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 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.

World Cup 1998

Brazil finished runner-up in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. After a very respectable campaign, 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.

World Cup 2002

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".

Next they defeated Belgium 2–0, which had been 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 full back 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. Either Germany (or West Germany) or Brazil had played in all World Cup finals since 1950 - except 1978 (If the last game of 1950 is considered to be a proper final). 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.

Incredibly, these teams had never played each other in the World Cup before. There was however a match between Brazil and East Germany in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Brazil won 1–0.

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. The Brazilian striker Ronaldo scored two goals in the final, leaving Germany in the dust, as the experienced Brazilian captain Cafu lift the World Cup for Brazil a fifth time.

World Cup 2006

Entering the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Brazil were seen as heavy favorites to repeat their success at the previous cup. Brazil beat Croatia 1–0, Australia 2–0, Japan 4–1, the first two being hard-fought matches, to come out at the top of their group.

The Brazilian squad preparing for the World Cup in Weggis, Switzerland.

During the second round, they defeated Ghana 3–0. However, Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinals against France by a score of 1–0 when Thierry Henry scored the winning goal. 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 the result of 2006, the team was criticized by many Brazilians. Some, such as Pelé, blamed coach Parreira and Ronaldinho for the team's early elimination.[22] The night after Brazil's defeat, vandals burned and destroyed a 7-meter tall fiberglass and resin statue of Ronaldinho in the Brazilian city of Chapecó, which had been erected in 2004 to celebrate Ronaldinho's first election as FIFA World Player of the Year.[23] Roberto Carlos[24] and Juninho each announced their retirement from the team and Juninho asserted that it was time for the players over 30 to retire from the team.[25] Cafu, the Brazilian captain, made an infamous comparison between the team of 2006 and the team at 1982 World Cup, one that is remembered as one of the greatest teams that lost a World Cup.[26] Two days after the loss, Ronaldinho and Adriano partied through the night in Barcelona, increasing the feeling of the Brazilians that they were betrayed by their national team.[27] This reaction contrasted with other players such as Rogério Ceni, who was ashamed of the game and said "some defeats are marked by struggle, but we lost in an infelicitous way, that wasn't what we had hoped for",[28] and Zé Roberto, who cried and said that "the unity that we had outside the pitch, was lacking inside it".[29] On July 19, Parreira resigned as the team coach.

After the 2006 World Cup

1994 World Cup champion Dunga was hired as Brazil's new team coach on July 24.[31] 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.[32] 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.[33] 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.[34] 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.[35]

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 AC Milan, Barcelona FC, Real Madrid, etc., but looked at the whole scope of Europe, finding individual talents such as Daniel Carvalho, Vágner Love and Dudu Cearense of Greek club Olympiacos and also Elano of Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk, currently of Manchester City. Of the former 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.

2007 Copa America

Dunga took the Brazilians to Venezuela, for the 2007 Copa America. They were placed in a group with Mexico, Ecuador, and Chile. In Group B, Brazil surprisingly lost to Mexico 2–0, then bounced back with a comfortable 3–0 victory over Chile which three goals came from Robinho, and won 1–0 against Ecuador which also scored by Robinho in a penalty kick. They advanced to the quarter-finals, where they defeated Chile again 6–1. The Semi-Final was against Uruguay, and the game ended 2–2, and Brazil won 5-4 on penalties. Their opponent in the final was Argentina. Brazil and Argentina met in the finals, and Argentina were heavy favourites. But in the 4th minute of the final Júlio Baptista scored a stunner, surprising the Argentine team. Then in the 45th Minute, defender Roberto Ayala scored an own goal. The first half ended 2–0, and later in the 69th minute, Dani Alves received the ball from a counter attack move, shooting it first time and making it 3–0. After the event, Robinho finished as the Golden Boot winner in addition to being named the best player in the tournament.

Current team status

Brazil is currently participating in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) standings
Team v • d • e   Pld   W   D   L   GF   GA   GD   Pts
 Paraguay   12   7   3   2   19   9   +10   24
 Brazil   12   5   6   1   19   5   +14   21
 Chile   12   6   2   4   17   14   +3   20
 Argentina   12   5   4   3   18   13   +5   19
 Uruguay   12   4   5   3   21   10   +11   17
 Colombia   12   3   5   4   6   10   −4   14
 Ecuador   12   3   5   4   14   19   −5   14
 Venezuela   12   4   1   7   14   22   −8   13
 Bolivia   12   3   3   6   19   25   −6   12
 Peru   12   1   4   7   6   26   −20   7

Olympics

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).

Nickname

The 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.[39] 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.[40] Other names like Amarelinha, Little Yellow, Verde-amarela, Green-Yellow, Pentacampeão, Five-time Champions[41] 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.[42] Some English newspapers colloquially use the nickname "Samba Kings".

Venues

Brazil does not have a national stadium 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 will play their again against Italy in February 2009. During this period, 'home' matches have also been played in Sweden, with the belief that European club managers will be more willing to release their players for friendlies if they don't have to travel to South America.

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.[43] 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.[44] 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.

Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay on June 6, 2009 in Montevideo and Paraguay on June 10, 2009 in Recife and for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.

Caps and goals as of April 1, 2009.

No.   Pos.   Player   DoB (Age)   Caps   Goals   Club
   GK   Júlio César   September 3, 1979 (age 29)   32   0    Internazionale
   GK   Gomes   February 15, 1981 (age 28)   9   0    Tottenham Hotspur
   GK   Victor   January 21, 1983 (age 26)   0   0    Grêmio

   DF   Dani Alves   May 6, 1983 (age 26)   21   1    Barcelona
   DF   Lúcio   May 8, 1978 (age 31)   77   3    Bayern Munich
   DF   Luisão   February 13, 1982 (age 27)   36   2    Benfica
   DF   Kléber   April 1, 1980 (age 29)   16   1    Internacional
   DF   Maicon   July 26, 1981 (age 27)   44   4    Internazionale
   DF   Juan   February 1, 1979 (age 30)   68   4    Roma
   DF   Alex Costa   June 17, 1982 (age 26)   17   0    Chelsea
   DF   André Santos   March 8, 1983 (age 26)   0   0    Corinthians

   MF   Felipe Melo   August 26, 1983 (age 25)   3   1    Fiorentina
   MF   Elano   June 14, 1981 (age 27)   30   6    Manchester City
   MF   Gilberto Silva   October 7, 1976 (age 32)   72   3    Panathinaikos
   MF   Kaká   April 22, 1982 (age 27)   63   23    Milan
   MF   Josué   July 19, 1979 (age 29)   23   1    Wolfsburg
   MF   Júlio Baptista   October 1, 1981 (age 27)   39   4    Roma
   MF   Anderson   April 13, 1988 (age 21)   8   0    Manchester United
   MF   Ramires   March 24, 1987 (age 22)   0   0    Benfica

   FW   Luís Fabiano   November 8, 1980 (age 28)   26   16    Sevilla
   FW   Robinho   January 25, 1984 (age 25)   63   17    Manchester City
   FW   Alexandre Pato   July 2, 1989 (age 19)   6   1    Milan
   FW   Nilmar   July 14, 1984 (age 24)   6   1    Internacional

Recent call ups

The following players have also been called up to the Brazil squad in the past 12 months.
No.   Pos.   Player   DoB (Age)   Caps   Goals   Club   Latest call-up
   GK   Doni   October 22, 1979 (age 29)   10   0    Roma   v. Peru , April 1, 2009
   GK   Renan   January 24, 1985 (age 24)   0   0    Valencia   v. Bolivia, September 10, 2008
   GK   Diego Alves   June 24, 1985 (age 23)   0   0    Almerìa   v. Argentina, June 18, 2008

   DF   Marcelo   May 12, 1988 (age 21)   6   1    Real Madrid   v. Peru , April 1, 2009
   DF   Thiago Silva   September 22, 1984 (age 24)   4   0    Milan   v. Peru , April 1, 2009
   DF   Miranda   September 7, 1984 (age 24)   1   0    São Paulo   v. Peru , April 1, 2009
   DF   Adriano Correia   October 26, 1984 (age 24)   8   0    Sevilla   v. Italy, February 10, 2009
   DF   Alex Silva   March 10, 1985 (age 24)   2   0    Hamburg   v. Colombia, October 15, 2008
   DF   Juan Maldonado   February 6, 1982 (age 27)   2   0    Flamengo   v. Colombia, October 15, 2008
   DF   Rafinha   September 7, 1985 (age 23)   1   0    Schalke 04   v. Bolivia, September 10, 2008
   DF   Gilberto   April 25, 1976 (age 33)   32   1    Tottenham Hotspur   v. Argentina, June 18, 2008
   DF   Henrique   October 14, 1986 (age 22)   1   0    Bayer Leverkusen   v. Venezuela, June 6, 2008

   MF   Ronaldinho   March 21, 1980 (age 29)   87   32    Milan   v. Peru , April 1, 2009
   MF   Diego   February 28, 1985 (age 24)   33   4    Werder Bremen   v. Portugal, November 19, 2008
   MF   Mancini   August 1, 1980 (age 28)   6   0    Internazionale   v. Portugal, November 19, 2008
   MF   Alex   March 25, 1982 (age 27)   2   0    Spartak Moscow   v. Portugal, November 19, 2008
   MF   Lucas   January 9, 1987 (age 22)   3   0    Liverpool   v. Colombia, October 15, 2008
   MF   Hernanes   May 29, 1985 (age 23)   1   0    São Paulo   v. Bolivia, September 10, 2008
   MF   Mineiro   August 2, 1975 (age 33)   24   0    Chelsea   v. Argentina, June 18, 2008

   FW   Adriano   February 17, 1982 (age 27)   44   27    Flamengo   v. Peru , April 1, 2009
   FW   Amauri   June 3, 1980 (age 28)   0   0    Juventus   v. Italy, February 10, 2009
   FW   Jô   March 20, 1987 (age 22)   3   0    Everton   v. Colombia, October 15, 2008
   FW   Rafael Sóbis   June 17, 1985 (age 23)   8   0    Al Jazira   v. Bolivia, September 10, 2008

Most appearances

Below is a list of the 20 players with the most appearances for Brazil, as of April 1, 2009:
#   Name   Career   Caps   Goals
1   Cafu   1990–2006   142   5
2   Roberto Carlos   1992–2006   125   11
3   Cláudio Taffarel   1987–1998   101   0
4   Djalma Santos   1952–1968   98   3
5   Ronaldo*   1994–present   97   62
6   Gilmar   1953–1969   94   0
7   Pelé   1957–1971   92   77
8   Rivelino   1965–1978   92   26
9   Dida   1995–2006   91   0
10   Dunga   1982–1998   91   6
11   Ronaldinho*   1999–present   87   32
12   Zé Roberto   1995–2006   84   6
13   Aldair   1989–2000   81   3
14   Jairzinho   1963–1982   81   33
15   Émerson Leão   1970–1986   80   0
16   Lúcio*   2000-present   77   3
17   Bebeto   1985–1998   75   39
18   Nílton Santos   1949–1962   75   3
19   Rivaldo   1993–2003   74   34
20   Emerson   1997–2006   73   6

Most goals

Below is a list of the 20 players with the most goals for Brazil, as of April 1, 2009:
#   Name   Career   Goals   Caps
1   Pelé   1957–1971   77   92
2   Ronaldo*   1994–present   62   97
3   Romário   1987–2005   55   70
4   Zico   1971–1989   52   72
5   Bebeto   1985–1998   39   75
6   Rivaldo   1993–2003   34   74
7   Jairzinho   1963–1982   33   81
8   Ademir   1945–1953   32   39
9   Ronaldinho*   1999–present   32   87
10   Tostão   1966–1972   32   54
11   Zizinho   1942–1957   30   53
12   Careca   1982–1993   29   60
13   Adriano*   2000–present   27   44
14   Roberto Rivelino   1965–1978   26   92
15   Kaká*   2002–present   23   63
16   Jair   1940–1950   22   39
17   Sócrates   1979–1986   22   60
18   Leônidas da Silva   1932–1946   21   23
19   Roberto Dinamite   1975–1984   20   30
20   Didi   1952-1962   20   68

IFFHS Player of the 20th Century

Below are the results of a poll by IFFHS for the best Brazilian player of the 20th century.
#   Name   Career   Votes
1   Pelé   1957–1971   220
2   Garrincha   1955–1966   142
3   Zico   1971–1989   51
4   Zizinho   1942–1957   40
5   Arthur Friedenreich   1912–1935   21
=   Tostão   1966–1972   21
7   Didi   1952–1962   17
8   Leônidas   1932–1946   13
9   Nílton Santos   1949–1962   12
=   Ronaldo*   1994–2006   12
11   Romário   1987–2005   11
12   Falcão   1976–1986   10
=   Rivelino   1965–1978   10
14   Ademir da Guia   1965–1974   9
15   Luís Pereira   1973–1977   7
16   Carlos Alberto Torres   1964–1977   5
17   Domingos da Guia   1938   4
18   Ademir   1945–1953   3
19   Bebeto   1985–1998   2
=   Jairzinho   1963–1982   2

Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame

The following Brazilians players have been inducted into the Pacaembu Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame in October 2008.
Bebeto
Carlos Alberto Torres
Didi
Djalma Santos
Falcão
Garrincha
Gérson
Gilmar
Jairzinho
Julinho
Nilton Santos
Pelé
Rivaldo
Rivelino
Roberto Carlos
Romário
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo
Sócrates
Taffarel
Tostão
Vavá
Zagallo
Zico
Zizinho

Honorable Mention in the " Heroes of Brazilian Football" section, on the Pacaembu Brazilian Football Museum:
Domingos da Guia
Leônidas

Coaches

World Cup winning coaches in bold.
Adhemar Pimenta (1936–1938; 1942)
Flávio Costa (1944–1950; 1955; 1956)
Zezé Moreira (1952; 1954–1955)
Aymoré Moreira (1953)
Vicente Feola (1955)
Osvaldo Brandão (1955–1956; 1957)
Teté (1956)
Silvio Pirilo (1957)
Pedrinho (1957)
Vicente Feola - 1958 FIFA World Cup (1958–1960)
Aymoré Moreira - 1962 FIFA World Cup (1961–1963)
Vicente Feola (1964–1967)
Dorival Yustrich (1968)
João Saldanha (1969–1970)
Mário Zagallo - 1970 FIFA World Cup (1970–1974; 2002)
Osvaldo Brandão (1975–1977)
Cláudio Coutinho (1977–1980)
Telê Santana (1980–1982)
Carlos Alberto Parreira (1983)
Edu (1983–1984)
Evaristo de Macedo (1984–1985)
Telê Santana (1985–1986)
Carlos Alberto Silva (1987–1988)
Sebastião Lazaroni (1989–1990)
Paulo Roberto Falcão (1991)
Carlos Alberto Parreira - 1994 FIFA World Cup (1991–1994)
Mário Zagallo (1995–1998)
Vanderlei Luxemburgo (1998–2000)
Émerson Leão (2000–2001)
Luiz Felipe Scolari - 2002 FIFA World Cup (2001–2002)
Carlos Alberto Parreira (2002–2006)
Dunga (2006–present)

Honors
 
Brazil is the most successful team in World Cup history.

Senior team

Official titles
5 FIFA World Cups
2 Confederations Cups
8 Copa Américas
2 Panamerican Championships

Friendly titles
1 Taça Independência
3 Taça do Atlântico
8 Copa Roca

Olympic team

2 Silver Medals and 3 Bronze Medals at the Olympic Summer Games
4 Pan American Games
8 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournaments

Dunga izostavio Ronaldinja

Selektor fudbalske reprezentacije Brazila Karlos Dunga objavio je širi spisak igrača za nastavak takmičenja u kvalifikacijama za prvenstvo sveta 2010. godine.

Na spisku Dunge su 23 igrača na koje pored kvalifikacija računa i za učešće na Kupu konfederacija od 14. do 28. juna u Južnoj Africi, a među pozvanima nema Ronaldinja, koji je imao razočaravajuću sezonu u dresu Milana.

Otkako je prošle godine prešao iz Barselone u Milan, svojevremeno jedan od najboljih fudbalera sveta uglavnom greje klupu, pa je izgubio i mesto u nacionalnom timu. Ronaldinjo je poslednji put nosio reprezentativni dres u martu na utakmici protiv Ekvadora, kada je posle slabe igre zamenjen, da bi na sledećem meču protiv Perua bio rezerva.

Dunga je izostavio i Ronalda, iako je najavljivano da bi on mogao da se vrati u nacionalni sastav posle oporavka od teške povrede kolena i uspešnih igara u dresu Korintijansa. Ronaldo je poslednju utakmicu za Brazil odigrao na prethodnom svetskom šampionatu u Nemačkoj 2006. godine.

U nastavku kvalifikacija za Mondijal 2010. u Južnoj Africi Brazil gostuje 6. juna u Montevideu protiv Urugvaja, a četiri dana kasnije dočekuje Paragvaj u Resifeu.

Sastav Brazila:
Golmani: Žulio Cesar (Inter), Gomeš (Totenhem), Viktor (Gremio).
Odbrana: Majkon (Inter), Danijel Alveš (Barselona), Aleks (Čelsi), Žuan (Roma), Lusio (Bajern Minhen), Luisao (Benfika), Kleber (Internasional), Andre Santoš (Korintijans).
Sredina terena: Anderson (Mančester Junajted), Žilberto Silva (Panatinaikos), Žosue (Volfsburg), Ramires (Kruzeiro), Elano (Mančester Siti), Felipe Melo (Fjorentina), Žulio Baptista (Roma), Kaka (Milan).
Napadači: Alešandre Pato (Milan), Luis Fabijano (Sevilja), Nilmar (Internasional), Robinjo (Mančester Siti).

Izvor: B92

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