In the midst of World Cup qualifying season, international friendlies are often neglected, regardless of how beautifully a team plays. My role here is to bring light to the team I have loved for as long as I remember. My childhood and adolescence are filled with memories of watching Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Dida, and Giovanni take the pitch and put on the most magical show on earth. Despite the level of French culture prevalent in my family and the fact that Zinedine Zidane was always my favorite player, I was sick to my stomach when Brazil fell 3-0 to France in the 1998 World Cup Final. Prior to their Confederations Cup victory and recent successes, the seleção fell out of the top 20 FIFA World Rankings, though the way teams are ranked almost never reflects their performance in crucial matches. Nevertheless, they took the pitch against Australia over the weekend and showed why I hope and believe they’ll earn back their crown as champions of the soccer world. With many flashes of individual brilliance from Neymar and Ramires as well as the team-wide display of beautiful passing and ball movement, the Brazilian squad dominated and thrashed their opponents 6-0.
Brazil fell many spots because they failed to compete for a long period of time. Although they may have still been worthy of a high ranking, they failed to garner any points from an absence of competition. However, I believe that this period was an important time to develop their new, emerging stars like Neymar and Oscar. After Kaka and Ronaldinho fell out of the spotlight, Brazil didn’t have any stars to step into those roles. Putting the pressure of a nation so passionate about soccer on the shoulders of players who are still young and developing could have hindered their growth in the international game. Instead, they went quiet as Spain took control of the international game. Spain became the new epitome of beautiful soccer, through their tiki taka style of play that could pick apart any team’s defense with short passes and fluid movements. Although fans complained of the slow build up or extra “wasted” passes, no one could argue the effectiveness of their game plan. Also having stars like Xavi, Iniesta, David Villa, and Torres helped, something Brazil did not have at the time. The exposure that Spain received was also due in large part to the fact that most of their players played for Real Madrid or Barcelona, two of the most recognizable teams in soccer with fans all over the world. Brazil, on the other hand, had players that were on smaller Brazilian based teams that the common soccer fan would probably not be aware of. However, Brazil’s unknown stars have emerged onto big club names with Ramires and Oscar at Chelsea, Hulk at Zenit St. Petersburg, and Neymar at Barcelona. These moves have solidified their position among the world’s best and showcased the true talent that the Brazilian team possesses. With the dominating wins at the Confederations Cup, and the impressive victories in qualifying and friendlies, I believe that the Brazilian team has risen to the level that most people expect. They have players that can make pinpoint passes while also producing an exciting flair with the dribble that remind us why everyone fell in love with Brazilian soccer in the first place.
A lot of the reason Brazil fell out of the top 10 before this new generation of players was because the team stagnated. Everyone was so engrossed in ‘joga bonito’ they forgot about the other facets of the game. Their soccer in that dark period was beautiful (lots of tricks, cheeky flicks, never-ending possession), but it was also very slow. The EPL has forced the global game to pick up its pace, and Brazil finally responded. With the speedy young blood of Hulk, Neymar, Fred, Marcelo, Oscar (the list goes on) Brazil really has turned over a new page in their play style. With the same finesse that has defined Brazilian soccer for decades, the new face of Brazil have taken their game to the next level, and they’re my personal favorites to win it all next summer.