In a country like Brazil where people worship and devour the game of football and its history, especially the World Cup where it is just as celebrated as the present, there have been many moments of glory embedded in between some of dire failure.
The first name that is easiest to relate with the Selecao’s past is Pele. The ‘King of Football’, won three World Cups in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and amassed a staggering 77 goals in 92 appearances for his country, in those days, the Brazilians were plainly unstoppable.
In the 1958 extravaganza, they qualified from a group encompassing the then mighty USSR, England and Austria. Consequently, they edged out Wales in the quarter-finals and trounced France in the semi, before also overpowering hosts Sweden in the final, the game ending 5-2 to Brazil. This was the inception of their most dominant era.
Four years later the tournament was even trickier as Pele was ruled out due to injury and unable to play the best part of the competition, but up stepped winger Garrincha to give Brazil their second consecutive world title, following a 3-1 win over Czechoslovakia in the final.
However, the following World Cup in 1966, marred by several contentious political incidents, was Brazil’s worst performance during that period as they were knocked out at the group stage by the Portuguese and Hungary for the first time since 1934.
That was merely a blip as four years later the Canarinho made history for being the first team to win the World Cup three times, sweeping Italy aside 4-1 in the final and many fans still profess to that team to be best ever. With a core comprising of Pele, Jairzinho, Gerson and captain Carlos Alberto, and playing as if winning wasn’t just enough, they netted a total of 19 goals.
In spite of such grandeur, the Selecao will be most famously remembered for the 1950 final loss against Uruguay on home soil. It was disastrous to say the least, as nearly 200,000 fans lay witness to one of the most shocking scenes in their football history, Uruguay beating Brazil 2-1.
The hosts, who were touted to be favourites, needed just a draw to secure victory, but conceded the vital goal with 11 minutes remaining, even causing some fans to even commit suicide. With several Brazilians still feel the despair of that day there is a hope the upcoming World Cup can heal those wounds.
Another tough period for all Selecao fans was from 1970 to 1994, when Brazil did not even participate in a single final let alone win one, but at the 1994 tournament everything changed. Facing Italy once again in the final a less entertaining game than 1970 was decided on penalties with the Azzurri’s Roberto Baggio missing a crucial penalty kick to hand Brazil their fourth title.
However, four years later and favourites once again, they surprisingly lost to France in the final 3-0 before many of that star-studded line-up redeemed themselves in 2002 under the mentorship of current coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, making to the final where they overcame Germany 2-0 with a Ronaldo double.
The hysteria has faded somewhat since as the 2006 and 2010 tournaments were stained by deep criticism from the fans and media of performances, as they were sent home at the quarter-final stage losing to France and the Netherlands respectively.
Nevertheless, the Selecao have turned the tide of scepticism in recent years under ‘Big Phil’ and given new belief to their followers that this time around they can succeed on the world’s biggest stage once more.
