Delusion that is the Samba Boys

If you were to hear about Brazil there would probably be three things that register instantly in your mind – its beautiful beaches, scantily clad beauties and of course ‘Joga Bonito’. The beautiful game has come to be synonymous with Brazil over the years and has become ingrained in the common man’s psyche. The three ‘divine pleasures’ have become intertwined for Brazil’s football starts at the beaches and erudite pleasures are part of the package.

Life does come to a standstill literally. Government timings have been changed, television sets have been installed in prisons for fear of riots and special channels have been established to provide the most in-depth coverage to its citizens. But for them it is only the World Cup matters. Defeat in the final is considered to be a national catastrophe as the 0-3 defeat to France at the Stad de France in ’98 proved; inquests as to the cause continue till this day.

The primary reason that the Samba Boys enjoy such backing throughout the globe is because of the attacking flair they have possessed over the years. No other nation has captivated and left audiences spellbound with their riveting style of play as much as Brazil have. But very little is known about the true Brazilian legends- the Leonidas’, Vavas, Didis…the list is endless. A peek into the Brazilian teams of the past:

1930,Uruguay

The first World Cup resembled a carnival in that all those who wished could play at the finals. This was probably the only Brazilian squad that went to a WC finals without any stars. Characterized by regional imbalance- all but one member of the squad hailed from Rio de Janeiro.

The team (line-up in the first match, againstYugoslavia): Joel; Brilhante and Itália; Hermógenes, Fausto and Fernando; Poly, Nilo, Araken, Preguinho (C) and Teóphilo.
Reserves: Velloso (G), Zé Luiz, Oscarino, Benevenuto, Ivan Mariz, Fortes, Pamplona, Benedito, Russinho, Carvalho Leite, Doca and Moderato.
Coach: Píndaro de Carvalho.

Going into the sub zero temperatures of Montevideo, the Brazilian side finished sixth with a loss to Yugoslavia and a thrashing of Bolivia. In the mid-match time out, the Brazilians used blankets and hot tea to try to warm themselves. Preguinho, their captain became the first Brazilian to score in a WC. A disappointment nevertheless but Sao Paulo wasn’t complaining.

1934, Italy

The team: Pedrosa, Sylvio Hoffman, Luiz Luz; Tinoco, Martim (C), Canalli; Luisinho, Waldemar de Brito, Armandinho, Leônidas, Patesko.

Bureaucratic hassles ensured that Brazil took an understrength squad once again to a WC. Played on a knockout basis, Brazil lost their first and consequently their only match of the tournament to Spain, 1-3. However the match would turn out to be the precursor to the rise of the first Brazilian great, Leonidas da Silva, who scored their only goal.

1938, France

The team (line-up in the first match, against Poland): Batatais; Domingos and Machado; Zezé Procópio, Martim and Afonsinho; Lopes, Romeu, Leônidas (C), Perácio and Hércules.

1938 represented the first time that Brazil took a full strength squad to a WC. The journey to France took 15 days by ship and by the time the Brazilian squad got there most of the players reported sick. However, that couldn’t prevent Brazil from defeating Poland 6-5, a record for the most goals scored in a single WC match. A loss to Italy dampened victories over Czhechoslovakia and Sweden. Domingos da Guia, the "Divine", recognized until today as one of the most talented Brazilian defenders of all time, says that he was kicked by Italian Piola; when he kicked back, the Swiss referee took it as a foul, and awarded a penalty to Italy from which they scored to proceed to the final.

Leônidas was one of the best Brazilian players of all time. He was the inventor of that difficult movement called bicycle. Leônidas was the main striker of the 1938 Cup, with seven goals. Because of his talent and the fact that he was one of the first black men to bright in a World Cup, French media called him "Diamant Noir", or "Black Diamond" in English, or "Diamante Negro", as he became known in Brazil. Leônidas knew how to use his color. There are records that, when he scored the last goal against Poland, Leônidas was shoe-less, and this would be grounds for the referee to invalidate the goal. Cleverly, Leônidas splashed his feet into the dark mud; the referee could not tell Leonidas' black socks from his black legs and from the (non-existent) black shoes.

1950, Brazil

The team (line-up in the first match, against Mexico): Barbosa; Augusto (C) and Juvenal; Eli, Danilo and Bigode; Maneca, Ademir, Baltazar, Jair and Friaça.

World Cup football returned after the war enforced break and the Brazilians came into the tournament as favourites. Da Silva was 12 years older but was still playing professionally. The backbone of the Brazilian team comprised of Barbosa (considered, along with Gilmar, who was champion in 1958 and 1962, one of the best Brazilian goalkeepers of all time), the captain Augusto and the forward Ademir de Menezes, who would score nine goals to become the striker of the Cup. Besides, Brazil still had Jair da Rosa Pinto, skin and refined, and Zizinho, who happens to be the declared idol of Pelé, when the King was young (Zizinho did not play the first two matches in the Cup only because he was recovering from an injury). Brazil lived up to its reputation hammering Sweden 7-1 and a strong Spanish team 6-1. Needing a draw in the final group game at the historic Maracana (WC 1950 didn’t have a final) which was watched by over 200,000 people Brazil went down 1-2 to Uruguay who thus won the Jules Rimet Trophy for the second time.

Ademir de Menezes, Barbosa, Zizinho

1954, Switzerland

Line-up in the match against Mexico:
Djalma Santos, Brandãozinho, Nilton Santos, Pinheiro,
Mario Américo (masseur), Castilho and Bauer;
Julinho, Didi, Baltazar, Pinga and Rodrigues.

This was a tournament of firsts for Brazil- forced to qualify and travel by air. After the 1950 debacle came the predictable sacking of the coach but the loss had such far reaching consequences that the white jersey was retired as white was considered to be associated with cowardice. The yellow sunshine outfit coupled with a youthful outfit did little to reverse Brazil’s performances on the field as a disappointing draw with Yugoslavia followed by a thrashing by Puskas’ ‘Magic Magyars’ ensured that Brazil faltered at the first hurdle. The WC introduced the world to Didi and Julinho Botelho.

Known as the man who shut up Maracana after 1954, Julinho moved to Fiorentina, Italy, and was fundamental for the team to conquer their first scudetto, in 1955/56; Julinho was invited to play the 1958 Cup, but refused, honestly saying that someone playing in Brazil deserved the chance; he came back to Palmeiras -and the Brazilian team - in 1959; in a match in Maracanã, Julinho was announced as substitute of Garrincha; 150,000 people booed Julinho as he entered the field; Julinho scored the first Brazilian goal in five minutes; he served for the second goal, as was the player of the match; in the end, the entire Maracanã stood up to applaud Julinho.

1958, Sweden

The line-up in the first match, against Austria:
De Sordi, Dino Sani, Bellini, Nilton Santos, Orlando and Gilmar;
M. Américo, Joel, Didi, Mazzola, Vavá and Zagallo.

Reserves: Castilho (G), Djalma Santos, Mauro, Zózimo, Oreco, Zito, Pelé, Dino Sani, Moacir, Dida and Pepe.
Coach: Vicente Feola.

In the build up to the tournament it was widely believed that Brazil possessed the skill, speed, strength and stamina but not the emotional maturity to win the tournament. From the team of 1954, few remained; from the principals, only two: Nilton Santos and Didi. On May 29th, Brazil played against Fiorentina; in a given moment, Garrincha takes the ball and dribbles the entire defense; before kicking to the open goal, he awaits another defender to arrive; he dribbles the adversary again and only then does he score the goal. The psychologist said that such a player had no conditions to play in the Brazilian team. In the next match, on June 1st, against Internazionale in Milan, Joel had replaced Garrincha. After a disappointing draw against England it was believed that the team needed a bit of unpredictability for the match against USSR and in came Zito, Pele and Garrincha. The legend of Pele was born. The ‘Black Pearl’ opened his WC account against Wales. He went on to score a hat-trick against Just Fontaine’s France and also scored in the demolition act in the final against Sweden. The world had seen glimpses of the king. Brazil deservingly won the World Cup for the first time.

Why was Pele given # 10? In 1958, the numbers in the uniforms would be defined by the respective comissions, and would remain unchanged through the tournament. The Brazilian Comission, however, overlooked this norm. The Swedish comissioner, rushed before the first Brazilian match, decided to assign numbers by himself.
Pelé, the youngest and probably least known of all players, was given the #10. This is one of the mystical stories which surround the career of Pelé.