Would I be wrong to say “Brazil without football is lame and football without Brazil is blind?” I leave it up to you to decide.
The FIFA World Cup tournament is almost halfway through. The hard-fought battles are being watched by billions scattered across the globe, for this event is the “greatest show on Earth.”
Who would like to be cast away from this historical celebration? No one. The starving in the shanties, the happy residents of the street, the rich in their calm terraces, the loner in his sanctuary, the uneasy head in the fortresss, and the princess in the palace – all are now glued to their TV sets or have booked their seats in the stands to watch the million dollar boys in action.
Imagine the run up to this stage! More than 100 countries from all corners of the globe play for the qualifying stages. The qualifying matches kick off almost two years before the finals. Eventually, the finals begin with the top 32.
Among these 32, Brazil is the only team which deserves special mention. They deserve the adulation and respect they get. Brazil, ever since its inception in the football arena, has been the most illuminating of all sides taking part in international and regional tourneys.
Brazil’s history in the World Cup, their dazzling, rhythmic performance, is nothing short of amazing.
Football, basically a sport of might and crude skill, has turned into a soft, romantic, and light metal sport. With artful skill in sprinting and superb control over the ball, mesmerising magic of dribbling, the headers and swingers applied by the awesome players are all gradual innovations in the game.
Brazil has been the master of all these innovations. Now, football has turned into a global samba and the waves of this samba have reached all shores of the world.
Starting its journey in 1914, Brazil had to travel quite a bumpy road. Initially, the national football teams did not fare well against the oppositions. Gradually, stars began to be born in this land of poverty. God chose this land to be the land of football messiahs.
The king of football (Pele) was born there, legends like Zico, Socrates, Romario, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and many others have been the diamond studs of their national and global football.
Over the years, despite whatever stumbling blocks the team had to face due to its own faults and occasional poor performance, the art and science of the game began to emerge.
The rhythm was first discovered in their run, skills which are typical of their own, have won many games for the nation. Their beauty, ferocity, and commitment won them fans around the world.
The most successful team in football, in the history of the World Cup, Brazil, has won five championships – in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002. They are also the most successful team in the FIFA Confederations Cup with four titles.
Brazil are the current holders of the FIFA Confederations Cup after winning the tournament in 1997, 2005, 2009, and 2013. Brazil is the only national team to have played in all FIFA World Cups without a single absence.
Brazil have also qualified for every World Cup without the need for playoffs. Brazil’s national football team has the all-time highest average Football Elo Ranking in the world with 2012.9, and the second all-time highest Football Elo Ranking in the world, with 2153 in 1962, only behind the Hungarian Golden Team of 1954.
Brazil has won a total of 72 official international titles throughout professional and grassroots level selections, setting a world record. Their achievements have led CONMEBOL to consider them “the most glorious and successful of all national teams from South America and the World.”
Brazil has turned into a global team for many years now. Brazil, for its style of football, has become a nation of the world. Wonderboys Neymar and Oscar, and also Luis, Fred, Caesar, and Hulk have become sons of the world. The world has become Brazil.
While we now watch the team coming out of the stands on to the ground, quiet and composed, adorning the yellow shirts, we feel their magical prowess.
The very presence of the team is felt all around the world, especially the team playing Brazil in any particular match. The commitment, the composed ferocity, inherent art of skill – all these dwarf any other team.
The opposition, in any tournament, takes on the “beauty giants” with only half a chance. The remaining 50% erodes well before the game has even started.
Imagine if Brazil had lost to Chile! God saved the competition. Fortune favours the brave, as they say.
If Brazil takes early leave, will the sun shine in the landscape of the current competition? Just think of the crowd, FIFA, sponsors, TV channels, the print industry, food outlets, and most importantly, the billions of hearts and minds that cherish all of the team’s past glories.
Brazil’s departure would mean the ultimate defeat for football. World Cup deliberations will be in oblivion for the next four years.