Brazil: The Land Of Football Legends

Since the introduction of football into Brazil towards the end of the 19th. century by Charles Miller, a Brazilian of English parentage, the South American country has produced an army of very magnificiently talented players-ball jugglers, intuitive in the grasp of how the Beautiful Game of football should be played.Brazilian players over the years are naturally and traditionally skilful and great spectacle to behold when on the prowl.

Brazilian Football Association which was founded in 1914 and affiliated to FIFA in 1923,attracted copious continental attention in 1919 when the hosted and won the South American Championship-Copa America beating Uruguay winners of the two previous competitions 1-0 with the great Arthur Friedenreich accounting for the goal. The global football fraternity only took brief record of Brazil's exploits in  football at the 1930 &1934 World Cup finals.

But the story changed at the 1938 World Cup in France when they recorded three important milestones-winning their first ever medal- bronze medal, a Brazilian Leonidas da Silva emerging the top scorer with 7 goals and in addition invented the Bicycle Kick which is now popular that Brazil became the cynosure of all eyes. Since then, just a few world football competitions have been held without Brazil and Brazilians having a mention in the honours roll call. These South Americans will always find a place as best players ,top scorers or the inventors of different types of kicks.

In the 1950s,there were great names like Ademir Marques de Menesses who was the golden marksman with 7goals at the 4th.edition of the World Cup which they hosted but were beaten 2-1 by Uruguay inside the grand architecturally designed Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on 16th. June.

A record attendance of 199,854 spectators who oozed out beats of "samba"frantically in the Maracana were strucked to their marrows when Uruguay's predatory forward Alcide Egduardo Ghiggia stabbed home the winning goal in the 83rd.minute to demysitfy the Brazilians right there in their back yard.Faintings and deaths of some of the fanatical supporters were recorded and the match became known in football circle as "Maracanazo" Other great names in Brazilian Football in the 1950s were Manoel Francisco dos Santos Garrincha

Didi Waldir Parreira,Julinho,Augusto, Chico,Zizinho,Friaca,Juvenal.They were complimented by Pinheiro,Castillio, Tozzi,Mario Jorge Lobo Zagallo,Vava, Djalmar Santos,Nilton Santos,Gilmar, Zito, Orlando Pecanha et al.

But the greatest of them all in this great line of succession was Edson Arantes do Nascimento-Pele whose era spanned for about two decades.Pele's records accords him the status of a living legend and football's Ambassador pleninpotentiary !!!

Apart from epitomising the attacking flavour of football,Pele signed,sealed  delivered and popularized the Bicycle kick to the rest of the world from 1958 when he was aposthrophized as a teenage prodigy when he appeared at the World Cup in 1958 in Sweden at the tender age of 17years and 239 days the youngest player until it was erased by Norman Whiteside of Northern Ireland at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. The

No.10 jersey which he wore during his career is now famous.Pele scored 1,282 goals in 1,365 matches-a great feat which has entered the pantheon of history in his milestones enriched career.

From 1957-1971 when Pele wore the famous Brazilian jersey ,he scored a Brazilian record of 77goals.

Jairzinho who virtually took over from.Pele  in the decade of the 1960s shook the world with the 

"Banana kick" invented by his compatriot Garrincha in the 1950s.

Jairzinho's reading of the game was astute,his ball juggling ability that of a craftsman which were all married to his deadly banana kicks which made many great goalkeepers to look ordinary and sombre with his "cheeky" and "text book" goals.Jairzinho scored seven goals to emerge the second top scorer

behind the German Gerd Muller who scored 10 goals at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Gerson,Roberto Rivelino, Carlos Alberto Torres,Clodoaldo,Tostao,

Brito,Everaldo,Wilson Piazza and others during that era engraved their names in gold.Dr.Socrates Sampaio Viera Souza de Oliveira,Artur Antunes Coimbra-Zico

Roberto Falcao,,Careca,Josimar,Muller

Edinho,Leovegildo Lins Gama-Junior,

Eder Aleixo de Assis,Serginho Chulapa,

and a litany of others were simply fantastic.The made headline news with their stupendous talents and very scintillating performances in the 1980s.

In their fold were defence marshals,

midfield generals who festooned their midfield and rampaging goal poachers who jived,jigged and gyrated around many opposite defences in their era before scoring trailer loads of goals for their clubsides and national teams.

They were the core disciples of

"Jogo bonito",that Brazilian combination of art and science football, the brain child of the great teacher,tactician, wise campaigner and football philosopher.

Tele Santana.The late 1980s and 1990s witnessed the emergence of worthy successors  of the afore mentioned legion.Brazil's pure gold Bebeto,

Romario Farias,Edmundo,Jorginho,

Rai(Younger brother of Socrates), Cafu,Carlos Dunga,Claudio Taffarel,

Renato,Andre Cruz et al followed in this great line of succession.In the decade of the 1990s,the quintet of the five "Rs"

Romario,Ronaldo da Lima,Rivaldo, Ronaldinho,Roberto Carlos consistently posted spectacular performances and won many highly coveted medals at the Continental and global levels that further comfirmed Brazil as the land of football legends.The popular quintet handed the banner over to the likes of Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Dani Alves, Kaka ,Paulinho, Willian, Hulk, Oscar, Fred, Luiz Gustavo, Marcelo, Fernandinho, Julio Cesar and the jewel in the pack Neymar dos Santos.

B-R-A-Z-I-L..is indeed the land football legends...!!

SOURCE: BRAZILIAN FOOTBALL