STARTING XI
REMAINING SQUAD MEMBERS
3 best players not in the squad:
Brazil have won more World Cups than any other nation, and are the only nation to have appeared in every tournament. They inevitably have the strongest starting XI of all these teams on average. 6 players make it from the 1970 World Cup squad, often considered the greatest team in football history, but they have lots of great players from other eras too. I was comfortable with Gilmar in the starting XI. Having Alisson in the squad might be controversial, especially given Brazil's World Cup winning goalkeepers such as Claudio Taffarel, but I see Alisson as a generational keeper with very few weaknesses, and have him close to a Gold IV ranking. Mauro Ramos just missed out at centre-back in the squad, because Carlos Alberto could cover as fourth choice. The starter next to Da Guia between Thiago Silva and Pereira was a close call. Brazil have had more world-class full-backs than any other nation, but the 4 full-backs spoke for themselves as some of the very best of all-time. Djalma Santos was the closest option. Falcao can act as the holding midfielder in this team. He has enough support with Didi next to him, while Pele plays as a second-striker infront. Gerson, Socrates & Zico cover these roles in the squad. I was disappointed I couldn't start Zico, but I don't think the balance would have been right, so the front 4 were pretty much set in my mind. They have the best attacking average of any nation. Jairzinho is Garrincha's backup, while Rivellino is Ronaldinho's. I strongly considered choosing Neymar here, as he is a more natural left-winger than Rivellino. But it was difficult to deny Rivellino this role, when he won several awards playing there in the great 1970 World Cup team. Romario covers Ronaldo's starting spot, and the last spot in the squad went to the best player who was not yet included - Zizinho. Despite having three attacking midfielders here, Pele can also play upfront. Players By Decade: 1970's (7), 2000's (3), 1960's (3), 1990's (2), 1980's (2), 1950's (2), 2020's (1), 2010's (1), 1940's (1), 1930's (1) World-Class Brazilian Players (75)
Honourable Mentions (Close to Gold):
DEF: Edinho / Josimar / Nelinho
MID: Alemao / Clodoaldo / Fernandinho / Juninho Per. / Piazza / Ze Roberto ATT: Amarildo / Chico / Dinamite / Edu / Elber / Firmino / Tesourinha Top 20 Brazilian Players of All-Time (& their all-time positional rank) |