Sunday, January 25, 2015

North/Notherneast Brazil Greatest All-team 23 member team

Junior and Socrates

Please also see my All-Time Team Index.

Brazil All-Time Team
Sao Paulo StateRio de Janeiro
North/Northeastern BrazilSouth/Southeastern Brazil
Brazilian-born players capped by other national teams
Afro-Brazlian Players
Brazil All-Time Team After Pele 
Brazil All-Time Team before 1958
If Ronaldo and Messi played for Australia in 2006
Brazil 1982 with Careca, etc

Brazil is geopolitically divided into five regions (also called macroregions). This is the combined all-time team for the North & Northeast regions of Brazil.  The North region (Região Norte do Brasil) consists of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins while the Northeastern region (Região Nordeste do Brasil) included Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe.

Before 1971, Brazil did not have a national league.  The state leagues, notably the Campeonato Paulista (Sao Paulo) and Campeonato Carioca (Rio de Janeiro) were the main football competitions in Brazil.  Most of the big clubs are located in the two states.  The two major states could produce all-time team that would be among the greatest in the world. I have create 23-member all-time teams for both states.  In addition, I create all-team Best XI selections for North & Northeast region, and then another Best XI for South and Southwest(excluding players born in Rio de Janeiro & Sao Paulo).  I was unable to create one for the Central-West.  I could only find two players of note from there.  Both Kaka and Lucio were born in the Federal District.  My All-time Brazil team is located here.

Team
GK: Manga (Recife, Pernambuco)
Manga was the starting keeper for the legendary Botafogo side that also featured Garrincha, Nílton Santos and Zagallo in the great Botafogo of the 1960s, .  He also won the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup in 1971 with the extraordinary Nacional of Cubilla and Artime. For the national team, Hhe went to the World Cup in 1966.

GK: Dida (Irara, Bahia) 
Dida was remembered for his 8 seasons with AC Milan, Dida was the hero of the 2003 Champions' League Final when he helped Milan to win the penalty shootout against Juventus.  He became the first Brazilian goalkeeper to be nominated for Ballon d' Or that year.  He went to three World Cup Finals.  He was the starting keeper in 2006 World Cup Finals for the Seleção.  
Dida
GK: Paulo Vitor (Belem, Para) 
Paulo Vitor had 9 caps.  He was the backup keeper for Brazil at the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico. He played for CEUB, Operário de Várzea Grande, Brasília, Vila Nova-GO, Vitória-ES, Fluminense, América-RJ, Coritiba, Sport Recife, São José, Grêmio de Maringá, Remo Pará, Paysandu and Volta Redonda.

RB: Dani Alves (Juazeirio, Bahia)
Dani Alves spent 6 years with Sevilla, winning two UEFA Cup's before joining Barcelona.  He only played 109 times for Brazil at the time of writing, largely because Maicon was the regular starter during his early career.  In 2016, he joined Juventus, where he played a single season.   He appeared in his fourth Champions League final as Juventus were defeated 4–1 by Real Madrid. In 2017, he joined PSG.

RB: Ze Maria (Oeiras, Piauí)
Ze Maria was a part of the 1997 Copa America winning team, but he never played in the World Cup Finals.  For his club career, he spent 1996 to 2006 playing in Italy, but part of that period was with loan spells playing at home.  He enjoyed the best period of his career with Perugia. He played for many clubs, including Parma and Inter Milan.

CB: Luis Pereira (Juazeirio, Bahia)
Luis Pereira was widely considered to be the best central back in the Seleção's history. He was capped over 30 times, but only the 1974 World Cup Finals held in West Germany and remembered receiving a red card against Holland. He played 562 games with S.E. Palmeiras (34 goals) and 171 games with Atlético Madrid (17 goals). With Atletico Madrid, he was considered one of the best defender playing in Europe.  He won La Liga in 1977.

CB: Rildo (Recife, Pernambuco)
In 1961, Rildo began his senior career with Botafogo. In 1967, he transferred to Santos FC.  Rildo was a member of Pele's Santos team in the late 1960's.  He would also also join him at New York Cosmos in 1977.  From 1963 to 1969, Rildo played 38 times for Brazil. He went to the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico.

CB: Aldair (Ilhéus, Bahia)
Aldair played for Flamengo before heading to Europe.  He started with Benfica, but he was widely remembered for his 13 seasons with Roma.  The club retired his #6 jersey for 10 seasons.  For the national team, he had 80 caps.  He was a key member of the great defensive unit of the World Cup winning team in 1994.   In addition, he also played in the World Cup Finals 1990 and 1998.
Aldair
CB: Ricardo Rocha (Recife, Pernambuco)
Ricardo Rocha played 38 times for Brazil.  He was a member of the World Cup team in both 1990 and 1994.  He was the starting center-back in 1994, but suffered a tournament ending injury on the first game of the Finals.  For his club career, he played for a number of clubs all over the world.  He spent two seasons with Real Madrid.

LB: Junior (Joao Pessoa, Parriba)
Junior was one of the greatest leftback in Brazil's history.  He was the leftback for Brazil in 1982.  He was also a part of the great Flamengo team of the 1980's winning the 1981 Copa Libertadores and 1981 Intercontinental Cup. With 857 matches, he is the player with most appearances for Flamengo. In 1984, he joined Torino in Italy.  He played 70 times for Brazil.  He went to the World Cup Finals in 1982 and 1986.
Junior
LB: Marinho Chagas (Natal, Rio Grande do Norte)
Marincho Chagas was a top leftback during the 1970's and was known as being a right-footed leftback.  He played for many clubs in Brazil, USA and Germany.  His longest stint was with Botafago, which lasted 4 years.  He played with Franz Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto for NY Cosmos.   He was the starting left back at the WC Finals in 1974.

DM: Clodoaldo (Aracaju, Sergipe)
Clodoaldo was a member of Pele's Santos in the 1960's.  He is best remembered for being the defensive midfielder of the 1970 WC Team in Mexico.  At the Final, he contributed to Carlos Alberto's famous goal against Italy by dribbing past 4 Italians. He also played for Tampa Bay Rowdies (1980), New York United (1980) and Nacional-AM (1981).
Clodoaldo 
CM: Mazinho (Santa Rita, Paraíba)
Mazinho is best known as the starting midfielder for Brazil at the 1994 World Cup Finals in the USA.  He was capped 35 times for Brazil, winning the 1989 Copa América, 1994 World Cup and the Silver medal at the 1988 Olympics. He played with Vasco da Gama, Palmeiras and Vitória.  He also played in Italy and Spain.  

LM:  Canhoteiro (Coroatá, Maranhão)
His name literally mean "the left-footed".  He also earned the nickname "the Garrincha of the Left".  He was known for hos dribbling skills.  For his club career, he played with Sao Paulo and was remembered for his battles with Pele's Santos in the 1960's.  He was not selected for the World Cup Finals in 1958, despite being the original starter of the team.

RM: Socrates (Belem, Para) 
Socrates earned over 60 caps between 1979 and 1986. He was the captain of 1982 and 1986 team. One of the best attack midfielders in Brazil's history.  In 1983, he was named South American Footballer of the Year.  He spent 7 seasons with Corinthians.  He went abroad in 1984, playing a season in Serie A with Fiorentina.  He was also a MD, earning the degree while he was an active player.
Socrates
AM: Dirceu (Curitiba, Parana) 
Dirceu were on three World Cup teams: 1974, 1978 and 1982.  His best tournament was in 1978, where he made the All-tournament team and awarded the Bronze Ball.  For his club career, he played for various clubs in Brazil and Mexico before joining Atletico Madrid in 1979.  From 1982 to 1987, he played for 5 different Italian clubs.

AM/AM: Rivaldo (Paulista, Pernambuco)
Rivaldo was a part of the attacking trio known as "Three R's" with Ronaldo and Ronaldinho at the 2002 World Cup Finals.  He scored 5 goals in 5 games as Brazil took its 5th World Cup. He also went to the World Cup Finals in 1998. He won the 1999 Ballon d' Or. He played for many clubs in his career.  He spent five years with Spanish club Barcelona,

AM: Ademir (Recife, Pernambuco)
Ademir formed a great attacking trio with Zizinho and Jair at the ill-fated World Cup Finals in 1950.  That line is considered the greatest ever seen in a World Cup Finals. He won the Golden Boot at the tournament.  He also won the Copa America in 1949. For club football, he had two spells each with Sport Recife and Vasco da Gama. He also had one spell with Fluminense.

AM/CM: Juninho Pernambucano (Recife, Pernambuco)
Juninho Pernambucano was the leading player at Olympique Lyonnais leading them to seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles between 2002 and 2008.  He is one of their greatest ever players. For the national team, his selection was limited by the number of great attackers playing in his generation.  He was only capped 40 times. He went to the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany, where he scored a goal against Japan.
Juninho Pernambucano
LW: Mario Zagallo (Maceio, Alagoas)
Mario Zagallo was involved in 4 of Brazil's 5 World Cup titles.  He won 1958 and 1962 edition as a player.  In 1970, he was the head coach.  And in 1994, he served as an assistant coach.  For his club career, he played for America, Flamengo and Botafago. He was a member of the great Botafago team that also featured Garrincha and Didi.

ST: Vava (Recife, Pernambuco)
Vava's nickname was "Peito de Aço" (Steel Chest). He scored 15 goals in 20 caps for Brazil.  He played in both 1958 and 1962 WC Finals.  He scored in the Final for both tournament, making him one of four players to have scored in two World Cup Final matches. He played for Sport Club do Recife, C.R. Vasco da Gama, S.E. Palmeiras.  He also played for Atletico Madrid from 1958 to 1961. 

ST: Mario Jardel (Fortaleza, Ceará)
During his prime, Mario Jardel  was one of the most prolific strikers in European football.  He scored 266 goals in 274 games.  He won the European Golden Boot for two years. His best years were with Porto, Galatasaray and Sporting CP. His national team career was limited due to playing with a golden generation of good strikers.

ST: Bebeto (Salvador, Bahia) 
With 39 goals in 75 appearances for Brazil, Bebeto is the sixth highest goalscorer for his national team.  At the 1994 World Cup, he formed a formidable strike partnership with Romário to lead Brazil to their fourth World Cup title.  His best club career was with Deportivo La Coruna, where won the Pichichi Trophy in 1993.  He played for Flamengo, Vasco da Gama, Cruzeiro, Botafogo, Sevilla, Toros Neza, Kashima Antlers, and Al Ittihad.
Bebeto

Honorable Mention
Danta, Júnior Baiano, Marcelinho Paraíba.

Squad Explanation
-- Only Luis Pereira and Socrates made my Brazil All-Time TeamJunior, Dani Alves, Bebeto, Mario Zagallo and Junior are considered close to be a member of my all-time team.
-- Mario Zagallo was involved in 4 of Brazil's 5 World Cup titles.  He won 1958 and 1962 edition as a player.  In 1970, he was the head coach.  And in 1994, he served as an assistant coach.  
-- Manga earned legendary status in Brazil.  Dida was the first Brazilian goalkeeper to be nominated for Ballon d' Or.  Before the 1990's, it was unheard of for Brazilian goalkeepers.  I always felt Dida was underrated among Brazilian goalkeepers.
-- Luis Pereira is sometimes considered Brazil's greatest centerbacks.
-- Aldair had a great World Cup Finals in 1994.  He also established himself one of AS Roma's greatest defenders.  
-- Dante and Júnior Baiano are from Bahai.  Dante has a wonderful career with Bayern Munich, but he was never given the chance with the national team.  One of Dante's caps was the semifinal matches against Germany at the World Cup Finals in 2014.  I did not drop him because of one match when everyone else on the team also played poorly. I dropped him because the other center-backs had contributed more to the national team.   Luis Pereira, Aldair and Ricardo Rocha are ahead of him.  Rildo was a well-established star because of playing with Pele's Santos.
-- Junior and Marinho Chagas needed no introduction.  They both earned international recognition while playing in the World Cup Finals. 
-- Juninho Pernambucano dominated the French league during his prime.  Although he was one of the greatest playmakers of his time, he had stiff competition on Brazilian national team for his position..  Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Juninho Paulista, Alex, Kaka, etc all played at the same time of his prime.  He is one of the greatest freekick artists of his generation.
-- Dirceu was also underrated.  He played well in the 1974 and 1978 World Cup Finals.  He was an older player by the 1982 World Cup Finals. He was overshadowed by Zico, Socrates, Falcao and Toninho Cerezo.
-- Socrates came from this region, but his younger brother Rai was born in the state of Sao Paulo.  He was a part of my Sao Paulo All-team team here.
-- Rivaldo won the Ballon d' Or in 1999.  He was one of the greatest players of his generation.
-- Canhoteiro was one of the greatest wingers ever from Brazil.  However, people outside of Brazil probably did not know much about him.  He was not selected for any World Cup Finals.
-- Brazil had a great offensive trio at the 1950 World Cup Finals that featured Ademir de Menezes.  Jair and Zizinho came from Rio de Janeiro.
-- Mario Jardel won the European Golden Boot for two years, but his chances with the national team was very limited.  Adriano, Ronaldo, Romario, Edmundo, Bebeto, Sonny Anderson, Ricardo Oliveira, etc played during his prime.  He only had 10 caps between 1996 and 2001.

Starting lineup
Formation: 4-2-2-2 

2 comments:

  1. You considered Dirceu, Paraná is from the South, not Northeast or North. Anyway, your site is Awesome! Really good work!

    ReplyDelete