Brazil 1982: Falcao, Socrates, Cerezo

Uniquim

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Don't forget about Zico. He was one of the all-time greats.

Leandro, Léo Júnior and Zico all played for Flamengo at that time. The team that beat Liverpool 3-0 in the Intercontinental Cup in 1981. Was a pretty solid team that too.
Sócrates joined them a few years later.
 

Inigo Montoya

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Not a patch on Netherlands 1974 and arguably a little lower than Hungary 1954

Otherwise, mostly agree
I never saw the Hungary 54. In fact I doubt if any in here did.

Not a patch is a stretch. The 74 Netherlands were good but had the same flaws; a tendency to showboat
 

Gio

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Vast majority? 2 Ballon D'Ors Kaka and Ronaldinho in their primes. Adriano in his prime, Ronaldo was 29.. The full backs were old, thats it Thats already better than most non-winning world cups teams had.
If you look at the star core of that team that reached the 1998 final and won in 2002, the main men were all past their best. Both full-backs were on the wane - even though Cafu at 36 was still smashing it, Roberto Carlos was 33, Ronaldo was 7 years and as many injuries and stones past his prime.

In theory an attack built around Ronaldinho, Kaka and Adriano should have made them favourites because they were on fire in 2004 and 2005. But 2006 was a year too late. Ronaldinho should have been at his unbelievable peak, but after May 2006 was a shadow of the player he had been and didn't turn up.

The problem was part tactical though. They would have been better off using Ronaldo off the bench. The uber-attacking 4-2-2-2 had four players who did next to nothing off the ball. It was only a matter of time before they were exposed by a hard-working unit.
 

paraguayo

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If you look at the star core of that team that reached the 1998 final and won in 2002, the main men were all past their best. Both full-backs were on the wane - even though Cafu at 36 was still smashing it, Roberto Carlos was 33, Ronaldo was 7 years and as many injuries and stones past his prime.

In theory an attack built around Ronaldinho, Kaka and Adriano should have made them favourites because they were on fire in 2004 and 2005. But 2006 was a year too late. Ronaldinho should have been at his unbelievable peak, but after May 2006 was a shadow of the player he had been and didn't turn up.

The problem was part tactical though. They would have been better off using Ronaldo off the bench. The uber-attacking 4-2-2-2 had four players who did next to nothing off the ball. It was only a matter of time before they were exposed by a hard-working unit.
I think its more to motivation than tactics. The Brazil team post 2002 smashed everything in front of them, including Argentina 4-1 in Confed finals. Closest thing to the dream teams USA put in basketball I've seen in football. Like 5 Ballon D'or caliber players. But yes by 2006 I would like to have seen Maicon in place of Cafu, and funnily enough a Kleberson style runner at DM. Would add more dynamism.
 

GodShaveTheQueen

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never saw the Hungary 54. In fact I doubt if any in here did.
Their best game ever is available on the internet. And their record is better than anyone else's except for the lost final.

Not a patch is a stretch. The 74 Netherlands were good but had the same flaws; a tendency to showboat
Their attack was more complete (Brazil wasn't great upfront) and their defense was better as well. More importantly their philosophy changed the game for good.
 

Inigo Montoya

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Their best game ever is available on the internet. And their record is better than anyone else's except for the lost final.



Their attack was more complete (Brazil wasn't great upfront) and their defense was better as well. More importantly their philosophy changed the game for good.
I was just talking specifically about those 3. The Dutch were a great all round side. But that midfield brought romance and excitement back

PS didn’t that Dutch side get undone by Czechoslovakia in the Euros of 76? 3–1 I think
 

meninred

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The most talented team ever in in terms of sheer skill. This was the first team i watched when i was a kid. The midfield of socrates falcao and zico is the best ever for me. Zidane is the only player that is close to them. The support cast of cerezo junior and eder was amazing too.They make you fall in love with football ( not with women..lol).
 

Xeno

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If you look at the star core of that team that reached the 1998 final and won in 2002, the main men were all past their best. Both full-backs were on the wane - even though Cafu at 36 was still smashing it, Roberto Carlos was 33, Ronaldo was 7 years and as many injuries and stones past his prime.
R9 is (imo) the best CF of all time, but yes he wasn't a force anymore. Maybe the bench but realistically dropped. Adriano shouldn't have been anywhere near that squad but the perceived baton change from R9 is quite alluring. Never thought RC3 was more than an uber-attacking LB with an incredible free kick.

Ronaldo was half the player he was at his prime at the time. Or twice the player if you're speaking more literally. Adriano was already on the way down. I'd give you Kaka & Ronaldinho though, should've been a great tournament for them and a chance for Dinho to secure his place among the all-time greats :(
R9 as above. Adriano never peaked. Kaka again never peaked excluding 6 months in 2007. R10 is the quintessential showboater. Incredible footballer but hardly a linchpin in your team. Plus peak Dida and Lucio... I think the Fench beating them was fair.

Zidane is the only player that is close to them.
Never saw these '82 Brazilians you speak of, ergo Zizou <3.
 

Sweet Square

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Socrates was a interesting fellow.

Sócrates - midfielder and anti-dictatorship resistor

Brazil and Corinthians midfielder, doctor of medicine and philosophy, Sócrates also organised demonstrations of opposition to Brazil's military dictatorship.
Born Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, Sócrates captained Brazil at both the 1982 and 1986 World Cups.

Sòcrates has his father to thank for his unusual name. His father was from was a poor family from the Amazon who taught himself to read. With no education he still built himself a huge library (which the young Sòcrates would go and read from). Interested in ancient Greek philosophy he called his son Sòcrates.

Sòcrates also had a prolific club career, spending six years at the historically left-wing Corinthians. The first working class team in Brazil, Corinthians was set up by immigrant labourers in São Paulo in a time when football in Brazil was an elitist sport, played only by the descendents of British ex-patriots or people working for British companies.

More than football, however, Sòcrates was interested in social issues:

Quote:
"In 1964 there was a military coup. I was 10 and remember my father burning his book on the Bolsheviks. That started my interest in politics. The football came by accident. I was a child of the dictatorship. I always had my eyes turned to the social injustices in the country and I had colleagues who had to hide and run away. I just happened to be good at football."
When he he transferred to Corinthians in 1978, he soon tired of the way players were treated by the management, an authoritarian regime which he saw as an extension of the unjust politics of Brazil.

It was while playing for Corinthians that Sócrates co-founded the Corinthians Democracy movement to take on Brazil's brutal dictatorship. It aimed at ending the regime's authoritarian treatment of football players and in support of the wider democratisation movement:

Quote:
"The clubs wanted to have complete control, whereas we felt that the players should be consulted and not treated like children. We did not just object to the simple problems, but the bigger political picture."
Corinthians won the state championship in 1982 with "Democracia" printed on their shirts.

Quote:
"That was the greatest team I ever played in because it was more than sport. My political victories are more important than my victories as a professional player. A match finishes in 90 minutes, but life goes on."
His reason to transfer to Fiorentina in Italy

n 1984, Sòcrates spoke in front of 1.5 million people at a political rally. The crowd cheered as he said that if congress passed a constitutional amendment to re-establish free elections, he would turn down an offer to play in Italy and stay in Brazil. The vote did not get through, however, and Sòcrates went to play with Fiorentina for a season.

When in Italy, he stated unequivocally that rather than cars and luxury houses, he wanted to learn from Italy's books. When asked which Italian he respected the most, Mazzola or Rivera (football players of Inter and AC Milan, respectively), he responded:

Quote:
I don't know them. I'm here to read Gramsci in original language and to study the history of the workers' movement.
Both him and Cantona stand out for me as players who football was almost secondary for them.
 

jimmyb2000

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I don't think we'll ever see a team score (and nearly score) so many ridiculous goals in the space of one tournament. What a pleasure to watch them in full flow. Scotland had a cracking team then comprising the key players of club teams dominating European football yet we were outclassed by sheer brilliance - Zico's free-kick and Eder's chip were unstoppable.

Their two flaws were at centre-forward and centre-half. It was a pity Careca got injured in the run-up as otherwise their all-out-attack strategy may have paid off. And they were clearly a lot weaker in the heart of defence compared to their rivals that summer - Italy (Scirea/Bergomi), Germany (Forster/Stielike), Argentina (Passarella), France (Tresor/Bossis), Poland (Zmuda) - where there was top-end quality leading the organisation.
Great days, I'll never forget the period when Partick Thistle were dominating European club football.