São Paulo State Greatest All-time 23 member team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

Zito and Mazzola

Please also see my All-Time Team Index.

Brazil
Santos, Sao Paulo, Corithians, Palmeiras.
Sao Paulo State, Rio de Janeiro
North/Northeastern Brazil, South/Southeastern Brazil
Brazilian-born players capped by other national teams
Afro-Brazlian Players
Brazil All-Time Team After Pele 
Brazil All-Team Under Mari Zagallo
Brazil All-Time Team before 1958

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.

Sao Paulo is home of Santos, Corinthians, Palmeiras, São Paulo FC. Guarani, Portuguesa, Juventus and Ponte Preta.  This is my selection of all-time 23-member team from players born in the State of Sao Paulo.

Team
GK: Gilmar (Santos, Sao Paulo)
Gilmar was the goalkeeper for WC 1958, 1962 and 1966 winning two titles. He had 104 caps. Also a member of Pele's Santos team of the 1960's. With Gilmar between the posts, Santos conquered almost every championship they competed in: they won five São Paulo State Championships (1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968), five National Championships (1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965), two Libertadores Cups (1962 and 1963) and two Intercontinental Cups. 

Gilmar

GK: Emerson Leao (Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo)
Emerson Leao played 80 times for Brazil. He won a World Cup in Mexico 1970 as the backup keeper.  He started at West Germany 1974 and Argentina 1978.  He was the first Brazilian goalkeeper in history to be team captain (during the 1978 World Cup). At the club level, he played for several clubs, his longest term being at Palmeiras.

GK: Moacir Barbosa (Campinas, Sao Paulo)
Barbosa was one of the greatest keepers in Brazil's history, but he was, however, associated with Brazil's loss to Uruguay in 1950, in an upset loss dubbed as the Maracanazo.  He became the scapegoat of the event.  He was also a member of the Brazilian team that won the 1949 Copa America.  For his club career, he played mainly for Vasco Da Gama.

RB: Djalma Santos (Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo)
Some considered DJ Santos as the best right back in the football history. He is one of only three players to be included into three FIFA World Cup All Star team. He starred at WC Finals in 1954, 1958 and 1962.  He also went to the WC in 1966.  Santos started his career with Portuguesa. In 1959, he moved to Palmeiras. He played almost 500 games for the club, winning several league and cup titles. He left the club in 1968, joining Atlético Paranaense for a short spell before retiring in 1970. 

RB: Cafu (Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo)
Cafu is the all-time cap record holder for Brazil with 142.  He is the only man to play in three World Cup Finals, winning in 1994 and 2002.  He was the captain of the national team as they won the World Cup in 2002.  With Brazil, he also took part in four editions of the Copa América, winning the title twice, in 1997 and 1999. He played with Sao Paulo,  Real Zaragoza, Juventude, Roma, Palmeiras and AC Milan. He was South American Player of the Year in 1994.   

Cafu

CB: Marcio Santos (Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo)

Marcio Santos played 43 times for Brazil between 1990 and 1997, scoring five goals.  He was the starting center-back for Brazil in the 1994 World Cup Finals, in which Brazil won their 4th title.  However, he missed his penalty in the Final against Italy. He played for several clubs throughout his career, such as Internacional, Fiorentina, Ajax and São Paulo FC. 

CB: Bellini (Itapira, Sao Paulo)

Bellini was Brazil's captain for the World Cup Finals in 1958. He was credited for starting the tradition of lifting the trophy high in the air, making the gesture winning symbol.  He won another World Cup in 1962 and participated also at 1966 FIFA World Cup as the team captain again.  During his career he played for Vasco da Gama, São Paulo FC and Atlético Paranaense. 

CB: Julio Cesar (Bauru, Sao Paulo)
Julio Cesar went to Mexico 1986 and was named in the team of the tournament.  However, his international career was limited to 13 times.  For his club career, he played for many clubs in Europe, notably with Juventus and Borussia Dortmund.  He won the Champions' League in 1997, beating his former club, Juventus in the Final.

CB: Roberto Dias (Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo)
While playing for Sao Paulo, Roberto Dias was considered a rival respected by Pele. Pele considered him one of the best center-backs in Brazil.  He was capped 27 times between 1963 and 1968, but never went to the World Cup Finals.  He was on the 1960 Olympic football team in Rome. He played mainly for Sao Paulo FC.

LB: Roberto Carlos (Garca, Sao Paulo)

He was regarded one of the best leftbacks in history.  He had 125 caps for Brazil playing in three WC Finals. He won 3 Champions League titles with Real Madrid and one WC title with Brazil in 2002.  In 1997 he was runner-up in the FIFA World Player of the Year.  He is especially famous for a free kick from 35m out against France in the  Tournoi de France 1997. The goal is considered one of the greatest goals ever scored.

Roberto Carlos

LB: Marco Antonio (Santos, Sao Paulo)
Marco Antonio played 52 times for Brazil. He was a part of the World Cup winning team in 1970, but only played in 2 games.  He also went to West Germany 1974.  He played his club football, mainly with Fluminense, winning Campeonato Carioca (Rio de Janeiro State championship) in 1969, 1971, 1973 and 1975 with them.  

DM: Zito (Roseira, Sao Paulo)

With Brazil, Zito earned 52 caps and won the World Cup in 1958, and 1962.  He played his entire career with Santos.  He was the captain of the "Os Santásticos" team of the late 1950s and 1960s, playing alongside Pelé, Pepe and other Brazilian stars. He was known as a leader that a young Pele respected throughout his career.

DM: Mauro Silva (Sao Bernardo, Sao Paulo)

Mauro Silva was a member of Brazil's World Cup winning team in 1994.  He was capped 59 times. He played for Brigantine in Brazil before joining Deportivo La Coruna in 1992.  For Deportivo La Coruna, he amassed competitive totals of 458 games and one goal over 13 La Liga seasons, winning six major titles. One of them was the La Liga title in 2000. Silva represented Brazil at the 1994 World Cup and two Copa América tournaments, winning the former tournament.

Mauro Silva 

DM: Bauer (Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo)
For Brazil national football team he played 29 matches, won Copa América 1949 and participated at two FIFA World Cup finals, in 1950 and 1954. His last match in this tournament is famous Battle of Berne. He played mainly for Sao Paulo and Botafago.  He won six São Paulo State Championship (1943, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949 and 1953).  He was known as the coach who discovered Eusebio in Mozambique. 

DM/CM: Ze Roberto (Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo)
Ze Roberto first made his name with Bayer Leverkusen during one of the club's glorious years.  He moved to Bayern Munich in 2002 and played for them from 2002 to 2006, and then, another spell between 2007 and 2009.  He was considered to be one of the best players in the Bundesliga.  For the national team, he was capped 85 times.  He went to two WC Finals: 1998 and 2006.

RW: Julinho (Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo)

During his career (1951–1967), Julinho played for Portuguesa, Fluminense and Palmeiras.  He was nominated as the best player in the history of Fiorentina in 1996.  He was one of the greatest winger in Serie A history.  He had 24 caps for Brazil.  He was one of the best player at the World Cup Finals in 1954.  He turned down a chance to play in the 1958 WC Finals in Sweden, giving the way for Garrincha to shine.

AM: Juninho Paulista (Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo)
Juninho Paulista was given the framed number 10 shirt at Copa America in 1995.  He went on to earn over 50 caps for Brazil and he was a member of the 2002 World Cup winning team.  For club football, he had two successful spells with Middlesbrough.  He  played with Juninho Pernambucano at Vasco Da Gama in which he added "Paulista" to his pseudonym to differentiate them. He also played with São Paulo FC, Palmeiras,  Flamengo, Atlético Madrid, Celtic and Sydney FC.

Juninho Paulista

AM: Rai (Ribeirão Preto, Sao Paulo)
Rai is the younger brother of Socrates.  He was a member of the 1994 WC winning team.  he was originally the captain of the squad, but a loss of form during the Finals limited him to a substitute.  He enjoyed a successful career with Paris St.Germain, where he was widely considered the best player in the French league.  He helped them to win the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996.  He was also a key player for Sao Paulo.

AM/LW: Rivelino (Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo)

Rivelino is considered to be one of the greatest left-sided midfielder ever.  His signature move was the "flip-flap". He was a member of Brazil's great 1970 team and also played in the 1974 team.  He had 92 caps for Brazil.  He started his career with Corinthians, but in one of the club's worst period in history. He moved to Fluminense in 1974, forming a great team with Carlos Alberto.  He also played for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

Rivelino

LW/FW: Pepe (Santos, Sao Paulo)
Pepe was considered the second best striker ever played for Santos after Pele.  His nickname was "Canhão da Vila" (The Vila Cannon), because of his potent kick with his left leg and the fact that Santos plays in the Estádio Urbano Caldera, nicknamed Vila Belmiro. He went to both WC Finals in 1958 and 1962, but did not play a single game. 

AM/FW: Neymar (Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paulo) 
Neymar was known as the greatest player ever produced by Santos since Robinho.  He moved to Barcelona FC in 2013, where Barcelona FC and his family were founded to have invoilved under the table money.  In 2017, he again moved to PSG after the French club paid for his release clause and became the most expensive transfer ever.  For Brazil, he played at the WC Finals in 2014, but missed the 7-1 defeat in the semi-final.

ST: Arthur Friedenreich (Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo) 

The "Tiger" was the first Afro-Brazilian professional players in Brazil.  He was also one of the first star players from Brazil. He played 22 times for Brazil, including wins in the 1919 and 1922 editions of the Copa América, scoring ten goals. He did not attend the first World Cup Finals in 1930 because only players from Rio traveled to Uruguay. He was a son of a German immigrant father and an African Brazilian mother. 

ST: Jose Altafini/Mazzola (Piracicaba, Sao Paulo)
In Brazil, he was known as Mazzola because of his resemblance with  Italian attacking midfielder Valentino Mazzola.  He started to use his real name Jose Altafini after he joined AC Milan in 1958.  He is the current 4th top-scorer in Italy's Serie A history.For the national team, he was the original starter on the 1958 World Cup team, but was replaced in the semifinal and the final.

ST: Careca (Araraquara, Sao Paulo)
Careca had 64 caps for Brazil.  He supposed to be the starting striker of the star-studded 1982 World Cup team, but he missed the Finals with an injury.  Instead, he starred at the 1986 WC Finals in Mexico.  He finsished second in scoring with 5 goals.  He also played in the 1990 World Cup Finals in Italy.  For club career, he was remembered for playing with Napoli as a teammate of Diego Maradona. 

Careca

Honorable mention
GK: Waldir Peres (Garca, Sao Paulo)
GK:  Batatais (Batatais, Sao Paulo)
GK: Cabeção (Sao P{aulo, Sao {Paulo)

GK: Carlos (Vinhedo, Sao Paulo)
GK: Marcos (Oriente, Sao Paulo)
GK: Felix (Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo)

AM: Robinho (São Vicente, São Paulo)

AM: Djalminha (Santos, Sao Paulo)

Squad Explantion 
-- Arthur Friedenreich, Djalma Santos, Rivelino, Cafu and Roberto Carlos are automatic selections. No explanation is needed.  Neymar needed a big international tournament to seal his place in history. He is close to being an automatic selection.  I also think Careca is an automatic selection.
-- Gilmar, Roberto Carlos, DJ Santos and Rivelino are on my all-time Brazil team.
-- Fifteen players on this team have won the World Cup.  Bellini and Cafu won the World Cup as Brazil's captains.  By contrast, my
Rio de Janeiro all-time team only has 8 World Cup winners, but it has some of the biggest World Cup heros from Brazil.  Thy have Romario, Ronaldo, Garrincha, etc.
-- I created  all-time team for Santos, Sao Paulo, Corithians and Palmeiras.
-- Sao Paulo is actually a cradle of good goalkeepers.  Gilmar, Emerson Leao and Barbosa were among the greatest Brazilian keepers in history.  Zetti, Doni, Marcos, Felix, Carlos, Batatais, Waldir Peres and Cabeção were all born in the state. 
-- Moacir Barbosa was a good keeper, but he became the scapegoat for the failure at the World Cup Finals in 1950.
-- Julio Cesar (centerback) had a great club career in Europe.  
-- With Cafu and DJ Santos from this area, I never looked at any other rightbacks. 
-- The state has great defensive midfielders: Ze Roberto, Bauer, Zito and Mauro Silva.
-- Zito's leadership was well-known in Brazil.  He was a mentor to a young Pele when they played together with Santos.  
-- I always thought Ze Roberto was underrated.  He proved himself with Bayern Munich. 
-- Julinho is underrated.  He shined at the 1954 World Cup Finals, but he did not have his chance in 1958 because of the emerge of Garrincha.  He was nominated as the best player in the history of Fiorentina in 1996.
-- Pepe did not have a chance to shine outside of Brazil. He never played in a game at the World Cup Finals. So his international reputation suffered.
-- Rai was born in Ribeirão Preto, Sao Paulo, but his brother Socrates was born in Para. Rai had a poor World Cup Finals in 1994, but he had a great career with PSG.
-- Juninho Paulista played with Juninho Pernambucano at Vasco Da Gama in which he added "Paulista" to his pseudonym to differentiate them.  I do not know Portuguese or Brazilian slang.  I believed that the endings of both names have to do with their birthplace.  I took him over Djalminha.
-- Djalminha had stiff competition  in Brazil for his position during his prime. Rai, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Juninho Pernambucano, Juninho Paulista, Alex, Kaka, etc all played at the same time of his prime.  He was an all-time at Deportivo La Coruna.
-- Arthur Friedenreich is probably Brazil's first football idol.  I did not select him on my all-time for Brazil, largely because he was playing in an era before Brazil became a super power in football.  He made it to this all-state team.
--  Jose Altafini/Mazzola is one of Italy's Serie A's greatest scorers.  He was Pele's backup in the 1958 World Cup Finals.  Some modern fans probably got confused because he had two different names.  In Brazil, he was known as Mazzola because of his resemblance with  Italian attacking midfielder Valentino Mazzola.  He started to use his real name Jose Altafini after he joined AC Milan in 1958.
-- Careca is already highly rated, but his reputation might be even better if he went to the 1982 World Cup team.  I did a blog team a new 1982 Brazilian national team with Careca on the team.
-- At the time of writing, Neymar is considered one of the best players in the world.  However, he has not done much for Brazil.  I do not know how to rank him.  He edged out Robinho.  

Starting Lineup
Formation: 4-2-2-2
I used a classic 4-2-2-2 formation from Brazil.

Formation
In 2020, I did a review.  Neymar should start on the wing, but I probably can't decide whom to drop.