 |
| Pele with Jairzinho |
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
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
Brazil 1982 with Careca, Reinaldo etc
Brazilian footballers who shared names with historical figures
This is my selection of a 23 member all-time team for Afro-Brazilian players. The number 23 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the World Cup Finals.
Brazil is the country with the largest black population outside of Africa. When football first came to Brazil over 100 years ago, it was still considered an activity for the white elite. Discriminations were common against Black players. In 1914, Carlos Alberto, a mulatto playing for Fluminense applied white powder to hide his skin color before he took to the pitch. As sweat started to ruin the makeup, white fans in the stadium taunted and mocked him. This ultimately led to one of the club's nicknames, pó de arroz, which is the Portuguese for 'white powder'. In 1950, Barbosa unfairly was blamed for the defeat against Uruguay. Some considered that the color of Barbosa's skin was a main reason why he was blamed.
Nevertheless, today, Brazil is known as the most integrated country in the world. I could not identify the ethnic mix of every individual Brazilian player. Some of the players selected are considered to be Pardo Brazilians(mixed ancestries). I must have excluded and included players by mistakes. Both Neymar and Ronaldo have publicly disassociated themselves as being Afro-Brazilians.
Please see also:
Brazil All-Time Team
Black Players who played for England
French Black Players
African-American Players
Black Portuguese Players
Team
GK: Moacir Barbosa
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.
GK: Dida
Dida is remembered for his 8 seasons with AC Milan. He 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. At the international level, he was capped 91 times between 1995 and 2006. He went to three World Cup Finals. He was the starting keeper in 2006 World Cup Finals for the Seleção.
GK: Manga
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.
RB: Djalma Santos
DJ Santos was considered the best right back in the football history. He is one of only three players to be included into three World Cup All Star team. He also went to the World Cup in 1966. He 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.
RB: Carlos Alberto
Carlos Alberto was one of the greatest fullback ever played the game. He was the captain of the 1970 World Cup winning team in Mexico. His goal in the Final was considered one of the greatest goals in the history of the tournament. He missed the World Cup Finals in 1974 through an injury. He played with Pele both at Santos and NY Cosmos. He had 53 caps for Brazil.
SW/CB: Domingos da Guia
Domingos da Guia was a star defender during the 1940's and is widely considered to be Brazil's greatest defender. He was among the first skilled defender to play the game. He played for several clubs, but notably with Flamengo and Corinthians, and aboard with Boca Juniors. He had 30 caps. He was a star at the 1938 World Cup Finals in France. He made the all-star team at that World cup Finals. His son is Ademir da Guia who also played for Brazil.
CB: Luis Pereira
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: Aldair
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.
CB: Thiago Silva (Rio de Janeiro)
Thiago Silva became the most expensive defender in history when he moved from Milan to Paris St. Germain. Before moving to play in Europe, he played for Juventude and Fluminense in Brazil. He was a key player as Fluminense to the Final of VCopa Libertadores in 2008. For the national team, he was the captain of Brazil ill-fated team in World Cup 2014, but did not play against Germany in the semifinal. He was an unused sub at the WC Finals in 2010.
LB: Roberto Carlos
Roberto Carlos was regarded one of the best leftbacks in history. He had 125 caps for Brazil playing in three World Cup Finals (1998, 2002 and 2006). He won 3 Champions League titles with Real Madrid and one World Cup 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.
LB: Junior
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.
DM: Danilo Alvim
Danilo Alvim is considered one of he greatest defensive midfielder in Brazil's history. He played 25 games between 1946 and 1953, winning the 1949 Copa América. He played on the ill-fated 1950 team alongside Zizinho. For his club career, he was a part of Vasco da Gama's legendary "the Victory Express" team. He also played for America.
DM: Toninho Cerezo
Throughout his career, Cerezo played with Atlético Mineiro, Roma, Sampdoria and São Paulo. He was a legend at Atlético Mineiro. With São Paulo FC, he was the two-times winner of the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Libertadores. He went to Argentina 1978 and Spain 1982. During his time in Italy, Cerezo won the Coppa Italia four times; in 1991 he won the Serie A with Sampdoria.
CM: Didi
Didi is considered one of the greatest players ever from Brazil. He was capped 68 times for Brazil between 1952 to 1962. He was voted the best player in the 1958 World Cup Finals. He was also on the 1954 and 1962 team. He joined Real Madrid in the 1950's, but returned after less than a year because of a personal feud with Alfredo di Stefano. He also played with Garrincha at Botafogo, a team considered among the best ever club side in Brazil.
RW: Garrincha
Garrincha is considered one of the greatest footballers and perhaps the greatest dribbler in history. He inspired Brazil to win the World Cup in 1962, which widely considered the best individual effect in World Cup history. He was the Player of the Tournament that year. He also played in 1958 and 1966. Brazil never lost a single match with Pele and Garrincha on their lineup. He was a member of the great Botafogo's team in the 1960's.
RW: Jairzinho
Jairzinho had 81 caps from Brazil. "The Hurricane" was a star at the 1970 World Cup Finals, where Brazil won. He was one of two players who had scored at every single game of a given World Cup Finals. He also went to the 1974 World Cup Finals in West Germany. For his club career, he played for the famous Botafago team of the 1960's. He was an understudy to Garrincha. He also played in France with Marseille.
AM/FW: Jair
Jair was a member of the great offensive trio for Brazil at the World Cup in 1950. The other two were Zizinho and Ademir. He played for Flamengo and Vasco da Gama before the WC in 1950. After the WC Finals, he played mainly for clubs in Sao Paulo. For the national team, he only made two cameo appearances two years after the ill-fated World Cup Finals.
AM/LM: Ronaldinho
He was a member of the "Three R's" with Rivaldo and Ronaldo that helped Brazil winning the WC in 2002. He started his career with Gemio before moving to Europe. He played with Paris St Germaine and Barcelona before his form started to drop. He formed the REM line with Etoo and Messi before fighting among them destroyed the team.
AM/FW: Rivaldo
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 WC 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: Zizinho
Zizinho was Pele's idol. He was considered the greatest Brazilian player before the 1960's. He was the star of the ill-fated World Cup Finals in 1950 playing alongside Jair and Ademir. For his club career, he played for Flamengo, Bangu, São Paulo FC, Audax Italiano of Chile among others teams. With Flamengo, he won state championships in 1942, 1943 and 1944. He turned down a chance to play in the 1958 World Cup Finals.
FW: Leônidas da Silva
Leônidas da Silva was known as "Black Diamond" and considered the greatest Brazilian footballer before the war. He was credited to be the inventor of "Bicycle Kick". He played in two World Cup Finals: 1934 and 1938. He was the top scorer at the tournament in 1938. He played for a number of clubs in Brazil and Penarol. His longest spells were with Vasco Da Gama and Sao Paulo.
FW: Pele
Pele is considered the greatest player ever in the history of the game. He won his first World Cup in 1958 as a 17 years old in Sweden. He would win his second one in 1962, but he was injured throughout the tournament. In 1970, he won his third and final World Cup, with a team that was considered the greatest ever. He played almost his entire career with Santos. He unretired to join New York Cosmos in 1976.
ST Romario
Romario helped the Seleção to win the 1994 World Cup, receiving the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. He was named FIFA World Player of the Year the same year. He missed the 1998 World Cup Finals because of an injury. One of very few strikers to surpass the mark of 1,000 goals. He was best remembered for his stint with Barcelona.
ST: Ronaldo
Popularly dubbed "O Fenômeno" (The Phenomenon), Ronaldo is widely considered to be one of the greatest football players of all time. He led Brazil to two World Cup Finals match, winning the one in 2002. He scored 8 goals in 2002. He was the winner of Ballon d'Or twice and the World Player of the Year three times. He is the second top-scorer in World Cup history. He played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, and for both AC Milan and Inter Milan. He also played in Holland and Brazil.
Squad Explanation
I created all-time African diaspora team for France, England and the United States. The Brazilian team is the most difficult. Some of the players selected are considered to be Pardo Brazilians. I must have excluded and included players by mistakes. Both Neymar and Ronaldo have publicly disassociated themselves as being Afro-Brazilians. So I decided not to include a section for Honorable Mention. I do not want to make more mistakes. The team is very similar to my all-time Brazil team. I dropped a few players from that team whom I could not identify their ethnic background. I do not need to explain my selections.
Formation
The starting lineup is similar to my all-time Brazil team.
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
Brazil 1982 with Careca, Reinaldo etc
Brazilian footballers who shared names with historical figures
This is my selection of a 23 member all-time team for Afro-Brazilian players. The number 23 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the World Cup Finals.
Brazil is the country with the largest black population outside of Africa. When football first came to Brazil over 100 years ago, it was still considered an activity for the white elite. Discriminations were common against Black players. In 1914, Carlos Alberto, a mulatto playing for Fluminense applied white powder to hide his skin color before he took to the pitch. As sweat started to ruin the makeup, white fans in the stadium taunted and mocked him. This ultimately led to one of the club's nicknames, pó de arroz, which is the Portuguese for 'white powder'. In 1950, Barbosa unfairly was blamed for the defeat against Uruguay. Some considered that the color of Barbosa's skin was a main reason why he was blamed.
 |
| Carlos Alberto who was remembered for the White Powder incident |
Nevertheless, today, Brazil is known as the most integrated country in the world. I could not identify the ethnic mix of every individual Brazilian player. Some of the players selected are considered to be Pardo Brazilians(mixed ancestries). I must have excluded and included players by mistakes. Both Neymar and Ronaldo have publicly disassociated themselves as being Afro-Brazilians.
Please see also:
Brazil All-Time Team
Black Players who played for England
French Black Players
African-American Players
Black Portuguese Players
Team
GK: Moacir Barbosa
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.
GK: Dida
Dida is remembered for his 8 seasons with AC Milan. He 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. At the international level, he was capped 91 times between 1995 and 2006. He went to three World Cup Finals. He was the starting keeper in 2006 World Cup Finals for the Seleção.
 |
| Dida |
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.
RB: Djalma Santos
DJ Santos was considered the best right back in the football history. He is one of only three players to be included into three World Cup All Star team. He also went to the World Cup in 1966. He 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.
RB: Carlos Alberto
Carlos Alberto was one of the greatest fullback ever played the game. He was the captain of the 1970 World Cup winning team in Mexico. His goal in the Final was considered one of the greatest goals in the history of the tournament. He missed the World Cup Finals in 1974 through an injury. He played with Pele both at Santos and NY Cosmos. He had 53 caps for Brazil.
SW/CB: Domingos da Guia
Domingos da Guia was a star defender during the 1940's and is widely considered to be Brazil's greatest defender. He was among the first skilled defender to play the game. He played for several clubs, but notably with Flamengo and Corinthians, and aboard with Boca Juniors. He had 30 caps. He was a star at the 1938 World Cup Finals in France. He made the all-star team at that World cup Finals. His son is Ademir da Guia who also played for Brazil.
 |
| Domingos Da Guia |
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.
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.
CB: Thiago Silva (Rio de Janeiro)
Thiago Silva became the most expensive defender in history when he moved from Milan to Paris St. Germain. Before moving to play in Europe, he played for Juventude and Fluminense in Brazil. He was a key player as Fluminense to the Final of VCopa Libertadores in 2008. For the national team, he was the captain of Brazil ill-fated team in World Cup 2014, but did not play against Germany in the semifinal. He was an unused sub at the WC Finals in 2010.
LB: Roberto Carlos
Roberto Carlos was regarded one of the best leftbacks in history. He had 125 caps for Brazil playing in three World Cup Finals (1998, 2002 and 2006). He won 3 Champions League titles with Real Madrid and one World Cup 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 |
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 |
Danilo Alvim is considered one of he greatest defensive midfielder in Brazil's history. He played 25 games between 1946 and 1953, winning the 1949 Copa América. He played on the ill-fated 1950 team alongside Zizinho. For his club career, he was a part of Vasco da Gama's legendary "the Victory Express" team. He also played for America.
DM: Toninho Cerezo
Throughout his career, Cerezo played with Atlético Mineiro, Roma, Sampdoria and São Paulo. He was a legend at Atlético Mineiro. With São Paulo FC, he was the two-times winner of the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Libertadores. He went to Argentina 1978 and Spain 1982. During his time in Italy, Cerezo won the Coppa Italia four times; in 1991 he won the Serie A with Sampdoria.
CM: Didi
Didi is considered one of the greatest players ever from Brazil. He was capped 68 times for Brazil between 1952 to 1962. He was voted the best player in the 1958 World Cup Finals. He was also on the 1954 and 1962 team. He joined Real Madrid in the 1950's, but returned after less than a year because of a personal feud with Alfredo di Stefano. He also played with Garrincha at Botafogo, a team considered among the best ever club side in Brazil.
 |
| Didi & Pele |
Garrincha is considered one of the greatest footballers and perhaps the greatest dribbler in history. He inspired Brazil to win the World Cup in 1962, which widely considered the best individual effect in World Cup history. He was the Player of the Tournament that year. He also played in 1958 and 1966. Brazil never lost a single match with Pele and Garrincha on their lineup. He was a member of the great Botafogo's team in the 1960's.
 |
| Garrincha |
RW: Jairzinho
Jairzinho had 81 caps from Brazil. "The Hurricane" was a star at the 1970 World Cup Finals, where Brazil won. He was one of two players who had scored at every single game of a given World Cup Finals. He also went to the 1974 World Cup Finals in West Germany. For his club career, he played for the famous Botafago team of the 1960's. He was an understudy to Garrincha. He also played in France with Marseille.
 |
| Jairzinho |
Jair was a member of the great offensive trio for Brazil at the World Cup in 1950. The other two were Zizinho and Ademir. He played for Flamengo and Vasco da Gama before the WC in 1950. After the WC Finals, he played mainly for clubs in Sao Paulo. For the national team, he only made two cameo appearances two years after the ill-fated World Cup Finals.
AM/LM: Ronaldinho
He was a member of the "Three R's" with Rivaldo and Ronaldo that helped Brazil winning the WC in 2002. He started his career with Gemio before moving to Europe. He played with Paris St Germaine and Barcelona before his form started to drop. He formed the REM line with Etoo and Messi before fighting among them destroyed the team.
AM/FW: Rivaldo
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 WC 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: Zizinho
Zizinho was Pele's idol. He was considered the greatest Brazilian player before the 1960's. He was the star of the ill-fated World Cup Finals in 1950 playing alongside Jair and Ademir. For his club career, he played for Flamengo, Bangu, São Paulo FC, Audax Italiano of Chile among others teams. With Flamengo, he won state championships in 1942, 1943 and 1944. He turned down a chance to play in the 1958 World Cup Finals.
 |
| Zizinho |
Leônidas da Silva was known as "Black Diamond" and considered the greatest Brazilian footballer before the war. He was credited to be the inventor of "Bicycle Kick". He played in two World Cup Finals: 1934 and 1938. He was the top scorer at the tournament in 1938. He played for a number of clubs in Brazil and Penarol. His longest spells were with Vasco Da Gama and Sao Paulo.
FW: Pele
Pele is considered the greatest player ever in the history of the game. He won his first World Cup in 1958 as a 17 years old in Sweden. He would win his second one in 1962, but he was injured throughout the tournament. In 1970, he won his third and final World Cup, with a team that was considered the greatest ever. He played almost his entire career with Santos. He unretired to join New York Cosmos in 1976.
 |
| Pele |
Romario helped the Seleção to win the 1994 World Cup, receiving the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. He was named FIFA World Player of the Year the same year. He missed the 1998 World Cup Finals because of an injury. One of very few strikers to surpass the mark of 1,000 goals. He was best remembered for his stint with Barcelona.
ST: Ronaldo
Popularly dubbed "O Fenômeno" (The Phenomenon), Ronaldo is widely considered to be one of the greatest football players of all time. He led Brazil to two World Cup Finals match, winning the one in 2002. He scored 8 goals in 2002. He was the winner of Ballon d'Or twice and the World Player of the Year three times. He is the second top-scorer in World Cup history. He played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, and for both AC Milan and Inter Milan. He also played in Holland and Brazil.
 |
| Ronaldo |
I created all-time African diaspora team for France, England and the United States. The Brazilian team is the most difficult. Some of the players selected are considered to be Pardo Brazilians. I must have excluded and included players by mistakes. Both Neymar and Ronaldo have publicly disassociated themselves as being Afro-Brazilians. So I decided not to include a section for Honorable Mention. I do not want to make more mistakes. The team is very similar to my all-time Brazil team. I dropped a few players from that team whom I could not identify their ethnic background. I do not need to explain my selections.
Formation
The starting lineup is similar to my all-time Brazil team.
roberto carols and ronaldo is black ?? are you sure ?
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure they aren't white! Lol
Deleteare you one of those who consider black to look like Pele!!!. my friend Black comes in many shades...in Africa my friend there are Black-Brown-light Brown skinned people, much lighter than Ronaldo and Neymar and they are BLACK.. let that sink
DeleteI don't mean to casue controvoial issues.
Delete1.Dida
ReplyDelete2.D Santos
3.C A Torress (c)
4.D Da Guai
5.R Carlos
6.Didi
7.Garrincha
8.Pele
9.Ronaldinho
10.Ronaldo
11.Romario
Formation=4–1–3–2
Subs-
1.Manga
2.Barbosa
3.Cafu
4.T Silva
5.Aldair
6.Marcelo
7.Gerson
8.Alvim
9.Jairzinho
10.Zizinho
11.Rivaldo
12.Freidenreich