World Cup 2010 Corner: Will Brazil win the World Cup again
Association football is one the most prominent sport in Brazil. The national team of this wonderful country has won the FIFA World Cup tournament on a record number of five times in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. It is also the only team to succeed in the qualifying rounds for every World Cup competition. Thirdly, Brazil is amongst the favorites to win the trophy every time they have made it to the competition.
Pele, one of the most recognized footballers in history, led Brazil to three World Cup wins and is the top scorer of all time in the sport. After Brazil won its third World Cup, they kept the Jules Rimet Trophy permanently within their garb. All of the contemporary talents in the national team prominent in the football world include Robinho, Ronaldinho, and Kaka, as well as Marta in the women's game. Some of these players can be considered as super-stars, achieving a celebrity-like status on the international level. All these stars have signed whopping sports contracts with regional clubs, along with advertisement and endorsement contracts to the tune of millions of Euros.
Once the residents of Brazil return to their home town this summer, they will be welcomed by nothing less than a jovial chaos and celebrations in the streets of Rio. This is because June the 15th marks the day when soccer's ultimate powerhouse will start its quest for a sixth World Cup title when it faces North Korea in the group stage of South Africa 2010.
Brazil is one of those parts of the world where football truly is life. People in Brazil forget everything when it comes to soccer. The rivalries are strong and the fans are fanatical, the weather, the beaches of Rio, everything in the country is perfect for football. Everyone in Brazil aspires to grow up and be a football star, sometimes these amazing young players settle for simpler lives, but once in a while a superstar does rise to acclaim international glory. Those with academic ambitions leave the country for greener pastures aboard otherwise they stay in Brazil and pursue their football dreams.
One of the most memorable achievements by a Brazilian include superstar striker Ronaldo's dominant eight goal performance in the 2002 World Cup – helping Brazil win its record-setting fifth title in football history. He conquered everything he could possibly achieve as a player, gaining so much popularity that only Michael Jackson could imagine. He set a new world cup record with his 15 World Cup goals in 2002. The 2002 victory capped a string of three straight appearances in the final stages of the FIFA World Cup, beginning in 1994 with a championship followed by a loss to France in the 1998 final. The streak ended in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup when France defeated the Brazilians in a heart-breaker for the South American nation. It was that loss that led to a restructuring of the team.
Shortly after the tournament, Dunga who was the 1994 World Cup captain for Brazil was named the head coach for the team. Since his appointment, he led Brazil to the 2007 Copa America Cup, the team's fourth South American title in the past five tournaments and a whopping achievement of eighth championship wins. Dunga also coached Brazil to its second consecutive Confederations Cup title in 2009. For South Africa 2010, Dunga has collected some controversial choices when the former captain revealed the 23-man squad for South Africa 2010. Many household names including Ronaldinho, Adriano, and Ronaldo, were overlooked to make room for a new generation of stars led by Real Madrid midfielder Kaka along with strikers Robinho and Luis Fabiano, of Santos and Sevilla respectively. But despite the big name omissions, Brazil still has a number of savvy veterans including the Inter Milan trio of defenders Lucio and Maicon and goaltender Julio Cesar, who won the recent Champions League.
To win, the yellow-blue-and-green-clad team that gave the world Pele will firstly need to advance through to the second round of the Cup. Many football pundits have called Brazil’s group as the "Group of Death," which includes Ivory Coast, Portugal and North Korea. Brazil always comes in with a strong group but they usually go up the ladder as the favorites to clinch the trophy. In the last World Cup, Brazil did not have a mental preparation and a winning attitude. However, this time for South Africa 2010, Brazil have a new coach whose mentality seems much stronger.
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