History Of Football: The Beautiful Game

Brazil (1x5)

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Considered by many to be the most prolific nation in football terms, this episode looks at the South Americans and their impact on the game. They are without doubt the most successful nation of all time, having won the most World Cups, the most recent being in Japan and Korea in 2002. Their flamboyant style stems from when the racial problems were overcome and black players were incorporated into the national team. This worked well for the team until they were hosts of the World Cup in 1950 and a new format was trialled where rather than having a final, teams would play a round robin format. The Brazilians lost to neighbours Uruguay therefore failing on their home soil and the blame was aimed at the black players. This feeling changed however at the 1958 World Cup when the introduction of Pele saw the team succeed yet again. The debate as to whether Pele was the greatest Brazilian player of all time still rages to this day as many feel it was Garrincha. Brazilians may produce the best players in the world, but they also produce the worst administrators, this topic is also covered here.