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If you are a young teenager, maybe you don't remember back in the day when the first Ronaldo in history was laying waste on every stadium in Spain and Italy, or Rivaldo showing off his amazing talent with FC Barcelona. Even Ronaldinho who was the last really talented player Brazil had, the Brazil squad was filled with true beasts of the game in all their lines. That squad reminded king Pele of the sixties when he ruled the world of football with Brazil and their star filled team.
Those days are gone now, Brazil only has Neymar and there are very few other players who can be considered as good as the star from Barcelona. This is something that Pele is very aware and sad about, he was witness of a horrible time when Germany scored 7 goals against Brazil at their own world Cup back in 2014. This is something that would not have happened to Ronaldo's side a decade ago, not a chance.
Talking to ESPN, Pele revealed that: "I am sad just talking about it. I cried watching that game [the 7-1 loss to Germany] and not just because of the score. I cried because I do not know what happened to the joy of Brazilian football. Maybe this summer in the Olympics and Copa America, we can remind the world of how Brazil plays soccer, but it will not be easy. I fear we have lost our way. There is no flair. Other South American countries like Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador now play more beautiful soccer than Brazil and you see what happens in the last two Copa Americas. We lose to Paraguay on penalties.
"Myself, Gerson, Rivelino, and Tostao were all No. 10s and yet [then coach Mario] Zagallo wanted us all on the field at the same time so he created a formation that could accommodate us. Then in Japan [at the 2002 World Cup], we had Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo who all had great flair and we won again. But today we have a coach who doesn't care about individual expression. Neymar cannot do it alone. You saw what happened in the World Cup when he couldn't play against Germany."
Photo credit: Brazil
