Pele, Ronaldinho…. and? – Time for Brazil to get its act together as FIFA World Cup spot hangs in the balance

Pele, Ronaldinho…. and? – Time for Brazil to get its act together as FIFA World Cup spot hangs in the balance

Few nations in football history command the same respect as Brazil. Five World Cups. A legacy of legends. The birthplace of Pele, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho.

But in 2025, that aura is fading.

Brazil is reeling from its worst-ever World Cup qualifying defeat— a 1-4 humiliation against Argentina in Buenos Aires. To make matters worse, manager Dorival Junior has been sacked, leaving the Selecao rudderless with just a year to go until the 2026 World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

The exit of Dorival Jr from the team marks the third time a manager has been sacked by Brazil in the last two years.

After taking over the side in January 2024, Dorival led Brazil to just seven wins while drawing another seven and losing two. Moreover, the team stacked with stars who play for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, crashed out of the Copa America 2024 in the quarterfinal stage.

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Former World Cup-winning captain and coach Dunga said that the inconsistency in leadership is a cause for concern, especially with the World Cup approaching.

“We have very good coaches for Brazil, but there is a problem. We are one year away from the World Cup, and we are looking for a coach. We needed a coach a long time ago and we are still looking. So, postponing things might be the biggest problem,” Dunga said, during his visit to Chennai.

However, Brazil could take some positivity from the fact that the last time it had three coaches in between two World Cups was back in 2001, when Luiz Felipe Scolari eventually took charge to lead the country to its fifth title.

Over the years, Brazil has had no shortage of quality players in its ranks who are capable of unveiling their brilliance on the big stage. In the current era, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo are serial winners with Real Madrid, while Raphinha has been in excellent form for Barcelona with 27 goals and 20 assists in 42 appearances this season.

But, in Brazil’s recent defeat to Argentina, all three of them started but managed to register only three attempts at goal, including just one on target.

Speaking about the disparity in performance for club and country, 2002 World Cup winner Gilberto Silva refused to completely blame the players and said, “There is a massive difference when you play for your club and when you play for the national team. In the club, you are there every day, training with your colleagues.”

“In the national team, you may have an opportunity to spend time with your colleagues and the manager about six times a year. It’s not enough. And in this short time, they have to do as much as they can to keep the high level in the national team,” he added.

The lack of a stable set of players could also be one of the major reasons for Brazil falling short of expectations.

In the last 12 months, 40 different players have been called up to represent the national team in various competitions, with 21 of them making just five or fewer appearances in the Canary yellow shirt.

In comparison, some of Brazil’s greatest teams were built on a group of players that were the heartbeat of the side, like the three R’s – Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho during the 2002 World Cup triumph.

Then followed manager Carlos Alberto Parreira’s ‘magical quartet’ of Ronaldo, Adriano, Ronaldinho and Kaka, who led Brazil to the 2004 Copa América and 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup titles.

While Neymar Jr was destined to lead the next generation and be the player around whom the team was built, injuries have derailed that dream.

Now, with reports of Carlo Ancelotti taking over the reins of the Brazil squad after the club season, Brazil, sitting fourth in the CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup Qualifiers table, will hope to get its act together fast and restore the nation’s status as one of the powerhouses of international football.