10 best Brazilian players ever

I think Kaka is brilliant but I'm not sure I'd put him as one of the top 10 best Brazilians. I'd rather there was a Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Dani Alves.
 
Neymar is better than Kaka and Rivaldo were, if you take into account his longevity. Arguably better than Romario too (I started watching football during the 1994 WC for what its worth).
And I don’t even particularly like Neymar, but objectively he probably belongs in that list, he’s Brazil’s second highest ever scorer after all.

Ronaldo9 in that Barcelona season was comfortably the best player I’ve watched every week aside from Cristiano and Messi, he was just ridiculous.
 
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Zico is too low, I would go as far as ranking hi. The second greatest ever Brazilian.
Perhaps his failing winning the coveted prize works against him.
 
The best I have seen.
Pele,
Ronaldo.
Socrates
Ronaldinho.
Zico
Jairzinho
Rivelino
Carlos Alberto
Romario
Falcao.
 
My Favourite will always be Eder. The lazy left footed flash in a pan scorer of mental goals from outside the box or direct from corners.
 
Neymar probably over Kaka. Otherwise decent list. Might even take Cafu over Neymar for the 10th spot.

If only Kaka could've sustained his 2007 level... What a player.
 
Any Top 10 list for Brazil that doesn't include Didi should be considered fraudulent, I think — arguably the first global star from the country, reached the quarter-final of the 1954 World Cup, Golden Ball awardee and the focal point of the team during their first World Cup title in 1958, and won another title in 1962 as an old midfield general. FourFourTwo ought to know better, tut-tut! The Top 6 should be pretty straightforward (in chronological order): Didi, Garrincha, Pelé, Zico, Romário, Fenômeno — best-in-the-world caliber players with noteworthy Seleção careers. Then it gets a bit tricky as personal biases rear their heads given the outstanding pool of old-and-new greats (some of whom are more appreciated by Brazilians themselves than the international audience): Leônidas, Zizinho, Ademir, Nílton and Djalma Santos, Zagallo (if you include post-playing career he is easily among the very best), Carlos Alberto, Rivelino, Tostão, Jairzinho, Sócrates (bonus for coolness factor), Falcão, Cafú, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Neymar. Would probably go with Zizinho (Golden Ball awardee in the heart-breaking 1950 World Cup (culminating in El Maracanazo), and an inspiration for both Didi and Pelé), Nílton Santos (redefined the offensive fullback role, the most avant-garde fullback from the country that has produced the greatest fullbacks in football history), Rivaldo (made a difference for the national team, time and again...in 1998, 1999 and 2002) and Ronaldinho (weaker Seleção career than the likes of Cafú or Djalma Santos, but the best player in the world at his peak and truly embodied the spirit of Joga Bonito).

P.S. Jairzinho is a strange one, and shouldn't be included in a conscientious Top 10. Produced only one great World Cup performance in 1970 (where Pelé and Gérson were more important than him), didn't command the post-Pelé generation, not someone who reinvented the wheel or massively influenced aspiring greats, and isn't as revered or loved as some older legends (or even his contemporary Rivelino). Kaká is also someone who shouldn't be given serious consideration — starred in only minor international tournaments (like the Confederations Cup and Gold Cup), and his Brazil legacy is not something to write home about.
 
In no particular order, mine would be:
Rivellino
Gerson
Jairzinho
Socrates
Zico
Ronaldo
Garrincha
Pele
Cafu
Carlos Alberto

I don't think more modern players like Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka are as good as what came before. If I were to name an 11th it would be Romario.
Socrates is possibly my favourite player ever.
 
Neymar is 5 goals away from Pele's record by the way. He's not a striker

and he's the record holder for assists for them too
 
Ronaldinho is my favourite. What a player to watch. For three or four years he was sensational
 
FourFourTwo know better than that list... it must have been put together for clicks and banter, otherwise their journalistic standard has plummeted.

Ronaldinho doesn't make top 10, and that's because Brazil have had the best of the best do it before him, to a higher standard. Putting him above Zico and Romario is sacrilegious.

And I've all the time in the world for him, but we're talking the gold standard of international football here and Ronaldinho's time and chance to be in that standing was 2006, which didn't work out as expected.
 
What works against Neymar is his lack of a major imprint on a World Cup. Most of the guys he’s competing with have at least starred in and many have won one or more World Cups.

List is decent enough but Zico is too low. I’d move out Kaka and Jairzinho for any two from Didi, Falcao or the various World Cup winning full-backs.
 
Carlos Alberto has to be in there. Rivelino for his pioneer ball bending. Pele top because he was. Roberto Carlos….

Pele / Garrincha / Ronaldo / Zico / Jairzinho / Romario / Carlos Alberto / Rivelino / Roberto Carlos / Socrates (I don't go back far enough to have seen Didi as suggested above)
 
With added thought my top 5 would be as follows.
Pele
Zico
Garrincha
L Ronaldo
Romario

I have no idea about the rest as their achievements gets pretty similar .

What a great footballing country, the very best.
 
TsuWave said:
Neymar is 5 goals away from Pele's record by the way. He's not a striker

and he's the record holder for assists for them too
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Means nothing, almost every record goalscorer for the major nations is a current player or soon will be. Do we think the likes of Giroud, Kane and Lukaku are some of the greatest strikers to ever play the game or are there just a lot of ridiculously easy games for them to pad their stats with these days?

Neymar might be close to the top 10 Brazilians in terms of talent alone, but he's not even close when it comes to winning trophies and performing on the biggest stage.
 
Care_de_Bobo said:
Means nothing, almost every record goalscorer for the major nations is a current player or soon will be. Do we think the likes of Giroud, Kane and Lukaku are some of the greatest strikers to ever play the game or are there just a lot of ridiculously easy games for them to pad their stats with these days?

Neymar might be close to the top 10 Brazilians in terms of talent alone, but he's not even close when it comes to winning trophies and performing on the biggest stage.
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He's performed extremely well for Brazil.

He's been better for Brazil than Ronaldinho has by a sizable amount.
 
My favourite will always be Rai, massively underrrated at the time. I just love how he played the game.
 
Shakesey said:
Kaka ain't getting enough love in here
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I swear. People saying Neymar better than him blows my mind. Kaka in his prime was unarguably the best player in the world. Neymar rode Messi to win a little and has won F all since.

The poster above hit the nail on the head, Neymar was/is very talented sure, but he did not come even close to reaching his potential. Hasn’t won enough and hasn’t won anything on his own.
 
Good list, could have had Dunga, Lucio, Cafu or Roberto Carlos in there.

I think some of these were also unlucky to miss out.

Fred
Fred
Jo
Roque Junior
Glauber (One for the City fans)
Andre Santos
Cacapa
Mineiro
Kleberson
Afonso Alves
 
Pelé
Ronaldo
Zico
Garrincha
Romario
Ronaldinho
Didi
Rivaldo
Cafu
Falcão
Probably something like this for me. Didn’t include pre-TV guys like Zizinho & Leonidas
 
Pelé
Ronaldo
Zico
Garrincha
Ronaldinho
Romario
Rivelino
Roberto Carlos
Rivaldo
Tostão
 
Pele
Ronaldo
Zico
Garrincha
Romario
Ronaldinho
Didi
Socrates
Jairzinho
Cafu
 
I approve of this list. Pretty much agree on all fronts. I know a few people have mentioned Neymar, one even said he’s better than Ronaldinho and Romario, which is such bollocks I don’t even know where to start. Byproduct of the stat era I suppose.
 
My top 10 list as a Man Utd fan:
1. Fabio
2. Rafeal
3. Anderson
4. Fred
5. Telles
6. Kleberson
7. Pereira
8. Possebon
9. Pele
10. Ronaldo

Haters will say I am biased
 
simonhch said:
Neymar isn’t fit to lace Ronaldinho’s boots
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Disagree.

Neymar has been much better for Brazil than Ronaldinho has and he has much better longevity in his career.

One is far more endeared which raises his profile to mythical heights.

Ronaldinho wouldn't have won a Ballon D'Or competing with Messi and Ronaldo either imo.
 
Invictus said:
Any Top 10 list for Brazil that doesn't include Didi should be considered fraudulent, I think — arguably the first global star from the country, reached the quarter-final of the 1954 World Cup, Golden Ball awardee and the focal point of the team during their first World Cup title in 1958, and won another title in 1962 as an old midfield general. FourFourTwo ought to know better, tut-tut! The Top 6 should be pretty straightforward (in chronological order): Didi, Garrincha, Pelé, Zico, Romário, Fenômeno — best-in-the-world caliber players with noteworthy Seleção careers. Then it gets a bit tricky as personal biases rear their heads given the outstanding pool of old-and-new greats (some of whom are more appreciated by Brazilians themselves than the international audience): Leônidas, Zizinho, Ademir, Nílton and Djalma Santos, Zagallo (if you include post-playing career he is easily among the very best), Carlos Alberto, Rivelino, Tostão, Jairzinho, Sócrates (bonus for coolness factor), Falcão, Cafú, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Neymar. Would probably go with Zizinho (Golden Ball awardee in the heart-breaking 1950 World Cup (culminating in El Maracanazo), and an inspiration for both Didi and Pelé), Nílton Santos (redefined the offensive fullback role, the most avant-garde fullback from the country that has produced the greatest fullbacks in football history), Rivaldo (made a difference for the national team, time and again...in 1998, 1999 and 2002) and Ronaldinho (weaker Seleção career than the likes of Cafú or Djalma Santos, but the best player in the world at his peak and truly embodied the spirit of Joga Bonito).

P.S. Jairzinho is a strange one, and shouldn't be included in a conscientious Top 10. Produced only one great World Cup performance in 1970 (where Pelé and Gérson were more important than him), didn't command the post-Pelé generation, not someone who reinvented the wheel or massively influenced aspiring greats, and isn't as revered or loved as some older legends (or even his contemporary Rivelino). Kaká is also someone who shouldn't be given serious consideration — starred in only minor international tournaments (like the Confederations Cup and Gold Cup), and his Brazil legacy is not something to write home about.
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Invictus, what a fantastic post. Seeing such an appreciation for the spiritual home of the beautiful game is heartwarming.
 
1. Pelé
2. Ronaldo
3. Garrincha
4. Zico
5. Romario
6. Ronaldinho
7. Neymar
8. Didi
9. Socrates
10. Rivaldo
11. Zizinho
12. Kaká
14. Rivelino
15. N. Santos
16. Falcao
17. Jairzinho
18. Carlos
19. Cafú
20. Alberto
21. Gerson
22. Friedreich
23. Tostao
24. D. Santos
25. Alvés
26. Leonidas
27. Clodoaldo
28. De Guia
29. Marcelo
30. Junior
31. Alvim
32. Vinicius
33. Julinho
34. Bebeto
3.5 Juninho
36. T. Silva
37. Adriano
38. Casemiro
39. Careca
40. Zagallo


1. Alisson
2. Dida
3. Gilmar
4. Leao
5. Ederson
6. Tafarell
'7. Marcos
8. Ceni
9. Cesar
10. Castilho
 
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Eddy_JukeZ said:
Disagree.

Neymar has been much better for Brazil than Ronaldinho has and he has much better longevity in his career.

One is far more endeared which raises his profile to mythical heights.

Ronaldinho wouldn't have won a Ballon D'Or competing with Messi and Ronaldo either imo.
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Ronaldinho certainly didn’t have much longevity. He partied too hard, which sort of unfairly - in a way adds to his mythical status - but he also reached peaks I don’t think Neymar has ever touched. The year he won the balón d’or he was simply magical. I think he’s one of the few players who could have at least punctuated the hegemony of Messi and Ronaldo at least once. But that’s just an opinion, we’ll never know.

Ronaldinho also has in his favour that he was extremely likeable and entertaining. Wildly unpredictable and played with so much joy. People respond to that. Neymar on the other hand is generally reviled for his on the field demeanour and antics. That all plays into it.

With all that said, Ronaldinho is one of the most talented footballers I have ever seen play. He played football the way fantasies are made of. If you took both players at their absolute peak, I don’t think it’s even close between them.

But this is all beautifully subjective. And I respect your opinion. I do think there’s a reason that Neymar didn’t even crack the top ten of this list and Ronaldinho is at what? #4? Or 5. I can’t remember. Neymar wouldn’t be in my top ten either. He leaves me cold, and added to that his decision to almost disappear from the top tier scene to ply his trade in Ligue 1, really counts against him in the final reckoning.
 
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