Who’s the best Brazilian player since Pelé?

I find it very difficult to properly rate Neymar. Much of that down to not really taking him seriously. His record is outstanding and he clearly has exceptional ability but my first reaction is distaste bordering on contempt for him and his antics. He was an utter embarrassment at the last WC, not just on an individual level but for his country and even the sport. He needs to win some hearts and minds back and then he will get the credit he deserves as a player.
 
From what ive seen (born 1991) the best is Ronaldo with Ronaldinho just behind him. The rest are at least a tier below IMO.
 
BarstoolProphet said:
If that's true then something must have changed in the last couple of years. I was in Brazil for the WC in 2014 and the whole country adored him back then, making him out to be some sort of a mythical figure. You couldn't even buy a shirt with his name and number at some point because the whole country was out of #1 and #0 to print on the shirt.
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Well this was before Brazil got eliminated and I doubt the current WC helped much either.
 
Schneckerl said:
Well this was before Brazil got eliminated and I doubt the current WC helped much either.
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But where do you get that they dislike him from? He was adored after that WC also. They entire country was mourning like their founding father had just died after the injury he sustained against Colombia.
 
I understand people choosing Ronaldo over Romário. But seriously, those two are Top2, no contest. No other brazilian player (post-Pelé) gets close to them (93-94 Romario and 96-99/02-04 Ronaldo). Not even Ronnie in 2004-2006 or 98-02 Rivaldo. They were as decisive and unstoppable as Pelé in their prime. They had that "don't worry, I got this" aura around them, and they delivered.
 
Ronaldo followed by Romario, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho

I'm not old enough to have watched Zico etc

god I wish Kenyon hadn't fecked up Ronaldinho
 
Casanova85 said:
I understand people choosing Ronaldo over Romário. But seriously, those two are Top2, no contest. No other brazilian player (post-Pelé) gets close to them (93-94 Romario and 96-99/02-04 Ronaldo). Not even Ronnie in 2004-2006 or 98-02 Rivaldo. They were as decisive and unstoppable as Pelé in their prime. They had that "don't worry, I got this" aura around them, and they delivered.
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Yeah Rivaldo’s difficult personality definitely cost him.
 
Ronaldo, Zico, Ronaldinho, Romario, Neymar, Kaka, Rivaldo IMO

Don't get the hate for Neymar. Easily the most skilled (in terms of tricks) player since Ronaldinho, great playmaker and also a superb goal scorer, CL winner and well on his way to become Brazils top scorer although he's not even a striker. Had a great and a decent WC. Really can't see where Kaka and Rivaldo are ahead of him although they were phenomenal players in their own right of course.
 
1-Ronaldo
2-Ronaldinho
3-Romario
4-Rivaldo
5-Zico/Neymar/Kaka is a toss up

It's always difficult to include defenders in these lists, but you could argue Cafu is above him.

Socrates is getting overrated here. I think his cool personality doesn't make him a better player than Falcao, Cerezo, Carlos, Marcelo, etc etc etc Cerezo btw is the most underrated of them all. He even won a Serie A with Sampdoria for crying out loud.
 
Has to be either Ronaldo or Ronaldinho. Would go for the former myself in terms of what I seen.
 
Defenders & DMs should probably be a separate contest.

And Cafu wins it, I would have thought.

I liked Leonardo for someone not mentioned so far.

Eder scored them fantastic goals in 1982.
 
Ronaldinho for the joy and creativity in his play.
 
Ronaldo and Rivaldo were my first thought. Not old enough to know earlier than early 90's Brazil though xD
 
Roberto Carlos? Not Ronaldo or Ronaldinho level but top 5 material...
 
The entire 2002 team for example ?

Not like they were short on talents these past decades eh?
 
Lyricist said:
Is he really actually disliked in Brazil?
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Brazilian fans in general are incredibly fickle. Especially to overseas based players. As soon as the national team starts doing badly, the star players get massive amounts of criticism and people start calling for domestic players to replace them. They also get compared unfavorably to past greats which can be quite ironic as that now includes plenty of players from the ‘90s and early ‘00s who got the exact same treatment and criticisms levelled at them back then.
 
el3mel said:
The entire 2002 team for example ?
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That 2002 squad is one of the most unbalanced of all time. Scolari was so lucky with injuries as beyond the starting XI, the squad was pretty much dross. Even in the first team they had bang average players like Marcos, Roque Jr and Kléberson.
 
Kasper said:
Surprised at the voting result in the OP. Are brazilians very fickle and romanticize the past or do they sort of dislike Neymar? He has done plenty for the NT yet ends up below Kaka?
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Let me say Neymar isn't a likeable person everywhere but there's no way someone in their right mind who has followed Brazilian football decently really believes that Neymar is even close to be the best Brazilian player since Pelé. Beyond any shadow of doubt Neymar is incredibly talented and owns a huge potential to be exploited. I'm glad to count on such gifted player as a Brazilian. However, it's insane to put him above likes of Zico and Ronaldo, for instance. There's no shame for him in not reaching this far, though.

RochaRoja said:
Brazilian fans in general are incredibly fickle. Especially to overseas based players. As soon as the national team starts doing badly, the star players get massive amounts of criticism and people start calling for domestic players to replace them. They also get compared unfavorably to past greats which can be quite ironic as that now includes plenty of players from the ‘90s and early ‘00s who got the exact same treatment and criticisms levelled at them back then.
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It's not necessarily true. Recently I've seen a plenty of "new generation" guys, and I including non-Brazilian posters too, who is totally clueless about the history of Brazilian football, have no idea about how formidable some past players had been in the past, just because they believe it was always mandatory to sign up a European club and win everything there to be regarded as a beast.
 
RochaRoja said:
That 2002 squad is one of the most unbalanced of all time. Scolari was so lucky with injuries as beyond the starting XI, the squad was pretty much dross. Even in the first team they had bang average players like Marcos, Roque Jr and Kléberson.
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That's another different point. We are talking talent wise and this 2002 was filled with world class players.
 
Falcao is too low on this list. He was amazing in Italy.
Anyway for me it's

Ronaldo
.
.
Romario
Ronaldinho
Falcao
Zico
 
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