"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."
2014 World Cup Preview
When the World Cup finally starts there will be an explosion of excitement. Remember the last time we hosted the World Cup was way back in 1950. Brazil is already in a state of constant excitement about hosting the World Cup. The Confederations Cup in 2013 will be a good warm up - so that is something that will get Brazilians even more pumped up about this year's World Cup. And of course, Brazil is very optimistic and expecting another World Cup win!Growing up in Brazil I knew the stories of Brazilian football. I knew Brazil had won five World Cups. Football is part of our culture, part of society, part of the economy. Football is part of everything. Football is one of the engines which drive the country. Everybody likes football, everybody roots for a football team, every child dreams of becoming a footballer. It's a pleasure to be Brazilian, to be part of this nation, and to know that they love football that much.
Brazil is known throughout the world because of football. Brazil is famous for the carnival but that is not the real Brazil. Brazil has recently managed to rid itself of being seen as the country of Carnival. It used to upset many Brazilians, that Brazil was seen as a country where people partied from morning to night. Now the image of Brazil has changed, and football helped with that. Today if you tell anyone you are Brazilian people will say: Ah, Brazil,football, Ronaldo, Romario, Ronaldinho, Pele, and they remember those football players. I think football has helped a lot in redefining the world’s image of Brazil.
It is very important to the country and for the players. I think the country is going to gain a lot by hosting the next World Cup. Millions of people will visit Brazil, to watch the games, and just, somehow, to be part of the World Cup. And for the players it will be a pleasure to play the World Cup in their own country. I think this is a unique experience. I don’t know how many generations had the privilege of playing a World Cup at home. And now Brazilians are having this opportunity. And so I think this is very important for the country and especially for the players.
In any tournament that Brazil plays in, there are always huge expectations of winning and playing well - always. So a player who makes it into the team already knows of these expectations and that responsibility.
Yet what really matters is to win. If Brazil wins the 2014 World Cup, people won’t care how. Very few people will remember the specific games, and how we played. In 1994, Brazil did not put on a show, but they won the World Cup and that is what matters, and it is what everyone remembers.
People sometimes ask why Brazil is so good at football. I don’t know. I think that this has already been the topic of many studies, but in the research no one has ever come to a conclusion. The truth is that football stars are born in Brazil. Amazing players are discovered every season. Now we are all following Neymar, Lucas and Oscar who plays for Chelsea. It’s a new generation of great players, with excellent technique. But it is hard to explain why there are so many great players in Brazil. It is part of our culture, and a Brazilian secret.
Pele is regarded as the greatest ever player. He is special because he won 3 World Cups. Of course he is also special for his other achievements, like scoring more than 1,000 goals in his career - all of this is important. But makes him a unique player is that he played in three World Cups which Brazil won. [Actually he only won two 1958 and 1970 – injured 1962 and missed final].
As a player the most you can achieve is being a World Cup winner just once. And the thrill of being the champion and being there – it’s such a pleasure and a privilege. Since he was the star of those victories he was considered a player who was out of this world, beyond the norm and someone whom every Brazilian admires. And as a result the world has a special place in their heart for Pele.
My first memory of the World Cup was1994 I was 12 years old and I remember that we went to watch the World Cup at my mother's uncle's country house, nearby Minas Gerais. The game that I remember most is the final, especially the penalty shoot-out when Brazil beat Italy. I remember the moment when Baggio missed his penalty kick and Brazil had won the World Cup.
And of the images that stuck with me, one of them is of our goalkeeper Taffarel on his knees with his hands held up to the skies. He is a person I have always liked and admired - both as a player and a person.
The experience of playing for Brazil is hard to put into words, because you go through so many emotions. You have such feelings. My childhood dream was to play even once for the Brazilian National team - to be a professional player for Sao Paulo, the football team where I was brought up, and to play once Brazil.
The Bible says that God has much more for us than what we ask or think and that has been my experience. I achieved things I never imagined I could. I have already played in 3 World Cups for Brazil. I was part of the 2002 World Cup winning team, which was very emotional – because of the importance of football in Brazil and because of the way Brazilians feel about the National team and the World Cup. Playing for Brazil brings a lot of happiness. There is pressure and you feel a weight of responsibility, but good things also come along with all of that.
I have many great memories of my first World Cup in 2002. It was a key moment in my career and a real privilege. Getting to lift the Cup is a unique moment for any football player who has the opportunity to do it. I was 20 years old and I was chosen to play in a World Cup. I was the youngest player in that team.
I had been playing as a professional for only a year and a half, and it really was a gift from God, because I would never have imagined that at age 20 I would play in a World Cup and be a winner.
I did not know if I would play at all or spend the whole World Cup on the bench but I played 30 minutes against Costa Rico. So I do consider myself part of the winning team. I’m in the picture and that will be recorded forever. And I had the privilege of raising the World Cup trophy. The atmosphere in the team was very good. I learned a great deal, gained a lot of experience.
I nearly came on in the final. It was quite comical. With five minutes of the game left, the coach told me to get ready to go on. I put on my match shirt and waited for the ball to go out of play. In the last five minutes the ball did not go out of play and I did not get on.
Brazil were running down the clock, playing keep-ball and I did not have the chance to go on. When the final whistle went, I was right by the touchline so I grabbed a flag and ran on to celebrate. I suppose I will always wish I had been able to play in that game but at least I got to celebrate with the others.
In Brazil there is a tradition of praying before the game and also at the end of the game. And so the Brazil team prays before we go out to play a game and also after the game.
At the end of the 2002 final it was a prayer of thanksgiving. We had already prayed before the game and at the end we made that big circle. Normally we would have prayed in the changing room but this time we did it on the field instead. It was a prayer of thanksgiving, with the coaches and everyone.
And at one point Lucio, Edmilson and I were praying together. That was also a prayer of thanksgiving, for the opportunity that we had of winning the World Cup That was a unique moment.
2014 would be my fourth time World Cup and that would be a landmark. I don’t know if I would have another World Cup in me will be 36 in 2018. And to play in a World Cup in my own country would be incredible. And who knows, maybe winning the World Cup at home as well. That would be the pinnacle of my career. And I am going to fight to be there and to help Brazil to another victory