With the famous slogan "jogo bonito" (beautiful game), iconic stars and a record of 5 World Cup championships, Brazil has long been known as the "land of football". But is that still the case?
The country of Pele, Garrincha and Ronaldinho, which once surprised the world with its 'samba' style, has not won the World Cup since 2002. No star has won a Ballon d'Or since Kaka in 2007.
With the "Selecao" currently having difficulty in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, not only the Brazilian is wondering why.
We are at a low. We have had many top-quality players, Edinho, the eldest son of the late legend Pele, told AFP recently.
Even President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva admitted that Brazil no longer plays the greatest football in the world.
What happened?
The disappeared soccer fields
One of the answers may be the decline of street football, the birthplace of great players such as Rivellino, Zico and Romario.
No one plays on the street anymore. You don't hear the stories of someone's window-breaking kick-off anymore, said amateur Lauro Nascimento, with a mud-filled shirt after playing on one of the few remaining pitches in northern Sao Paulo.
Nascimento, 52, broke several toes while playing barefoot football as a young player.
Today, Vila Aurora district is covered with concrete. The two buildings are located in an area that used to be a large grass field used for football courts.
any open space is enough for children to play football. Now, they are given priority in real estate development, said sports historiador Aira Bonfim.
Nascimento and his friend pay $1.60 a month to rent the old piece of land to play soccer, but that amount is a barrier for working-class families.
Nowadays, poor children in Brazil often rely on schools, social programs or football academies to play. According to a 2021 study, only 1 of the five academies are free.
And many of them are artificial turf, the surfaces will develop the technical skills of players less than the rough, footbally surfaces of the past.
The style of " machines"
"We have a lot of Brazilian players playing in Europe but very few stars," said researcher Euler Victor.
The great hope that Neymar had to shine at Barcelona but had difficulty leading the national team and his muddy career due to controversy and injuries.
The Brazilian is now hoping for Vinicius Junior, 23, and the young phenomenon Endrick, who will side with Vinicius at Real Madrid when he turns 18 in July.
Brazil is still the world's top player importer but they earn less money.
According to FIFA data, clubs paid $935.3 million in transfer fees to 2,375 Brazilian players last year, down nearly 20% from 2018, when the number of players was less - 1,753.
Part of the decline was due to teams paying less to hire freelance and younger players.
Our technique has been affected, said Victor Hugo da Silva, a coach at Flamengos academy in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, The way we play has changed and that has taken away some of our creativity.
Our football used to be very fun. Now it's become more mechanical."
On the synthetic turf pitch, he trains children aged 7 to 10 who dream of following in the footsteps of Vinicius, the most famous former student in the academy.
The next generation still has football in their blood, but has "difficulty" in practicing, the problem that Da Silva believes is due to a sedentary lifestyle and "addiction" to screens.
Brazil, with a population of 203 million, has more mobile phones than the population. According to World Obesity Atlas, more than a third of children aged 5 to 19 are overweight or obese.
Robson Zimerman, scout for Corinthians club in Sao Paulo, said that today's emerging football players face more difficult conditions, including the ability to play in many positions and far exceeding the expectations of their families and the media.
Before, they just had to play football, he said.
But Leila Pereira, president of Palmeiras - defending champion of Brazil, affirmed that this country will never stop being the land of football. Brazilian teams have won the last 5 Copa Libertador titles, Palmeiras has 2 of them.
In addition to Endrick - who brought home $65 million with bonuses when selling to Real Madrid - Palmeiras, there are promising talents such as Estevao and Luis Guilherme.
I disagree with those who think (the Brazilian players) have lost quality. Look at the huge amount of money they bring, Pereira said.
But for many, Pereira - one of the richest people in Brazil, is the face of a new Brazilian football brand - more similar to Europe, with a generous salary, according to South American standards and expensive ticket prices.
"With the unreasonable wages they pay to the players, clubs have to increase ticket prices, which does not include fans like me," said David Santos, a Flamengo fan.
And they have to watch big-screen games outdoors. Pablo Igor, a Vasco fan, 38, said: What is called the land of football - we are losing it.
Football is what you see here. It's a everyone's game. But street children dont have access to it anymore.
