Curitiba (one of the host cities of the World Cup 2014) was chosen for this last stage of preparation in Brazil thanks to its climate, which is similar to Johannesburg’s, where Brazil will stay.

These first days of the preparation, the busiest person of the Brazilian team (and the one most listened to) will be José Luiz Runco (photo), official doctor of the staff.

Two players have deserved more attention: Luis Fabiano and Kaká. Fabiano got injured two weeks ago, and was saved from playing with his team, Sevilla, last weekend. Kaká has been suffering from a pubis lesion which, even though he says to be healed, also kept him out of the last matches.

Doctor Runco, however, affirmed that, after preliminary observations, all Brazilian players are in good physical conditions.

In the past ten World Cups (since 1970), it was only in 1990 that at least one player wasn’t dismissed from the Brazilian team because of physical problems (see a list here).

In 1998, Romário had a lesion in the calf; despite all effort to heal it (Romário had been the star of the 1994 champion team, and all time was given to him), Romário was eventually dismissed (see Romário crying before the cameras), and Emerson was called to replace him. Ironically, in 2002, it was Emerson who got injured during a training in Korea, and Ricardinho was called to replace him. In 2006, it was Edmilson who got injured, and Mineiro was his substitute.

Brazil will play against North Korea on June 15th 2010, in Johannesburg; that will be the first match of Brazil in the World Cup 2010.

This will be the first time that Brazil will face North Korea. North Korea is a very closed communist country (the North Korean Government announced that the World Cup will be censored, and only images favorable to the country will be aired – which means that it is likely that the Cup will not exist for Korean citizens), and very seldom performs in non-official matches.

Coincidentally, Brazil is one of the countries in the world which best knows the football in North Korea. There is a team, currently disputing the Second Division in Sao Paulo, called Clube Atletico Sorocaba; in 2000, Atletico Sorocaba was purchased by Reverend Moon, a controversial religious leader born in Korea. Thanks to these connections, Atletico Sorocaba played a friendly match against the North Korea national team in November of 2009, which finished 0 x 0.

North Korea played in only one Cup, in England 1966; in that Cup, Korea lost to Soviet Union, tied with Chile and got past the groups stage by winning Italy; in the quarter-finals, Korea lost to Portugal by 3 x 5, after being leading by 3 x 0.

Coach Dunga said in an interview that North Korea being unknown shall be a reason of concern, not of oblivion; besides the surprising role in England 1966, Korea surprised also by winning Iran and Saudi Arabia in the Qualifying, and by winning recent FIFA World Cups for Young Women.

However, nobody in Brazil thinks of anything but a victory over Korea. Brazil hope (but many Brazilians don’t expect) that Portugal win Ivory Coast in the first round, Brazil win Ivory Coast in the second round, so that Brazil vs Portugal can be just a friendly match.

Brazil and Portugal have faced each other in 18 matches (only 11 countries have more matches against Brazil than Portugal; England, with 23 matches, is the only European country in that list). Brazil won 12 matches, Portugal won 4, and there were 2 draws; Brazil scored 36 goals, Portugal scored 15.

In World Cups, there was only one match, in England 1966. The records of the match are here. The match was in Liverpool on July 19th 1966; the ticket costed £ 2.2, or about US$ 3.5 (in South Africa, a ticket for the eighth finals would cost at least US$ 100; check out prices of tickets of the World Cup 2010). After beating Brazil, Portugal faced and won North Korea, which was then playing their first and only World Cup.

Brazil was then defending champion, but the team was resenting the retirement of the generation which won in 1962 (which was basically the same team which had won in 1958 – older, though) and the new generation which would win in 1970.

Portugal had then Eusébio, considered until today the best Portuguese player ever and one of the best European players. Brazil had Pelé, but he had been injured in previous matches, and still had to face the violence of Portuguese defense.

Despite this defeat (and despite the three centuries of Metropolis-Colony relationship), Brazilians never had a feeling of rivalry towards the Portuguese (as we have, for example, with Argentina, Uruguay and, lately, France).

Several Brazilian players have not only moved to Portugal, but also adopted Portuguese nationality; currently, three Brazilian born players, Deco, Liedson and Pepe, are principals in the Portugal team (which led Brazilian coach Dunga to say that Portugal is a kind of Brazil B – to which Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz responded that Brazil would be a Portugal C or D, given that most Brazilian players have Portuguese ancestry).

In the last World Cup, Portugal was coached by Luis Felipe Scollari, who had been champion with Brazil in 2002. After Brazil was eliminated by France, all Brazilians sided with Portugal (which would also be eliminated by France).

In the last match, in November 2008 in Brazil, we won easily by 6 x 2.

In 2010, Portugal will have the additional advantage of having more support in the stadium (500,000 Portuguese live in South Africa).

Reporters asked Dunga if some players, like Ronaldo, who have not been playing lately in the Brazilian team, could still be included in the team. Dunga said:

… Do not delude the fans, do not try to induce me to repeat the mistakes of the past. To play in the Brazilian team is not a matter of just skill, it is a matter of commitment. And it’s not me who say so, it is the group. To join the group, it is required to be competitive and commited.

Brazil was the favorite of the World Cup 2006, for the team had Ronaldinho (then the best player in the World), Kaká, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Adriano and other stars. After Brazil lost the match against France, Brazilian fans felt that several players were more committed with their own interests than the team’s.

One of the most criticized players was Ronaldo. He was said to be overweighted; he denied, but nobody never declared his actual weight. When President Lula said that he was too fat, Ronaldo replied that the President drank too much. Some people pressured the then coach Parreira do dismiss Ronaldo from the team or, at least, keep him in the bench.

"...then, you say that the President drinks too much!!!"

Ronaldo played most of the matches, scored some goals, became the player who scored most goals in World Cup. Brazil lost the Cup, and Dunga thinks that maintaining Ronaldo was a mistake, that he wouldn’t repeat.

On October 29th 2009, Juvenal Amarildo, aged 86, passed away. Of the eleven Brazilian players who disputed the Maracanazo, Juvenal was the last one alive.

Juvenal was a center-defense in the Brazilian team, and, along with goalkeeper Barbosa and right-defense Bigode, he was considered one of the main culprits for the defeat. Juvenal played only 11 times for Brazil; after the loss to Uruguay, he never played again with the Brazilian uniform.

Like most other players of 1950, Juvenal died poor. Two years ago, TV Globo exhibited a report showing Juvenal living in misery, alone, nearly uncapable to walk.

A campaign was started to help the old player. The campaign managed to provide medical assistance and a small house for Juvenal.

Below, a movie showing the decadence of the last Brazilian player of the 1950 World Cup.

Information sites published in Brazil are, almost always, in Portuguese. Not even CBF, the Brazilian Confederation of Football, maintains an English version for official information.

Of course, several world class sites (including FIFA) publish information in English, covering also the Brazilian team; however, these sites lack a touch of Brazilian view when writing about the Brazilian team.

This blog will attempt to fill this gap. Writers of this blog are the same ones who wrote a compilation of the participation of Brazil in all the World Cups.

This blog is about how Brazilians see Brazil in the World Cup. See, also, comments about the World Cup 2014 in Brazil.