There’s no denying that Brazilian football holds a special place in the hearts of Paris Saint-Germain supporters. From Ronaldinho to Neymar Jr., some of the greatest players ever to wear the iconic yellow kit of Brazil have also worn the rouge et bleu of PSG. On this episode of The World Cup Project, host Marc Damon welcomes Chase Haislip of Canary and Blue to discuss the most influential and entertaining national team in World Cup history.
Haislip, who hails from the United States, grew up watching the World Cup and international football coverage and found himself drawn to Brazil and their beautiful style of play. The Brazilian colors and their footballing stars led Haislip to create his podcast as an homage to the Seleção.
Speaking to Damon, Haislip walks listeners through the history of the Brazil national team, from the golden age of the 1960s, a rebirth in 2002, and it wouldn’t be a podcast about Brazil if we didn’t discuss the 7-1 loss to Germany in 2014. Of course, it all begins with Pelé, who was way ahead of his time in terms of his ability on the ball and positioning on the pitch. The 1970 World Cup-winning team, which Pelé was a member of, likely featured the greatest starting lineup ever assembled from a national team point of view according to Haislip.
The Pelé-era not only raised the profile of the Brazil national team to all new levels, it also set the bar for the way a Brazilian team should play. It’s not enough to win, you have to win the right way. Parking the bus, like Italy or Germany, is unacceptable to fans of Brazil as we saw with the 1994 team who ground out wins in a somewhat ugly manner. They demand trophies and a beautiful product on the pitch.
Neymar, who embodies a lot of what Pelé brought to the national team, will look to carry Brazil this summer to a World Cup title after the disappointment of 2014 where they lost in spectacular fashion on home soil. Haislip and Damon discuss the pressure heaped upon his shoulders and whether or not he can lead Brazil to glory once again.
Be sure to subscribe to our podcast (iTunes | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher) to receive every episode of The World Cup Project. The next episode will be available on May 7 and we will be talking with Eduardo Razo about the Mexico national team. Au revoir!