Brazil - Team Fact Sheet

10 Sexy Facts about Brazil's World Cup Football Team

When you think of Brazil, you think of the Amazon, of Sugarloaf Mountain, of an outstretched giant Jesus, and of vibrant and violent favelas. You think of the sandy beaches fronting Rio, of colourful Carnival, of tanned volleyball babes, of naughty bikini waxes, and sexy thongs.

And of course you think of FOOTBALL!

Considered the best football team in World Cup history, this country of 192 million people is a soccer powerhouse where some players need only be identified by one name: Pele, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Robinho, Maicon.

After winning the latest Confederations Cup in South Africa, these Portuguese-speakers have put the world on notice. They're coming to the 2010 World Cup to win!

Here's the top 10 facts you need to know about the Brazilian football team:

10. The Brazilian football squad are nicknamed Seleção (The Selection), Canarinha (Little Canary) & Verde e Amarelo (Green & yellow) by Brazilians. Other countries also know them as The Samba Boys.

9. Dunga is Brazil's coach. He's also a former player (1982-1998), having reached 10th on the Brazilian all-time caps list with 91 caps. Not bad, Coach!

8. Brazil has won the South American Championships, the Copa America, 8 times. They've still got a long ways to go to catch up to Argentina's and Uruguay's 14 times each, but Brazil has won 4 of the last 5 tournaments, so they're on the move.

7. People often describe Brazil's play as "Jogo Bonito" (beautiful game). With great team work and execution, their play is a site to behold. Some even like to quip that "The English invented football, but the Brazilians perfected it."

6. Brazil has qualified for the World Cup 19 consecutive times, a record for the most of any team. This means they have qualified for every Cup since the inaugural competition in 1930. That's consistency!

5. The unbeatable Pele remains Brazil top scorer with 77 goals. Playing from 1957-1971 on the national team, Pele was so popular that he once brought Nigeria's Civil War to a temporary halt. In 1967, rival factions agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could watch Pele play an exhibition match in Lagos. That's 1 for peace, 0 for war!

4. The timeless Cafu has the most caps for Brazil with 142. The right wingback played from 1990-2006, nabbing 2 World Cup trophies in the process. (Cafu - what a cool name.)

3. FIFA ranked Brazil 2nd before the 2010 World Cup. Surprisingly, the Brazilians last held the top spot in 1993, in their run-up to the 1994 World Cup. We'll see if this changes after 2010.

2. Brazil won back-to-back World Cups in 1958 & 1962. Their win in Sweden in 1958 against the home country in the final was the first time a team had won the World Cup while outside its own continent. When the Cup was played in Chile 4 years later, on their own continent, they won again, beating the Czechoslovakian team. Will they have such luck on the African continent?

1. Brazil is the only team who have won a record 5 World Cups: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002. Many think they can add a 6th in South Africa.

Can't wait to find out!