Brazilian Squad in 2002 FIFA World Cup
By – Kshitij Bhatnagar
It was the fifth time when Brazil won the FIFA World Cup in 2002. The tournament was held in South Korea and Japan where Brazil defeated Germany in the final by 2-0. Ronaldo was the key to their trophy. He scored eight goals in the tournament winning the Golden Boot Award in 2002 despite the most impressive aspect of Ronaldo’s performances in 2002 was that he spent a long spell out injured prior to the tournament following a cruciate ligament rupture two years before the finals, meaning his missed Brazil’s entire South American qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup. Brazil won all the seven games in the 2002 tournament. Luiz Felipe Scolari was appointed as the Coach of the team in 2001 for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in 2002. Gilberto Silva was a reserve until the eve of the competition, when captain Emerson ended a training session by playing in goal and injuring his shoulder. And after the near-thing against Belgium, Kleberson was brought in to tighten up the midfield and enjoyed a storming end to the tournament. After Emerson got injury in the training, management decided Cafu to be the Captain in 2002 as he was the only one to get into the three finals and won two of them in 1994 and in 2002. The Player of the Year Award was given to the Ronaldo for the record breaking performance. In possession, back-three member Edmilson would step out of defence to join Gilberto at the base of midfield ahead of Lucio and Roque Junior in defence. Meanwhile, when defending, Kleberson would drop back alongside Gilberto and present a second row of obstacles ahead of the defensive line. It was a well-researched and planned strategies that helped out the Brazil to control nearly every game in the tournament.
These were some of the star players that played during the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan-
MARCOS
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Marcos Roberto Silveira Reis, known as Marcos, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played football at Palmeiras, of the Série A in his entire career from 1992 to 2002.
CAFU
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The legendary defender played for clubs like AS Roma and AC Milan. At Milan, Cafu had won the Champions League in the 2006-07 season. With Brazil, Cafu is the only player to appear in three finals and winning two out of it in 1994 and 2002. He was also the captain of the Brazilian team in 2002. Cafu retired from professional football in 2008. He is currently one of the legacy ambassadors of the Qatar World Cup 2022. LUCIO
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He is the star defender player who played for clubs like Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Juventus, Sao Paulo and FC Goa. He has played almost 105 matches from 2000 to 2011. He announced his retirement from professional football in 2020.
ROQUE JUNIOR
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He plays as the central back defender who has played for clubs like AC Milan, Palmeiras, Leeds United and Leverkusen. He has played 48 matches between1999 to 2005. Junior retired from professional football in 2010. In 2015, he was appointed as the head coach of Brazil second division side XV de Piracicaba. In 2017, he joined Sao Paulo-based club Ituano but left the job after a season.
EDMILSON
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The Brazilian, who could play in multiple positions like central defence and defensive midfield, joined Barcelona from Olympique Lyon in 2004 and played at the club for four seasons. Thereafter, he went to Villarreal, Palmeiras, Real Zaragoza and finally featured for Brazilian club Ceara Sporting Club before retiring in 2011.
ROBERTO CARLOS
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Carlos is the greatest player of all time, he played for giants like Inter Milan and Real Madrid. His career as a professional footballer ended in India at Delhi Dynamos where he had joined as a player-manager in 2015. He retired from professional football. Carlos has won the World Cup twice (1994 and 2002) with Brazil.
GILBERTO SILVA
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Silva joind Arsenal in 2002 and played six seasons for them. He later played for Brazilian clubs like Panathinaikos, Gremio and Atletico Mineiro before retiring in 2013. Gilberto Silva joined Panathinaikos as their technical director in May 2016 but he left the job in December 2016. He runs a football consultancy business currently and represents Manchester United midfielder Fred.
RONALDO
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He is on the best forward striker of all time. Ronaldo played for European giants like Inter Milan, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and AC Milan.. With Brazil, he won two World Cups (1994 and 2002). He took retirement in 2011.
RIVALDO
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He joined Barcelona in 1997 and played five season for the club. Other than Barcelona, he played for clubs like AC Milan, Palmeiras, Corinthians and Olympiacos. He retired from professional football in 2015.
RONALDINHO
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He is the one of the finest footballer and all time legendary player who played for FC Barcelona and Brazil. He is the integral part of the winning squad in 2002. He announced his retirement in 2018 from professional football.
KLEBERSON
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He was the midfielder who joined Manchester United in 2003 from Atletico Paranaense and played at the club for two seasons. After leaving Manchester United, Kleberson played for Besiktas, Flamengo and Bahia in Brazil. He took retirement from professional football in 2016 after spending a season at American club Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
