Brazil v. Italy: Mighty Titans

When time is tight, always post about soccer.

To me, with all due respect to Germany and Argentina (two brilliant, influential and dominant soccer nations in their own right), and a few others like the Netherlands, England, France and Spain, the two single greatest footballing nations of all time are Brazil and Italy. From its clubs*, to the great fans, players and managers, and the overall history and philosophy, these two tango and samba the soccer soul in operatic perfection.

It didn't get better than this match at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Italy and Brazil have went on to win more cups and reach finals in others, but those two teams are the last memorable line ups for each squad I reckon. Socrates, Scirea, Conti, Zico, Falcao and of course, Paolo Rossi. Paolo fricken Rossi. What a marvellous performance by him.

Sure, the Italians of 1990 and Brazilians of 2002 were solid, but 1982 was the last time great soccer matches lived. Considered one of the greatest matches in World Cup history:



For good measure, then there was 1994:



And 1970:



In other important matches, the two sides also met, led by the likes of da Silva and Meazza, back in the semi finals of the 1938 World Cup with Italy prevailing 2-1 and 1978 with Brazil posting a 2-1 win to win 3rd spot. Brazil holds a 3-2 edge in key matches.

*Brazilian domestic clubs, as a whole, though successful, haven't been as dominant as the Italians have been in Europe. Argentinean teams tend to dominate the South American continent. Like Europe is basically a battle ground between the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga (and to a lesser extent the Eredivisie. Even Portugal's top flight league has been competitive and successful. More so than Ligue Un in France too. Anyway...), South America is ruled by Argentina and Brazil.

So why did I chose Brazil and Italy?

Brazil is straightforward enough, although Argentina has won more Copa America's than Brazil and basically play .500 soccer against them. But at the World Cup Brazil edges Argentina out with five world cups to two and seven finals to four. Of course, Brazil produced the likes of Garrincha and Pele while Argentina has contributed Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi who has yet to join the big club with a World Cup.

Just like in South America two rival teams dominate, Europe has Germany and Italy. Despite Germany's remarkable consistency of success to the point of disbelief, Germany has never beaten Brazil or Italy in  World Cup play. That counts for something. While Germany has made seven trips to the finals (equal to Brazil), Italy has six. However, Italy has the four stars to Germany's three titles. Germany does have more wins than Italy (second and third respectively on the all-time list) but the edge has to go to Italy for the simple reason they won more and never lost to Germany.

The other thing I considered were the roster of great (including legendary) players. Looking over multiple "all-time" lists from several books and publications, one theme becomes clear; Brazil and Italy are neck and neck with Germany trailing behind. 

Also considered, were the domestic clubs (despite the role of foreign nationals) and their performances in major tournaments (Champions League, UEFA/Europa, Cup Winners Cup, Super Cup and Intercontinental/World Club) since 1950. Serie A has won more titles and reached more finals than any other league on the continent including the Premier League. Serie A clubs have outperformed teams from the Bundesliga and so the edge goes to Italy.

Finally, the fans. While these are tough times for Italian soccer as a whole including attendance, historically, the most fanatical and commited fan base in Europe were the Italians. Indeed, times have changed as La Liga, Premier League and Bundesliga all have better attendance records (and facilities) than Italy has to offer. The role of the fan is changing in Europe, and Italy is lagging in this respect. Its dominance has now given way to La Liga and Premiership.