1970 Brazil Golden Team

Lore & Background

Brazil defeated Italy 4–1 in the final, overcoming another two-time champion and UEFA Euro 1968 winner. In the semi-final they beat Uruguay 3–1, another two-time champion and South American champions. In the group stage they defeated defending champions England 1–0. This is currently the only time the winning team defeated the European and South American champions alongside the tournament's defending champions.

In Their Own Story

The Azteca was a cauldron of noise. One hundred thousand voices pressed against the bowl of the stadium as the Mexican afternoon sun beat down on the pitch, turning the grass to a deep, almost black green. Pelé stretched his legs in the tunnel, feeling the familiar ache in his knee that had been a quiet companion for two years. He didn't need to think. His body already knew the angles, the rhythms, the way Gérson would drift ten yards deeper than the ball suggested, the way Tostão would press from the left just as the Italian centre-backs committed. The whistle blew. The first move came on the left—Clodoaldo overlapping, Carlos Alberto cutting inside, a back-heel that sent the ball to a place no one had expected. The strike was pure, a right-foot drive that kissed the underside of the bar and nestled into the top corner. The stadium detonated. Pelé was already running, already part of the next wave, already part of something larger than any single man. By the time the fourth goal landed, the Italian defenders were standing still, hands on hips, watching a team that seemed to exist in a different dimension of the game. And then the silence before the trophy lift—that held breath, that collective gasp of a nation and a world watching a golden cup rise above the heads of men who would never, ever play together again.

Reader's Guide

The team achieved a perfect record of wins in all six games in the finals, as well as winning all their qualifying fixtures. Their victory gave Brazil their third World Cup title, allowing them to permanently keep the Jules Rimet Trophy.

Did You Know?

• Brazil's 1970 team is often cited as the greatest football team of all time.
• They defeated the defending champions England, European champions Italy, and South American champions Uruguay in the same tournament.
• This was the only World Cup where the winning team defeated both continental champions and the defending champion.
• Brazil won all six matches in the finals and all qualifying fixtures.