Former Brazil left-back Roberto Carlos has explained the pressures of playing for the Brazilian national team, in a revealing interview with SporTV. Carlos suggests the nation’s decorated history, having won 5 World Cups, works against modern players.
“I’ll be honest, playing for the Brazilian team is not so easy, because of that history of going to a high level and knowing that everyone wants to beat the best team in the world,”
“It was tricky sometimes, as much as you prepare yourself very well, your opponents wanted to win because they know the time of Pelé, Tostão, Rivellino, Gérson. The time comes now for Ronaldo, Romário, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos, Cafu.
“It was very complicated and it still is complicated. It will be the same for Neymar and so many other players in the current team. Even a losing Brazil team remains the favorite. We knew we were the favorite in any competition.
“But the opponent always wants to beat the Brazilian team. This will never get lost. This comes from many years with the seleção being the best in the world. I think in 1998 we suffered from this, entering the final as favorites.
“In 2002, we did the same thing as in 1998 and we ended up being champions. In 2002 it was a fantastic squad with great players, wonderful atmosphere, but the 2002 was very similar to what we did in 1998.”
