It is 11 years since the World Cup was held in South Korea and Japan. Brazil, next year’s World Cup hosts, were winners in 2002 and have recently won in the final of the Confederations Cup as host nation in the warm up to next summer’s tournament.
But what happened next for the players who guided Brazil to their 2002 triumph?
GK: Marcos
Marcos, who was capped 20 times for Brazil, played his entire career at boyhood club Palmeiras and later announced his retirement from football in 2012. After the World Cup Marcos found it hard forcing his way back into the starting eleven due to a series of injuries. This subsequently resulted in the shot stopper being left out of the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup and Copa America 2004. But he returned to the national team in their triumph at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.
RB: Cafu (c)
Cafu is the most-capped player in Brazilian football history as he represented his country an incredible 142 times. He was also named by Pele as being one of the 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. A year after the World Cup he signed for AC Milan and played for the Italian side for five years and after an illustrious playing career he retired from football in 2008.
CB: Lucio
Lucio, arguably one of the finest centre-backs to ever put on the famous yellow and blue jersey, played the majority of his career in the Bundesliga. He played for German giants Bayern Leverkusen and Bayern Munich before later departing for Serie A – where he enjoyed a three-year spell at Inter Milan. Now aged 35 he currently plays for Sao Paulo.
CB: Roque Junior
Despite being the weak link in the Brazil team Junior later won 48 caps for the national team. However, his playing career failed to kick off from the World Cup with limited playing at AC Milan, a season-long loan move to Leeds United and a switch to Bayern Leverkusen in 2004 his only noticeable achievements.
CB: Edmilson
Edmilson played for Lyon for four years during 2000-2004 before later earning a move to Barcelona in 2004. The centre half was known for his ariel ability but a string of poor performances led to the ex-Sao Paulo trainee being released by Barcelona in 2008, and he later failed to rekindle his noticeable form.
LB: Roberto Carlos
Hailed as being the greatest left back ever, Roberto Carlos picked up numerous medals during a sensational 11-year spell at Real Madrid. He won the Champions League an incredible three times with the Spanish giants, and also enjoyed cup glory with Fenerbahce in 2007 and 2009. The Brazilian hung up his boots in 2012 and had a brief spell as manager of Anzhi Makhachkala.
DM: Gilberto Silva
Following his commanding performances in the center of the pitch at the World Cup Arsenal signed Silva for £4.5m. The defensive midfielder played for the Gunners for six years, and became the first ever Arsenal player to score a goal in a competitive match at the Emirates Stadium during their 1-1 draw against Aston Villa. Now aged 36 Silva plays for boyhood club America Mineiro, but he is also a keen musician and often plays the Mandolin in his spare time.
CM: Kleberson
With the midfielder being the driving force behind Brazil’s triumph at the World Cup, he moved to Manchester United in 2003. But injuries hampered Kleberson’s progression at Old Trafford which eventually resulted in the Brazilian failing down the pecking order. He later played for Besiktas and Flamengo.
AM: Ronaldinho
In his prime Ronaldinho was a player defenders feared playing against, mostly due to his skilful ability. The attacking midfielder has been voted the FIFA World Player of the Year twice (2004, 2005) and played for the likes of Paris St Germain, Barcelona and AC Milan – where he won the Serie A title. Regarded as being one of the most talented footballers ever, the 33 year-old now plays for Atletico Mineiro in Brazil.
F: Rivaldo
Despite his ludicrous dive at the World Cup against Turkey the 41 year-old is going strong as he now plays for Sao Caetano, which is remarkable in that it is his 15th club. The Brazilian is known for his five-year spell at Barcelona during 1997-2002 where he was considered as being one of the best strikers in the world.
F: Ronaldo
Ronaldo, a player I believe is the best striker to have ever graced football, sealed Brazil’s win with two goals. The all time record goalscorer for Brazil with 62 goals is one of only three men to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times – along with France legend Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi. Since that brilliant achievement he played for Real Madrid, AC Milan and Corinthians then later retired from a successful playing career in 2011.
Manager: Luiz Felipe Scolari
The highly-rated World Cup winning manager was later appointed boss of Portugal and Chelsea. The 64-year-old returned to the Brazil national team in 2012 as he now aims to repeat history.