Brazil 1977

The Legacy

Zico, Rivellino and Falcao formed the creative core of a Brazil side rebuilding after the 1974 World Cup disappointment, still four years from the tournament — 1982 — where this generation would produce arguably the most admired football never to win the trophy. Rivellino, the veteran of the group, had already won the World Cup in 1970; Zico and Falcao were the younger players around whom the side was being built. Dirceu completed a midfield built on technique over physicality. Athleta made the shirt, the domestic Brazilian manufacturer that supplied the national team before the global sportswear brands took over the contract in later decades.