Once synonymous with captivating football and global adoration, the 'brand Brazil' appears to be experiencing a significant decline in its international appeal. The iconic yellow shirt, a ubiquitous sight in British town centres throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, is reportedly no longer the coveted item it once was among younger football fans.
This waning influence comes as Carlo Ancelotti's current squad, featuring an ageing core, faces challenges in matching the 'joga bonito' identity that defined previous generations. Ahead of their Group C opener against Morocco, the team is perceived by some as struggling through qualification and less certain to reach the latter stages of major tournaments. The golden era of Brazilian football, particularly the 2002 World Cup triumph with the 'Three Rs' – Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Rivaldo – feels increasingly distant, with the team's 1970 peak now closer in time to the pre-World Cup era than to the upcoming tournament.
While Brazil maintains an immense level of expectation and pressure domestically, its global brand outside of major Brazilian cities like Rio or Sao Paulo is weakening. Despite a highly lucrative partnership extension with Nike until 2038, reportedly worth £75 million per year, the visibility of the Brazilian kit in global fashion and fan culture is a fraction of its former self. This isn't solely attributed to on-pitch performance or even the domestic political connotations the shirt has acquired; instead, it largely reflects a broader transformation in how football is consumed globally.
Modern football increasingly prioritises outsized individual personalities over deep-seated adoration for specific national teams. The mystique and romance once associated with Brazil in the pre-social media age have largely dissipated, replaced by instant access to player profiles and constant engagement with superstar rivalries, such as those between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Even talented players like Vinicius Junior, despite his club success, struggle to garner the same universal recognition as the legends of yesteryear, partly due to the divisive nature of online discourse and his yet-to-be-fully-realised national team impact.
This shift suggests that even a top-tier manager like Carlo Ancelotti, a rare commodity in international football, might be the most impressive figure associated with the current Brazil setup. The challenge for Brazil now is not just to perform on the pitch, but to rediscover a compelling narrative that resonates with a new generation of football enthusiasts, who are more drawn to individual brilliance and social media presence than traditional team mystique.