With a list of 18 names, Branco is confident that Brazil will have the best in the world

For Branco, 58, it’s a matter of time. Much less time than you might think, he assures. Brazil will once again have a best player in the world elected by FIFA.

Or, in the words of the coordinator of the men’s base categories of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation), there will be a new “number one” on the planet born in the country. That hasn’t happened since Kaká won the award in 2007. It’s been 15 years.

“We have a plan for the 2030 generation. The objective is to train well and with a victorious spirit. The generations that come from Brazilian football are spectacular. [de que o país terá de novo um melhor do mundo]. The workouts we do at the Granja [Comary]the individual quality of each athlete [dão essa certeza]”, defines the manager, world champion as a side in 1994.

There is a list prepared by the Research and Analysis Center of the basic categories of the selection, it has 18 names. These are the bets at the time of the confederation for the 2026 and 2030 World Cup cycles. The hope is that one of them will make Branco’s prophecy come true, not to mention names like Vinicius Junior and Neymar, for example.

The relationship has mostly offensive players. Are in it:

• Rodrygo (striker, Real Madrid-ESP)
• Martinelli (striker, Arsenal-ING)
• Yuri Alberto (striker, Corinthians)
• Kaio Jorge (striker, Juventus-ITA)
• Reinier (midfielder, Real Madrid)
• Lázaro (midfielder, Flamengo)
• Marcos Leonardo (striker, Santos)
• Matheus Martins (striker, Fluminense)
• Patrick (left side, Sao Paulo)
• Vinicius Tobias (right-back, Real Madrid)
• Andrey (midfielder, Vasco)
• Angelo (striker, Santos)
• Vitor Roque (striker, Athletico)
• Nathan Ribeiro (striker, Gremio)
• Matheus Gonçalves (midfielder, Flamengo)
• Endrick (striker, Palmeiras)
• Pedrinho (midfielder, Corinthians)
• Luis Guilherme (midfielder, Palmeiras).

They are considered the three main names in each category among those born from 2001 to 2006. Of this group, the oldest in the 2026 World Cup will be Rodrygo, Martinelli and Yuri Alberto (25). The youngest will be Endrick, Pedrinho and Luis Guilherme (20).

The complete list assembled has 9,988 players analyzed in 2002 matches monitored by CBF observers between January 2001 and July 2022.

The top five in each category were rated “top” and represent just 0.3% of the total. The others were classified as “selectable”, “under monitoring” or “under observation”.

“We started to open the field of observation. We need to have general control of the market because we work in all teams. We need to have a good line of work because Brazil is a granary. The base has always been the way out for Brazilian football”, says Branco, referring to the under-15, under-17, under-20, Olympic and senior teams.

The coordinator claims to have tried in recent years to use the idea that all teams have the same football philosophy. Thus, teams are not held hostage by any coach’s personalism. The goal is for Brazil to always have a proactive style on the field.

Having observed athletes from 150 different clubs also opened up the squad. He recalls that Ceará had for the first time selected names for base selections. The coordinator refers to midfielder David and striker João Victor, called up for the under-17 in 2020.

Branco takes a map that is on his desk at the CBF headquarters, in Barra da Tijuca, west of Rio, and shows a drawing of Europe marked with countries, clubs and players. Uses the image to show the current complexity of observing potential summons.

“We have everything monitored, but the pandemic has damaged a lot because we can’t travel. We have an online tool for that, but in loco it’s always better. You see how the athlete is, talk to people from his club, with family…” , explains.

He says he’s confident that this year Tite’s team will win the title in Qatar, but he keeps returning to the basic categories. That’s because 2023 will be a key year. South Americans and U-15, U-17 and U-20 will be disputed. The latter is almost a matter of honor. In the last two U-20 World Cups Brazil was not even present.

There is also concern about the start of the Olympic cycle, which will have a qualifying tournament in 2024.

“For me, it’s the most complicated classification there is. If you look at the World Cup Qualifiers, there are four and a half spots for ten teams. In the pre-Olympic, for the same number of teams, there are only two spots”, remember.

Proudly remembering his résumé of 38 titles in a confederation, two as a player and 36 as a manager (“nobody has the same number”, he says), Branco also tries to demystify the view that players nowadays don’t give more importance to the Brazilian team as in the past.

“Granja Comary is the Disney of football. When the boy enters there for the first time, he doesn’t know what to do. They say that the athlete doesn’t care so much about the national team. That’s not what I see. What I see is their effort to attend the calls and defend Brazil”, he assures.

And the prize for some of them, who knows, in the future, will be the election of the best in the world by FIFA. Let no one tell Branco to doubt it.

“I’m sure it will happen.”