10 superstars who could have played for Brazil but didn’t

#1 Deco (Portugal)

Deco made his debut for Portugal against Brazil and scored the winning goal

Wrapping up this list is one of the best players of the 21st century and a player who didn’t get the chance to play for Brazil due to immense competition for places.

Deco was born in São Bernardo do Campo and started his professional career with Corinthians before moving to Europe to play in Portugal. He rose to fame with Porto and in the 2001/02 season, he scored 19 goals for Porto from midfield.

Despite his impressive form for Porto, he didn’t receive a call-up to the Brazil national team for the 2002 FIFA World Cup as the squad already had other attacking midfielders such as Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Kaka and Juninho.

After failing to get the chance to represent Brazil at any level, he waited till he completed six years of residence in Portugal to receive the country’s citizenship in 2003.

The public opinion on including him in the Portugal squad was split as Porto’s rival fans didn’t want him in the squad. However, in 2003 he was included in the squad and coincidentally, his debut came against Brazil. Deco came on as a substitute in that match and scored a free-kick to win the game 2-1 for Portugal. This was also Portugal’s first win over Brazil since the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

His inclusion in the Portugal team for Euro 2004 didn’t go down with Luis Figo but Deco remained an integral member of the national team since his debut and represented them at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2008 and 2010 FIFA World Cup before retiring with 75 caps and six goals.