In the 1982 World Cup, Brazil had a great team packed with flair players such as the lanky bearded captain Socrates and legend Zico. They played what many considered to be the best football but lost out in dramatic fashion to eventual winners Italy.
This team were said to be, had they won the World Cup, the greatest team ever. This set of players returned home empty handed.
This Brazilian team is just one of many that enter the folklore of great teams that never won.
The Dutch sides of the 70s, at the peak of Total Football, also mesmerised the world with their sheer genius, but, as the Dutch always seem to do, they failed to deliver. On reflection, they did deliver but just plainly failed to win.
At the last World Cup, two years ago, Argentina received plaudits for scoring possibly the best team goal of all time, despite eventually losing to Germany in the quarterfinals.
To add insult to injury the following year in July at the Copa America, Argentina, as expected, continued to be faithful to their football playing style and their performances received praise round the world.
However, in the final against Brazil they lost to sucker-punch goals 3-0; Brazil defended in numbers and were over-committed in that area, only going forward on the break. The Brazilians attacked scarcely yet ended victorious by a large margin.
The score was harsh and a little misleading in the sense that it implied Dunga's team were by far the better side, when in truth Argentina had the vast amount of possession and had many spurned chances.
There is a trend here that teams who commit to pure football lose matches. With this folklore, great teams tend to lose; they play superb football, get spectators off their seats, exhilarate the world and receive plaudits, yet they lose.
In my opinion, this is a form of romanticism. The defeat despite having played fantastically well, is an art form in itself. It is a little humorous and sublets humility, showing that players are humans and that no matter how great they are they too can still lose.
I view this form of football folklore of great teams who never won as football’s answer to fairy tales.
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