DESPITE the best efforts of Ronaldinho or Maradona trying to hijack June 21 for their own personal OTFD glory, today we’ve only got eyes for the tale of the best team of all-time scoring their best ever goal. Yes, today in 1970 those boys from Brazil danced and dazzled their way to a third World Cup title, beating Italy 4-1.

Declaring the Brazilan 1970 team to be the best ever side may well be the footballing equivalent of telling everyone that John Lennon was the best Beatle, but whatever way you look at it, it’s probably right.

The 1970 World Cup was the first to ever become a major television event, with the bright satellite pictures from Mexico instantly recognisable on the highlight reels. It also saw fair play return as the last two tournaments had been plagued with fighting Argentineans in 1966 and the ‘Battle of Santiago’ four years earlier. Football, as the cliché goes, was indeed the winner.

Pele had previously vowed never to play in the World Cup again after being victimised in the 1966 tournament, but returned in a big way to lighten up the competition and pick up his third winners medal. With Jairzinho, Tostao and Rivelino joining him in the Brazilian frontline it almost wasn’t fair for the poor saps who stood in their way.

After downing then-world champions England in the group stage, Brazil breezed past Peru in the quarter-finals and faced a rematch of the 1950 final when they played Uruguay in the last four. This was the first time the two had met in the World Cup since that ‘Fateful Final,’ a game that had left a scar on the Brazilain psyche. A 3-1 win saw the Selecao get sweet revenge and a place in the final.



Italy meanwhile were putting some woeful recent World Cup performances behind them, after the afore mentioned shenanigans in Santiago and the North Korea debacle in 1966. Their semi-final against West Germany is considered by many to be the greatest game ever played. After an early goal Italy had lead until the 90th minute when Schnellinger equalised for the German’s forcing a manic extra-time period that saw no less than five goals, with the Azzurri ending up 4-3 winners.

The Italian’s went into the final physically and emotionally drained following this epic, but managed to keep the Brazilians at bay for over an hour after Pele and Roberto Boninsegna traded goals. Gerson scored to put Brazil 2-1 up with 25 minutes left, Jairzinho came up with a third and then Carlos Alberto scored a near-perfect goal.

A flowing team move started just outside the Brazilian area and then through a combination of individual skill, slick passing and fluid movement the ball fell to Alberto who leathered it past the hapless Enrico Albertosi and into the history books.

This third World Cup win marked the end of an era, as Brazil, now allowed to keep the original Jules Rimet trophy, were not to win the big one again until 1994, when the Italians were again their victims, this time after Roberto Baggio missed the most high-pressure penalty of all time.

Enjoy some classic play from the Brazilians below and head over tomorrow for the tale of possibly the worst team ever to grace the World Cup.

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