Brazilians vote 1970 team as the best

Weggis: World champions Brazil want an end to the debate over how the team compares with their other great sides of the past

Many feel the current side, with an attack led by the so-called Magic Quartet of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka and Adriano, is one of the best in the country's history.

With hours of air-time and dozens of newspaper pages to fill every day on football, the Brazilian media enjoy speculating over whether the current team could beat the 1982 or 1970 teams, considered the other top Brazil sides.

The 1970 team, coached by Mario Zagallo, won Brazil's third World title in Mexico, while the 1982 side delighted the world with their flowing football but surprisingly crashed out to eventual champions Italy in the second group phase.

Pele fuelled the debate this week when he was quoted as saying that the 1970 would have beaten the 2006 side.

"It would be a tough game but I think we'd win," he said.

"Our forwards are more organised than them, we have a better attack. Pele, Tostao, Jairzinho, Rivelino, Gerson -- I think we are more organised. If Ronaldo was in shape, he might have made our team, Ronaldinho and Kaka, too, Emerson maybe."

Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira did want to comment on Pele's analysis.

"I find it very difficult in comparing different eras," he said.

"Thirty-six years is a long time, things change, the dynamics of the game, physical preparation, everything. I'm afraid I just can't do it."

"I'm happy for Pele that he can do it and that he has this capability, but I don't. Striker Adriano followed a similar line. I'm not here to make any comparisons," he said.

"We don't want to say that our team is better than 1982, we're here to show what we can do. Everyone says we're the best, we're the favourites and we have to work hard to prove this."

The Estado do Sao Paulo newspaper's website, however, could not resist the temptation and invited readers to vote on a comparison between Pele's team and Parreira's.

The newspaper said that, of around the 1,500 voters, 56.7 percent preferred the 1970 team.