Recent high-profile transfers for Roberto Carlos, and Rivaldo have seen both players extend their careers well into their 30s and join the masses of Brazilians to have played on long into the veteran stage.
Ever since the most famous Samba star of all, Pele, came out of retirement to join American side New York Cosmos at the age of 34, his fellow countrymen have a record of outlasting most of their rivals.
Romario, has made headlines this year by following Pele to the 1,000 career goals landmark at the age of 41, while 37 year old Cafu has recently signed a one year extension to his contract with European champions AC Milan.
The current Brazil squad is preparing for a Copa America final against great rivals Argentina, and it has been a great for young Real Madrid star Robinho. But can he play on for another 15 years?
What about current superstars such as Kaka and Ronaldinho who have taken a break for the Copa America due to their grueling schedules?
It seems modern day year round football calendars may reduce the proliferation of Brazilian veterans in the future, but it has certainly not stopped Roberto Carlos and Rivaldo playing on.
Roberto Carlos enjoyed 11 successful years at Real Madrid but recently opted not to pen a new contract at the Bernabeu, instead heading for Turkish outfit Fenerbahce at the age of 34.
Remarkably, he insists he was still in demand Europe-wide, announcing:” I had other offers from teams in Ital, England and other countries, but Fenerbahce want to grow as a club and I want to help them.”
Rivaldo, a year older than the wing-back, had already extended his career with a move to Greece and and Olumpiacos in 2004, and made the most of his success there by signing a two year deal with city rivals AEK Athens this summer.
Even though he will be 37 by the end of his new deal, the playmaker promised on his arrival:”The fans will see a Rivaldo with an appetite to win and to become a champion again.”
Although regulars in European football, neither player’s new club play in a particularly prestigious league, following a pattern which has played a major part in some of Brazil’s luminaries playing on until later in life.
The American league, which provided a home for Pele after he came out of retirement, has also seen service from the likes of Carlos Alberto, Romario and Zinho, among others.
World Cup winning captain in 1970, Carlos Alberto went on to win three NASL titles with the New York Cosmos between the ages of 33 and 38, while a prolific spell at Miami Heat helped Romario towards four figures as he fired 19 goals in the United Soccer Leagues season to help the club reach the play-offs.
Another 1994 World Cup wiiner, midfielder Zinho is still playing for the club having just turned 40.
Roberto Carlos’s new coach at Fenerbahce, Zico, was another to make use of an emerging league as, having played for Flamengo in his homeland until three months shy of his 37th birthday, he then came out of retirement two years later to join Japanese side Sumitomo Metal Industries.
With the team rebranded as Kashima Antlers in time for the start of the professional J-League era, Zico played on until the age of 41 and made sufficient impact to earn a statue in his honor outside the club’s stadium.
Cafu is in many ways the exception to the rule, having remained with Milan at the very highest level.
Although an unused substitute in May’s Champions League final success in Athens, the right-back can list many of his greatest achievements as a footballer in the years following his 30th birthday.
Born in 1970, he captained his country to World Cup victory in 2002 – adding to his appearances in the successful 1994 squad and 1998’s beaten finalists – and also appeared in the following tournament two years ago to reach a record 142 caps, as well as contesting two European finals with the Rossoneri.
Although he has yet to be capped by current coach Dunga, he has not yet given up on playing in a fifth World Cup in 2010, by which stage he will be 40, and received a glowing affirmation from Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson of his chances of playing on until that age.
Referring to Cafu’s similarly veteran partner in the Milan defence, the Scot said in 2004:”If Paolo Maldini plays for another five years when I am quitting, but with Cafu you never know – I think he has two hearts.”
Other ‘Canarinhas’ to demonstrate similar longevity include Jairzinho, who remained in the national team until the age of 37, while Garrincha played on until the age of 39.
These though, are exceptions to the general rule demonstrated in the most extreme fashion by Socrates, the midfield genius of the 1982 and 1986 World Cup squads who made headlines in 2004 by appearing in England’s Northern Counties East League for Gargorth Town.
But Romario, in keeping with the increasingly eccentric nature of the recent years of his career, has pondered the most bizarre move of all – returning to represent his country at under-17 level.
The quadragenarians’s plans were thwarted by the Brazilian Football Confederation’s decision to waive their right to field three overage players in the Pan-American Games, but Romario’s optimistic plan shows the eternal youthfulness of those in yellow and blue of Brazil.
Perhaps in Brazil, his assertion at the time that ‘nothing is impossible’ really does ring true.