A retrospective on Italy-Brazil

1970 World Cup final. Pelé is looking at the camera.

Today at the Confederations Cup 2013, Italy and Brazil clash in the last match day of the group stage. Relatively little is at stake: leadership in group A and the "right" to avoid playing Spain in the semifinal.

Yet, it is virtually guaranteed to be a remarkable game, as Italy-Brazil is one of the footballing world's most exciting rivalries. It is not as historically and emotionally charged as Germany-England, nor does it rise to the Olympus of all sports rivalries as Brazil-Argentina derby; but it is still one not to be missed. Their 1982 and 1994 World Cup meetings are widely considered to be among the top 20 football games in history, and the latter is surely the most spectacular game to end 0-0.

For one, Brazil and Italy are the winningest national teams in history, the Seleção having won the FIFA World Cup five times (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) and the Azzurri four times (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006). Together, their nine World Cup titles equal all the other nations' titles combined, and since the World Cup's inception either Italy or Brazil have won a title in every single decade (remember that no WC were played in the 1940s). If that's not impressive, I don't know what is.

From a historical perspective, before the 1970s Italy and Brazil used to represent the two traditional schools of football, the Brazilians with their spectacular all-court play emphasizing speed and footwork, and the Italians with their reasoned and tactical approach to midfield play-making.

Rossi and Falcao in the epic 1982 match that Brazil
could have drawn but absolutely wanted to win to prove,
their superiority -- ultimately resulting in their demise.

The following head-to-head stats include all official international matches, including friendlies. Games played: 17. Brazil wins: 8. Italy wins: 6. Draws: 3.

When considering only World Cup games, Brazil leads 3-2 in wins and there have been no draws. Their World Cup meetings include two finals won by Brazil (1970, 2004), one semifinal won by Italy (1938), one quarterfinal won by Italy (1982), and a third-place match won by Brazil (1978).

Italy has not defeated Brazil in official competitions since 1982, a 3-2 win that propelled Italy into the semis and eventually the title. Since then, it's been three Brazil wins and four draws.
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