The last time a Brazilian won the honor was in 2007, with Kaká, then star of European champions Milan. On that occasion, Kaká surpassed none other than the young Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo , who in the following decade each racked up five trophies.
Since then, the Brazilian to come closest to the trophy was Neymar , third place in 2015. The striker, currently at Al-Hilal, wasn’t even a professional when Kaká won the award. The year 2007 was also marked by major sporting, political and technology and entertainment events.
The last time a Brazilian was best in the world
- Kaká was voted the best player in the world in 2007, after a great season with Milan;
- Currently, Vini Jr is the main Brazilian player on the planet and one of the favorites for the trophy;
- From 2007 to now, the Brazilian who came closest to the trophy was Neymar, in 2015.
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Corinthians relegated, Dunga on the rise and Pan
The sporting year was quite eventful and even surprising in 2007. In Brazil, the most striking fact was the relegation of Corinthians in the Brazilian Championship , decreed with a draw against Grêmio.
The Brazilian team was experiencing the beginning of the first Dunga era and achieved a remarkable title, the Copa América in Venezuela, with a 3-0 victory over Argentina, which included Messi, Riquelme and other stars.
That year also marked the first mega sporting event of the century in the country, the Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro – following which, the country would host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.
‘Yes, we can’
This was the year in which the world began to get to know Barack Hussein Obama , then an emerging senator from the State of Illinois, who dared to challenge Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party primaries.
The following year, after winning the internal dispute, Obama took off in the presidential race with his old motto, Yes, we can and, by surpassing Republican John McCain, became the first black president in the history of the United States. United.
The first iPhone
The year 2007 also registered a kind of technological revolution when Steve Jobs presented the first iPhone model to the world.
Despite not being the first smartphone in history, the Apple model quickly left competitors from Nokia and BlackBerry behind due to the fact that it works with touchscreen technology , without the need for physical keyboards or styluses.
The original iPhone was born with a steep price: 599 dollars (about 2,450 reais at the current price).
☝️ HE'S DONE THIS BEFORE! ☝️#UCLfinal | #APorLa15 pic.twitter.com/Wo2pUetlbk
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) June 1, 2024
Elite squad
“Ask to leave”, “They will never be”, “No one will come up”… This was the year of release of the film Tropa de Elite, directed by José Padilha, whose catchphrases of characters such as Captain Nascimento (Wagner Moura) won cinemas cinema and streets across the country.
Winner of the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival, the film portrayed urban violence in Rio de Janeiro and introduced the world to the work of the Police Operations Battalion (BOPE).
End of Sandy and Junior
In August 2007, the album Sandy e Junior – Acústico MTV was released, which would mark the end of the brother duo after a 17-year career.
Twelve years later, the two recreated their partnership for a hugely successful tour to satisfy thousands of fans across the country – including Kaká himself, who attended the inaugural show.
Love triangle on BBB
Big Brother 7 was one of the most memorable in the history of Globo ‘s reality show . The champion, with 91% of the votes in the final, was Diego “Alemão”, who throughout the three months of confinement starred in a fun love triangle with Fani Pacheco and Iris Stefaneli and raised BBB’s audience ratings.
The rise of Orkut
At a time when Kaká was the best in the world, Brazilians were enjoying the heyday of Orkut, a social network created three years earlier by Turkish software engineer Orkut Büyükkökten, the first to be successful on a large scale in the country.
With its fun communities and innovative interaction possibilities, the site was a huge success (especially in Brazil and India) and would only lose Brazilians’ preference to Facebook in 2011. The flight of users and the lack of interest of its owner, Google , would lead to the extinction of Orkut, made official in 2014.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Binge the full series, available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel.
