Those who watched the Euro Cup last year saw a number of players born in Brazil representing different nations. Jorginho, the Chelsea midfielder who won the competition for Italy and was named the best player, was one of these cases. The athlete was born in Santa Catarina, Brazil, and became an Italian.
Will we see more Brazilians on the field wearing the shirts of other nations this year in the World Cup? Sambafoot has compiled a list of Brazilians who will represent (or have represented) other countries on the pitch.
Europe
Germany
Former player Karl Hansen is renowned for being the first Brazilian to play in Europe. He was born in Porto Alegre and represented his country as a defender for the German club Altona between 1910 and 1911.
Cacau was a success at Stuttgart between 2003 and 2014, earning him a call-up to the German national team for the 2010 World Cup. He was signed by Nacional-SP in 1997. Kevin Kuranyi, who started his career with Serrano-RJ, was a fan favourite at Schalke 04 from 2005 until 2010 and represented Germany in the Euros in 2004 and 2008.
Oliver Batista Meier, a 20-year-old winger from Ceará, has represented the European country in youth teams. He was released by Bayern Munich in 2020 and is expected to be called up. Currently, he represents Dynamo Dresden.
Austria
Luan, a defender from Ionikos in Greece, spent five years in Austrian football, where he was rumoured to be a call-up while defending St. Polten between 2018 and 2021, though this was never confirmed.
Adrianinho, a midfielder who played for Ponte Preta and Corinthians from 1998 to 2004, became a naturalized Austrian after having relatives born there, but was not selected for the national squad.
Azerbaijan
Richard Almeida was signed by Santo André in 2009, but he has been playing for Azerbaijani football since 2012. The footballer, who presently represents Qarabag, has been a popular name in the country’s squad lists since he became a citizen in 2017.
Belgium
Former Maranho striker Luis Oliveira has never played for a Brazilian team. In 1985, he was signed by Belgian club Anderlecht while still playing in the Tupan-MA basic levels. He was called up to the national squad several times between 1992 and 1999. He even played for Belgium in the 1998 World Cup.
When they were 20 and 23 years old, Gabriel and Laurent Lemoine, sons of a Brazilian mother, played for Belgium’s youth teams. Both the first, an Austrian striker for Hartsburg, and the second, a Belgian defender for Lommel, aspire to be remembered in future national teams.
Bulgaria
Cicinho, a right back first discovered by Remo in 2007, joined Ludogorets in 2015. Since then, he’s been a consistent star in the local competition. As a result, he has been a regular member of the Bulgarian senior side since 2020.
Croatia
Both forwards Eduardo da Silva and Sammir represented Croatia at the 2014 World Cup. While playing for Nova Kennedy, Eduardo was purchased by Dinamo Zagreb in 1999. After a successful career in his native country, he was hired by the English juggernaut Arsenal in 2007. He worked for Flamengo for a short time between 2014 and 2015. He also played for Dinamo Zagreb between 2007 and 2017.
Spain
Many Brazilians have represented Spain at the international level. Marcos Senna, who played for Corinthians from 1999 to 2000 and was Villarreal’s idol from 2002 to 2013, represented Spain in the 2006 World Cup.
Diego Costa, a Brazilian who won the Copa do Brasil with Atlético-MG in 2021, guarded Spain in the 2014 and 2018 World Cup competitions. He is recognized as a legend at Atlético de Madrid, where he played from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 until 2020.
Thiago Alcântara of Liverpool and Rodrigo Moreno of Leeds were both called up for the 2018 World Cup and could be featured in the squad this year. Lucas de Vega, a Ceará native who plays for Barcelona’s youth squads, has a chance to make the Roja national team in the future.
Italy
Brazilians are accustomed to wearing the national team’s jersey in Italy. Filó was the winner of the 1934 Cup. Angelo Sormani and Mazzola competed in the 1962 Cup. Thiago Motta was named to the 2014 World Cup squad.
Jorginho (Chelsea), Emerson Palmieri (Lyon), and Rafael Toloi (Atalanta) all won the Euro cup last year with the Azzurri and might be in the lineup for the Cup later this year.
Poland
Thiago Cionek was revealed as a Defender by Cuiabá in 2005. He worked at Jagiellonia in Poland between 2008 and 2012, which drew the interest of Polish officials. He currently plays for Reggina in Italy and was a member of Poland’s World Cup squad in 2018.
Portugal
Deco (2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018), Pepe (2010, 2014, and 2018), and Liédson (2010) all played for Portugal in World Cups. Another example is Bruno Alves, who was born in the country but is the son of a Brazilian father and competed in the 2018 World Cup.
Brazilian forwards Matheus Nunes (Sporting), Rony Lopes (Olympiacos), and Marcos Paulo (Famalico) are among the individuals who could surprise and play for Portugal at the 2022 World Cup.
Russia
After being discovered by Grêmio in 2009, Mário Fernandes has been a member of CSKA Moscow since 2012. For the 2018 World Cup, the right-back was called up to the national team. Guilherme Marinato of Lokomotiv Moscow has been called up to the Russian national team on multiple occasions. He was spotted by Athletico-PR in 2003 and has been a member of the European club since 2007.
Turkey
In 1995, Flamengo revealed Marco “Mehmet” Aurélio. The midfielder made history in Turkish football, where he lasted eight years. Fenerbahçe, the club he defended from 2003 to 2008, turned him into a hero. He even made it to the Euro 2008 semi-finals with the “Crescent Stars.”
Ukraine
After defending Sao Paulo from 2009 to 2011, Marlos rose to popularity in Brazil. He is now without a club. However, he played in Ukraine as a defender for Shakhtar Donetsk from 2014 until 2021. He played in the Euro Cup for the “Yellows-Blues” last year.
South America
Argentina
Aarón Wergifker was born in Brazil in 1914. He played for River Plate from 1932 until 1941 and became one of the team’s major idols. He was the first Brazilian to defend the selection of the “hermanos.”
Bolivia
Marcelo Moreno, the son of a Brazilian father, rose through the ranks at Cruzeiro, where he was a defender from 2007 until 2020. He is widely considered to be Bolivia’s best footballer. He is also the captain and top scorer (28 goals) in the history of the South American team.
Central America
Costa Rica
Alexandre Guimares, 62, went to Costa Rica when he was 11 years old because of his parents’ jobs. After playing in the 1990 World Cup with the Costa Rican national team, he became a successful player in the country.
Celso Borges, his son, followed in his father’s footsteps. The offensive midfielder from La Corua, Spain participated in the 2018 World Cup and is expected to participate in the 2022 cup as well.
North America
United States
Benny Feilhaber was born in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro in 1985 and relocated to the United States six years later. The Sporting Kansas City offensive midfielder represented the United States at the 2010 World Cup.
Mexico
Giovani and Jonathan dos Santos, sons of Brazilian parents, played for the Mexican national team at the 2018 World Cup. Both the 32-year-old and 31-year-old midfielders will be present at this year’s Cup. From Mexico, Giovani was with América till the end of last year. Jonathan is a defender for Los Angeles Galaxy.
Other Brazilians who have defended the Azteca team in the World Cup include Zaguinho (1994 and 1998) and Sinha (2006).
Africa
Equatorial Guinea
Jônatas Obina, a striker who had a brief stint at Atlético-MG in 2011, is a dual citizen who was called up by the Equatorial Guinea side in 2013. Barra-MT debuted him in 2006, and he played for Passo Fundo-RS in the 2021 season, at the age of 36.
Libya
Ex-Bahia and Figueirense striker Metheus Henrique is a Libyan hero. He was a standout at Asswehly and now plays for Al Madina. In the following months, he expects to be called up to the Lebanese national team.
On the advice of Brazilian coach Antônio Dumas, Togo called up Hamilton, who had previously played for Sergipe. He only got to play on the pitch once for the African country. He retired from football in 2017 at the age of 37.
Tunisia
Clayton was a member of Tunisia’s World Cup teams in 1998 and 2002. Moto Clube-RO noticed him in 1993, and he proceeded to Étoile du Shel in 1995, where he immediately became a celebrity.
Francileudo Santos, who was sold to Standard Liège in Belgium in 1998 while still in the Sampaio Corrêa-MA basic divisions, had his greatest season in 1998 with the same club as Clayton. He became a naturalized Tunisian and played in the 2006 World Cup for his country.
Asia
Qatar
Emerson Sheik was called up to the Qatar national team in 2008 after succeeding in Al Sadd, before becoming a legend at Corinthians. Between 2015 and 2017, Rodrigo Tabata, who played for Santos between 2006 and 2008, was called up to the Qatari national team. He is also a member of Emerson’s team.
China
Elkeson (ex-Botafogo), Alan (ex-Fluminense), Fernandinho (ex-Flamengo), and Alosio (ex-São Paulo) have all recently created a name for themselves in China. All three have just been called up by the Chinese national team. The players are hoping to help their country qualify for the Cup.
United Arab Emirates
Fábio Lima, Al Wasl’s forward since 2014, was first revealed by Icasa-CE in 2011. After scoring many goals for the club, he was called up by the country’s national team in 2020. In 173 games, he scored 133 goals.Caio Canedo, who played for Botafogo from 2009 to 2012, is now with Al Ain and was called up to the national team in 2020.
Japan
Wagner Lopes was a member of Japan’s World Cup team in 1998. From 1985 to 1987, he played for São Paulo. He spent the rest of his career playing for Japanese squads. Alex Santos, a Japanese national team midfielder who played in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, started his career at Grêmio Maringá in 1993 before being moved to Meitoku Gijuku, where he became a national hero. Tulio Tanaka played in the 2010 World Cup for Japan. He was sold from the Mirassol base to Shibuya in 1997 and spent the rest of his career in Japan.
Timor-Leste
Alan Leandro was sold by Rio Preto-SP to Dili United of Timor-Leste in 2012. In his first year in the country, he was called up to the local squad, where he played four games and scored three goals.
Oceania
Australia
Cássio, a former Flamengo defender who played for the club from 2000 to 2004, converted to Australian citizenship in order to compete for Oceania in the 2014 World Cup, which he did not do. From 2007 until 2014, he was a member of Adelaide FC, and in 2011, “FourFourTwo” magazine named him the best Brazilian player in Australian football history.
