1. Pele
AP/Press Association ImagesQuite simply the greatest exponent of what he called the "Jogo Bonito" that there has ever been, it would be churlish and contradictory for a list like this not to accept that Pele, for all that he is the blandly obvious choice, is also the indisputable only option for number 1. FIFA's Player of the Century, the International Olympic Committee's Athlete of the Century, named by Time Magazine amongst the 100 Most Influential People of the Century (the only Brazilian on the list), and the highest scorer both for the Brazil national team and at club level, Pele's records speak for themselves. As the star of the Santos team, Pele won 10 Sao Paulo state championships, 5 Brazilian championships, and the Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup twice, while he personally scored over 600 times. In his entire career Pele managed 1281 goals in 1363 games (a Guinness World Record as the highest scoring player ever in world football). Meanwhile, for the national team he netted 77 times in 92 games. Making his debut at the age of 16, Pele burst onto the scene as a 17 year old star at the 1958 World Cup, scoring 6 times and winning the Silver Ball as the tournament's second best player. 12 years later, he would go one better and be named the 1970 World Cup's worthy Golden Ball winner. The greatest player of all starring in the greatest team of all? Quite probably. It is near impossible to narrow down all the Brazilian greats to a list of 20, so anybody looking for the likes of Jairzinho, Kaka Ademir, Luis Pereira, Bebeto, Arthur Freidenreich, Cafu, or Falcao vent your frustration in the comments below.