15. Rivaldo
Matthew Ashton/EMPICS SportAfter his career wound down in Greece, Uzbekistan and back in Brazil, one of the true Brazil greats of our time retired for good this summer. As part of a supremely gifted, skillful forward trio with Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, Rivaldo was one of the stars of Brazil's 2002 World Cup triumph (albeit somewhat damaging his reputation with his ridiculous face clutching dive against Turkey) and also came in between those other two legendary players as Barcelona's Brazil star. Although he would go on to win the 2003 Champions League with Milan, Rivaldo enjoyed the best years of his career as a Barca player, winning La Liga in 1998 and 1999 and the 1999 Fifa World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or awards. A regular goal scorer for Brazil, Rivaldo scored 34 times in a 74 game international career across 10 years. At the 1998 World Cup he scored two crucial goals in the quarter-final against Denmark, and scored at the same stage against England in 2002. In all, Rivaldo managed 8 World Cup goals in two tournaments, featuring as part of the All-Star Team in both 1998 and 2002.
14. Rivelino
Peter Robinson/EMPICS SportFor all that they have won the World Cup 5 times, the 1970 team is still perceived as standing head and shoulders above all other Brazil sides. Even among a team packed with such gifted individuals, however, there are some that stand out as inspirations to the later generations of Brazil stars and left midfielder Rivelino is one of them. If for no other reason, Rivelino deserves his place on this list for his signature trick, the "flip flap", a dribbling feint that has been borrowed by every great attacking Brazil player ever since from Ronaldo to Ronaldinho, Romario to Robinho. Rivelino was one of the most gifted players of his time, known as "O Rei do Parque" (the King of the Park) in his time at Sao Paulo's Corinthians before becoming the key man in the great Fluminense team of the 1970s, but it was the World Cup for which he will be remembered. Rivelino announced himself with a thundering free kick against Czechoslovakia in the 1970 group stage and went on to be one of five Brazilians voted into the tournament's Dream Team. He went on to be the country's top scorer in 1974 as they were knocked out by Johann Cruyff's Dutch.