Have Brazil lost aura that made them defining World Cup team? - ESPN

Brazil are preparing for a FIFA World Cup round-of-16 clash with Norway on Sunday. It's hardly uncharted territory for them.

The Seleção have not failed to make it out of their group at a World Cup since 1966, and they have reached at least the quarterfinals every four years since 1990. It's the kind of record you would expect from the team that has won the World Cup five times, more than anyone else.

Brazil teams — most notably the world champions of 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002 — were celebrated for the dazzling and skillful style by either the team as a whole or a clutch of exceptional individual players. Not only in their homeland, but also by fans all over the world.

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But it has been a generation since Brazil last won a World Cup, and they don't produce the same free-flowing football or as many magical talents as they used to. Do they still capture the imagination of fans today, in the way that makes those with longer memories go all warm with nostalgia?

We asked ESPN writers of different generations from around the world for their thoughts on Brazil sides past and present, and whether they have lost their World Cup aura.

Sam Borden: I don't think there's any question that when the average American sports fan thinks of the nation of Brazil, they think of soccer. For the eldest among us, Pelé and his U.S. residency still resonates; folks that are my age remember Romário and the run in 1994; younger fans have followed Neymar and, with social media, are just generally more aware of Brazilian stars and the impact they make in the Premier League and