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Brazilian players to win the Ballon d'Or: How Raphinha can join list of legends including Pele

If soccer had a soundtrack, it would be samba. The ball is a pandeiro , the feet caxixis. Each touch is an embrace, a "feast for the legs that play and the eyes that watch, much more than a big business run by overlords from Switzerland," said famed Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano.

And like samba, its most remarkable practitioners are Brazilian. Modern soccer may have originated in England, but it found its joy and rhythm in Brazil. From the jungles of the countryside to the concrete courts lining the streets of Rio and São Paulo, Brazil has left an indelible mark on the beautiful game.

That influence shows up in the sport's most lavish spectacle, too. No individ

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