THE Joy of the People was a nickname given to the legendary Brazilian winger Garrincha who, along with Pele, was part of the team that won Brazil their first World Cup in 1958, elevating the Brazil men’s team to a status they hold to this day.

Even though they’ve won more World Cups than any other nation with five, that status they hold in the global game isn’t solely about winning — it’s also about the style of players the country produces.

Around the world, Pele is the more widely celebrated of those players, but back in Brazil Garrincha is revered as much as Pele, if not more.

The winger was seen as a player whose primary aim was to entertain the fans. The man from Pau Grande was one of their own, but happened to have extraordinary talent with a football at his feet.

The modern game is often seen as less romantic, more robotic, and the chances of a new Garrincha emerging are increasingly slim, but luckily there are a number of players around the world proving this idea wrong.

In two of their own emerging stars, Brazil may have players who will continue the nation’s lineage of mesmerising wingers started by the likes of Garrincha and the man who followed him, Jairzinho.

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Raphinha of Leeds United are relatively new to the national team setup with only 14 caps between them, but thanks to them, entertaining wingers may once again become a prominent feature of Brazilian football.

Of their new wave of national team players, Vinicius is the closest Brazil have to emulating the world-class dribbling ability of one of their most recent global stars, Neymar, but there is even more directness about the 21-year-old’s style.

His rainbow flick in the recent World Cup game against Argentina wasn't just entertaining, it was effective, allowing him to bypass a defender in the opposition area and give him an opportunity to set up a teammate.

Today, wingers rarely play on the side of their favoured foot but if they did, more comparisons might be made between Vinicius and Garrincha and Jairzinho.

Wide players are now more like old-fashioned inside forwards and, as a result, Neymar is often considered more of an all-round attacker than an out and out winger.

Even though Vinicius also cuts in from the left, he has the feel of a more traditional winger about his play, while the right-wing role falls to the left-footed Raphinha.

The 24-year-old Leeds United star is equally exciting on the ball and is one of the most productive players in the Premier League. 

Despite Leeds’ recent slump, he’s remained the player Marcelo Bielsa’s side turn to to make things happen and he has five goals already this season.

One reason some players may not appear as sensational in attack in the modern game is that they are asked to do a lot of defending from the front. Energy is expended pressing that could be saved for flicks, tricks and attacking play, but this defensive work doesn’t affect the output of Vinicius or Raphinha.

They do more than their fair share of defending high up the pitch while still finding time to be the most entertaining and productive players once their side win the ball.

Combine them with the cheekiness and work rate of Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino, and Brazil could potentially have one of the most joyful attacking trios in world football.

It was always a nation that produced fantastic, inventive footballers. Any generation of football fans will remember a handful of Brazilian names they grew up watching or hearing about. 

They were always fabled entertainers, at least as individuals — epitomised more recently by Ronaldinho — even if the Brazil national team’s style generally was not always the samba spectacle it’s sometimes made out to be.

The use of the past tense in the previous few sentences is perhaps a little harsh on some of the current and recent Brazilian footballers, but it doesn’t feel like there is a standout star beyond Neymar. And the Paris Saint-German forward often suffers from having the weight of the world (cup) on his shoulders as the obvious star of the team.

Despite this, Brazil have emerged as one of the best and most consistent national teams in the world in recent years. 

Their manager, Tite, is on course to become the nation’s longest-serving head coach and has a win percentage close to 75 per cent. He has set up a tight-knit group that won the Copa America in 2019.

As was the case with most successful Brazil teams in history there is a functionality that defies the samba football or Joga Bonito tags sometimes attached to them, but below the surface, there is still an exuberance in the football of many of the players.

Thanks to Raphinha and Vinicius this is now emerging above the surface while also retaining the structured tactical elements of Tite’s sides.

Brazil’s draw against Argentina last week means they have now qualified for the 2022 World Cup. To extend his tenure, Tite will need to make sure his side perform much better at the tournament, having only reached the quarter-finals in 2018.

The best way to achieve those aims might be to utilise the rare skills of the two emerging wingers at his disposal, possibly returning the World Cup to Brazil but more importantly returning the joy to the people.