There are few events in sports as special as the World Cup, where players shed their club badges to represent their countries under the same flag for the common goal of winning the tournament. With the expansion to 48 teams, more get to experience it, but the pressure is still on the old guard. Only eight countries have ever won the tournament, and the most successful nation in World Cup history, Brazil, hasn't lifted the title since 2002, something that Barcelona star Raphinha is well aware of.
Under a new manager in Carlo Ancelotti, Raphinha will be one of the stars expected to push Brazil to their first title in 24 years. In Group C alongside Scotland, Haiti, and Morocco, there will be competition, but it's nothing they won't be ready for, especially with Carlo Ancelotti leading the side.
"We had four trainers during all this time, and each one of them had a different philosophy. And now with Ancelotti, we are very proud to have him because he has a lot of wins, and also because he's a very admirable person, so we are happy with him," Raphinha told CBS Sports.
While this World Cup will be Ancelotti's first foray into international management as a head coach, he's no stranger to high-pressure jobs. He has managed top clubs all over the world during an illustrious career, collecting honors at every stop along the way. Similarly, Raphinha has risen to become an annual Ballon d'Or contender with Barcelona, pushing for honors on all fronts. But when seeking motivation to keep going after achieving so much, love for the badge is critical, and for the Brazilian, so is family.
"My biggest motivation is my eldest son, and I'm always looking for him during [games] and also trying to obtain the best result with FC Barcelona and my national team," Raphinha said. "Yeah, but always keeping him in mind. And I want to play a long time with FC Barcelona and my national team until I'm older, but yeah, that is my biggest motivation."
That family connection is an important aspect for Raphinha, especially considering the hardship that he went through growing up, begging for food while living in a favela, death threats while playing soccer, and more, as he told The Players' Tribune. It has been a long road to get to where he is, including stops in Portugal, France, England, and now Spain, after coming through the Avai youth academy. The importance of family is one of the reasons why he's partnering with Modelo ahead of the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
"I was very interested to have this partnership with Modelo because of the meaning of this campaign related to family and friends, because this has always been very important for me in my life, to have good moments with family and friends," Raphinha said.
Given that soccer is a global sport, watching matches with friends and family will be an integral part of this World Cup, especially with such a high cost to get into stadiums. In different host cities and beyond, fans will be glued to TV screens watching players like Raphinha and cheering on their countries from afar.
Brazil is set up well to advance from their group, but they will have to overcome the adversity that other nations are already beginning to see with key players such as Cristian Romero and Hugo Ekitike suffering significant injuries. Brazil will be without Rodrygo for the World Cup after the Real Madrid winger suffered a torn ACL and a torn lateral meniscus in his right leg in March. While Brazil head into the tournament with plenty of depth on the wings, they will undoubtedly feel Rodrygo's absence.
"Injuries are part of playing soccer," Raphinha said. "I'm very sad because of Rodrygo's injury, it's a very complicated injury, but we are making our best effort to recover from them, myself also. Um, but sometimes when you are always playing one play after another, our own bodies need some rest, and maybe this injury recovery is the best opportunity to have that rest for our own bodies. So yeah, I know that it's going to be difficult, but not impossible, and we are going to do our best."
Raphinha, unfortunately, wasn't able to participate in Barcelona's Champions League quarterfinal exit against Atletico Madrid due to a hamstring injury of his own, but those injuries won't stop him from giving his all on the pitch. In a game where space is so tight, dwelling on the risk of getting hurt can sometimes inadvertently lead to more injuries.
By the World Cup, these injuries should be behind Raphinha so that he's able to unite with Real Madrid rival Vinicius Junior under the same badge for a common goal: bringing Brazil its first World Cup title since 2002, while giving his family something further to cheer for.
