In a football mad country such as Brazil where every boy dreams of playing for the men's national team, it is often one of the biggest honours a player can receive when they are given a chance to wear that famous yellow jersey and represent Brazil on the international stage.
For a player to then be chosen as captain of the national team with arguably the highest expectations on the planet not only shows their high quality and leadership ability, but also puts a huge amount of pressure on them to perform and lead their country to glory.
All Brazilian players dream of joining the likes of Carlos Alberto, Dunga and Cafu as the ones to hoist the famous World Cup trophy in the sky after a victorious final, and the Selecao are down as many fans' and pundits' favourites to go all the way in Qatar
Whilst Brazil may have a squad of leaders, there is only one man who wears the armband when the whistle goes for the 90 minutes, just who is that man, though?
MORE: Why do Brazil wear yellow? Story behind famous kit and nickname
Who is Brazil captain at World Cup?
Brazil's captain at the 2022 World Cup is veteran defender Thiago Silva.
The 38-year-old has aged wonderfully in football terms and is still performing at a very high level, meaning he has been able to maintain his captaincy without any issue or controversy.
As well as being a top quality player, he is a strong leader and key component to Brazil's defence and organisational structure.
He has played 112 times for his country, and is the fifth most capped Brazilian player of all time.
MORE: Final Brazil squad World Cup 2022
How long has Thiago Silva been Brazil captain?
Thiago Silva became tapped captain at the age of 29 by Luiz Felipe Scolari, with his first major tournament being the 2013 Confederations Cup hosted by Brazil. The hosts would go on to win that tournament, beating then European and world champions Spain, 3-0, in the final.
This mean expectations were high going into the home World Cup the next year, in which Silva would once again be named captain. Their performances at the time were not the best, but they eventually made the semifinals, though Silva would miss the match against Germany because of suspension.
It would be the most shocking World Cup match of the century, as Germany scored five goals in 22 minutes on their way to a 7-1 win. It was the lowest moment in Brazilian football history.
Silva would captain the side once again in Russia 2018, where they were looking to atone for their catastrophic semifinal of four years before. However, they would fall in the quarterfinals to Belgium, meaning the 2022 tournament will mark 20 years since they last won the World Cup.
Brazil captain Thiago Silva career, clubs
Thiago Silva has enjoyed a highly distinguished career at some of the world's biggest and best footballing clubs, having picked up a large amount of silverware along the way.
After playing for smaller Brazilian clubs and a short, unsuccessful stint in Europe, it was at bigger club Fluminense that his career took off. After three successful seasons there, he joined Italian powerhouses AC Milan in 2009, where they won the Scudetto in 2011.
Financial problems forced Milan to sell their key defender to Paris Saint-German in 2012 for a then record €42 million. In the French capital he won seven league titles, 11 cup competitions and also captained the team in their first ever Champions League Final, which they lost to Bayern Munich.
That would be his last game for PSG, as the next season he would join Premier League side Chelsea, where he would once again reach the final, but this time would be on the winning side as they upset favourites and domestic rivals Manchester City, 1-0.
• At AC Milan - won Serie A - captained incredible side
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) November 28, 2022
• At PSG - became world's most expensive defender - won 7 Ligue 1 titles
• At Chelsea - won the UCL in his first season at the club
• In this World Cup - bossing it for Brazil - he's 38
Thiago Silva = football royalty pic.twitter.com/VGeMoHwDMY
Thiago Silva club career statistics
| Club | Country | Years | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RS Futebol | Brazil | 2002-2003 | 25 | 2 |
| Juventude | Brazil | 2003-2004 | 36 | 3 |
| Porto B | Portugal | 2004-2006 | 14 | 0 |
| Dynamo Moscow | Russia | 2005-2006 | 0 | 0 |
| Fluminense | Brazil | 2006-2009 | 143 | 14 |
| AC Milan | Italy | 2009-2012 | 119 | 6 |
| Paris Saint-German | France | 2012-2020 | 315 | 17 |
| Chelsea | England | 2020-present | 99 | 5 |
