'For all players, that's the dream' - Former Brazil star Julio Baptista reflects on World Cup moment as new Selecao generation prepares

In the end, Baptista played 47 games for his country. It was the honor of a lifetime. As a young kid growing up in Sao Paulo, it was all he ever dreamed about. That is the story for most kids in Sao Paulo, to be fair.

The difference is that Baptista reached that dream, including its biggest stage. After missing out in 2006, largely due to a drop in form following a position change at Real Madrid, he got the call from Dunga in 2010. He played once on that stage, starting up top in a 0-0 draw with Portugal to close the group stage.

"I had a dream," he said. "My dream was to play for the best teams in the world and to participate in the World Cup. When you arrive at the World Cup, you feel that something has concluded for you. Your dream, at that moment, is done. You do incredible work just to reach that moment and participate with your teammates."

There is a whole new group of players chasing that dream this summer and, while Baptista does not quite have advice for them, he does know what it is like to be in their shoes.

There is no denying the conveyor belt of attacking talent that Brazil has historically produced. Pele, Jairzinho, Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Neymar. The list goes on. This summer feels like a changing of the guard, though. Neymar's legendary status is secured, but his spot in the squad is not. Brazil's all-time leading scorer almost certainly will not be the main man this summer, even if he is involved.

In his place rises a new generation. Stars like Vinicius Junior and Raphinha are among the best in the world. Youngsters like Endrick and Estevao look poised to get there. There are reasons to be excited about Brazil's attack. There are also reasons to be nervous about a team that still has much to prove at the highest level of the international game. Brazil have won just five major trophies since they last lifted the World Cup in 2002. Three of those were the now-defunct Confederations Cup. By Brazil standards, it has not been quite good enough but, with the talent this team possesses, there is always hope.

"It's nice because there are younger players," Baptista said. "They have the commitment to do something important that I tried to fight for as a player, winning the World Cup. We know that winning is very tough, very difficult, but it is also an achievement for Brazil. We are a great national team, so we always hope they can do very well."

To do well, Brazil will almost certainly need one of its young stars to take a big leap. Baptista knows what that is like, too.

Baptista was 22 when he first went to Spain. He did so after several seasons at Sao Paulo. Even so, he admits that it was not easy. The adjustment period is very real.

"You move to a country that you do not know anything about," he said. "You do not speak the language. Things in other countries are very different when you compare them to your own. When I arrived, people helped me integrate. Spanish culture was also easy for me because Spain is very similar to Brazil. That helped me a lot and made it easier to integrate into football and life as well."

Baptista, famously, did not stay in one place for too long throughout his playing career. He started at Sevilla and, after a breakout, went to Real Madrid. He became something of a cult hero at Arsenal. He played for Roma, Malaga, Cruzeiro, Orlando City and, finally, CFR Cluj before calling it a career in 2019. Even now, after all of these years, he feels connected to those clubs. Few have built more relationships. That is something he looks back on with pride.

"The journey is not easy because a lot of years and work go into playing at a high level," he said. "It is never easy. Maybe it is easy to arrive and have one good year at one club, but to stay at the top for eight or 10 years is the most difficult. It was the experience of my career, but it was a great journey having those doors open at all of the clubs I played for."

Fans of various clubs will have different memories of Baptista. Everyone remembers his nickname, "The Beast." He earned it. He went from defensive midfielder to attacking midfielder to striker throughout his career but, no matter where he played, he was going to be a physical handful for anyone he encountered.

"My whole career was open," he said. "I grew up in Brazil and then I came to Spain, where I got my name, "La Bestia," "The Beast." I played at Real Madrid, Arsenal, Roma and the Brazil national team. It was all incredible for me."

Still, of all the stops, few were more important than South Africa. That summer, for a few weeks, he lived his dream. It was one of many memorable moments in his career, the best of which always came in the yellow and blue of his national team.

"For me, it was an honor to play for the national team for eight years," he said, "and to have the chance for the world to know more about Julio Baptista."

The world will learn about some new Brazilian stars this summer. It is now their chance to sink or swim and, the way Baptista sees it, their chance to live their dreams the way he did 16 years ago.