Santos ended 36-year World Cup wait with Robinho in 2010 | OneFootball

Santos ended a 36-year wait for a Brazil World Cup representative when Robinho made the 2010 finals in South Africa.

According to Diario Do Peixe, the club had last been represented in 1974 by Edu and Marinho Peres. The report is part of a series with Assophis on Santistas at World Cups.

On a six-month loan from Manchester City, Robinho returned to Santos and hit top form. He linked with Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso. His performances earned a recall from Dunga for the tournament.

Wearing number 11, he featured in four of Brazil’s five matches. He scored in the 3-0 win over Chile in the last 16, then again in the 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, which ended Brazil’s campaign.

Public clamour suggested Santos could have had more players at that World Cup. Neymar and Ganso were widely promoted by fans and sections of the media as deserving picks.

Ganso was named among the seven stand-by players selected by Dunga, but he did not make the final squad.

Source: Diario Do Peixe