Contenders for soccer’s all-time crown

Soccer’s greatest teams

Its rout of Italy in last week’s Euro 2012 final had many calling the current Spanish team the best of all time. But here are some others who can stake a claim to that title:

Brazil 1970: Before Spain, this team was the gold standard of soccer powerhouses. Brazil blitzed the opposition in the World Cup that year, averaging more than three goals a game and thumping European champion Italy, 4-1, in the final.

Germany 1972-76: Germany was the first — and until Spain, the only — team to reach successive Euro finals, winning in 1972 and losing to Czechoslovakia on penalty kicks four years later. In between, the team rallied to beat the favored Dutch in the 1974 World Cup final.

France 1998-2000: Led by Zinedine Zidane, perhaps the single most influential player on any of these teams, France won the World Cup in 1998 and a Euro title two years later. In the World Cup, France outscored its opposition 15-2 in seven matches, with Zidane scoring twice in a 3-0 win over Brazil in the final.

Brazil 1958-62: The first star-studded Brazilian team — one led by Pele, Didi, Gilmar and Garrincha — ushered in a new era for the South Americans. A World Cup finalist only once previously, the 1958 title started a string that saw Brazil win three championships in 12 years.

— Kevin Baxter