Careca
The man whose injury saw Serginho promoted to the starting line-up for the 1982 World Cup wore the No. 9 shirt for much of the 1980s and early 90s. In an aging side, Careca was the second top scorer at the 1986 tournament, despite Brazil bowing out in the quarterfinals. He took his World Cup goal tally to seven in Italy four years later before bowing out of international football in 1993. Like Fred, Careca played in Europe, forming Napoli's legendary "Ma-Gi-Ca" front line alongside Diego Maradona and Bruno Giordano, and winning the club's first Serie A title in 1986/87.
Luis Fabiano
Despite a similarly impressive strike rate to the luminaries on this list, Fabiano is perhaps a more realistic benchmark for Fred to aim at. The striker hadn't scored for Brazil for more than nine months ahead of the 2010 World Cup, before netting twice in the second group game against Ivory Coast. Fabiano scored again in the round of 16 before Brazil lost to runners-up, the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. Fabiano won the Golden Boot at the Confederations Cup (2009) and was the top scorer in Brazil's domestic league.
Serginho
The bad news for Fred is that even the derided Serginho so far has a better World Cup No. 9 record. The man variously labeled by the international press in 1982 as "a talentless brute", a "donkey" and "a lumbering giant" actually scored two goals in the tournament, including one against Argentina. He is also credited by some observers as playing a critical pivot role, allowing the smooth movements of Zico, Socrates and co to flow around him.
