LONDON — The year is about to end, but for Brazilians it ended on July 8.

That was when the Seleção, or rather some timid imitation of the national team, surrendered 7-1 to Germany in Belo Horizonte. In the trauma of that unprecedented humiliation, Zico, a former player known throughout the 1970s and 1980s as the White Pelé, spoke out.

“Our players are saying there was a ‘blackout,”’ Zico told the Indian columnist Shobhan Saxena. “Not true. In this team, we had players who do not even figure in the starting line for their clubs. The biggest problem is that Brazil has become an exporter of football talent. Clubs from Europe take away all the talent. Brazilian boys of 14 and 15 are now based in Europe; they spend their best days in Europe and come back when they are past their prime.

“This,” Zico continued, “has destroyed local clubs and championships. Unless we stop the talent leaving the country in such huge numbers at such a young age, we cannot revive football in Brazil.”

He cited Germany’s example of youth care, its carefully laid structure from kindergarten to the Mannschaft that won the World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. And Zico called upon the C.B.F., Brazil’s soccer federation, to hold a summit with the clubs, the coaches and the academies to respond to the Belo Horizonte tremor.