Brazil defender Dani Alves has sais that he will wear the No. 4 shirt in the game as a tribute to Selecao great Carlos Alberto Torres, who died in October.
Carlos Alberto was the captain of Brazil's World Cup-winning team in 1970 and scorer of one of the sport's most memorable goals.
For many Brazilians, he was just "The Captain'' -- even to his friends and family. He made 53 appearances for Brazil.
"I was lucky to meet Carlos Alberto and say everything I thought about him, what he has done here at Selecao... And I go beyond: if you love or admire a person, you have to say that in life, don't wait until he dies to express that on social media, that's a cold way, something that you'll not convince the people with," Alves told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.
Brazil meet Argentina for a key CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier on Thursday.
"The confederation made the decision to do this tribute, in respect to the eternal captain, his family. I believe that any tribute is valid, acceptable," he said.
Para homenagear Carlos Alberto Torres, @DaniAlvesD2 entrará em campo com uma faixa especial e usará a camisa 4 >> https://t.co/0IBJuw6zfb pic.twitter.com/HlNbfQiPNg
- CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) November 8, 2016
One of the best defenders of his generation, Carlos Alberto was innovative in playing box-to-box football. His style of play allowed him to score his famous goal at the 1970 World Cup, blasting in a pass from Pele in the 4-1 win against Italy in the final.
"Nowadays, people pay a lot of attention on social media, go for 'likes' and stuff like that, but I'm different," the Juventus defender said. "In life, you have to collect the good examples and, when you have the chance, go and say to these people how important they are."
Thursday's game takes place in the Mineirao stadium where Brazil were humiliated two years ago in a 7-1 loss to Germany in the World Cup semifinals.
All 62,000 seats are expected to be taken as the hosts focus on containing Messi, rather than the ghosts of the 2014 World Cup debacle.
Brazil lead qualifying with 21 points, followed by Uruguay with 20 and Ecuador and Colombia with 17. Chile and Argentina have 16 points each.
The top four teams qualify automatically for the World Cup. The fifth-place team could advance through a playoff.
Brazil have won four straight matches since coach Tite took over after the five-time World Cup champions fired Dunga.