by Alex Bellos
I mention that Amapá has no tourist industry. If tourists ever do decide to travel there I can recommend the recently-built Ceta Ecotel, where ecoball was invented. The hotel's Adriano Ferreira introduced me to Mundica, whose ball recipe is in the fourth appendix. The culinary high point was when Joaquim Neto invited me home to feed me a bowl of acai – a delicious purple berry stacked full of protein. I predict that one day açaí will be available all around the world.
Chapter Thirteen
The Byzantine rules of the Brazilian leagues are explained in Marco Aurélio Klein's almanac. The book is an invaluable reference, since it also lists every player to have ever played for the national team, together with number of appearances and goals.
Klein, M. A., Futebol Brasileiro 1894-2001, Editora Escala, São Paulo, 2001
Chapter Fourteen
The Nike-CBF contract and the full texts of both CPIs were available on the internet. On other government websites you can see the legal actions against Ricardo Teixeira and Eurico Miranda.
Torres, S. (ed.), Comissdo Parlamentar de Inquerito Destinada a Apurar a Regularidade do Contrato Celebrado Entre a CBF e a Nike, Brasilia, 2001
Yallop, D., How They Stole The Game, Poetic Publishing, London, 1999
Chapter Fifteen
Shirts, M., Socrates, Corinthians, and Questions of Democracy and Citizenship, journal and date unknown
General
It may not look like it judging from this list, but until the mid-1990s there were comparatively few books about Brazilian football. Studies on football's anthropological or sociological influences are also few and far between. The pioneer was an American, Janet Lever, in the 1970s. Since 1994 a group of anthropologists in Rio have been expanding research into football significantly.
The following all contributed in some way to my understanding of the subject.
Bruhns, H. T, Futebol, Carnaval e Capoeira, Papirus Editora, Campinas, 2000
Bussunda, Bussunda na Copa, Editora Record, Rio de Janeiro, 1994
Da Costa, M. R., Florenzano, J. P., Quintilho, E., D'Allevedo, S. C. and Santos, M. A. S. (eds.), Futebol, espectdculo do século, Musa Editora, São Paulo, 1999
Feijo, L. C. S., A Linguagem dos Esportes de Massa e a Giria no Futebol, Tempo Brasileiro, Rio de Janeiro, 1994
Galeano, E., Football in Sun and Shadow, Fourth Estate, London, 1997
Gonçalves, M. A., and Mattos Jr, W de, (eds.), Lance'.'s Enciclopedia do Futebol Brasileiro, Arete Editorial, Rio de Janeiro, 2001
Goussinsky, E. and Assumpc,ao, J. C, Deuses da Bola, Historias da Selecao Brasileira de Futebol, Dorea Books and Art, São Paulo, 1998
Jenkins, G., The Beautiful Team: In Search of Pelé and the 1970 Brazilians, Simon and Schuster, London, 1998
Kuper, S., Football Against The Enemy, Orion Books, London, 1994
Lever, J., Soccer Madness, Brazil's passion for the world's most popular sport, Waveland Press, 1983 (1995 reissue)
Mason, T, Passion of the People? Football in South America, Verso, London, 1995
Mattos, C, Cem Anos de Paixao, Uma mitologia carioca no futebol, Rocco, Rio de Janeiro, 1997
Máximo, J., João Saldanha, Relume Dumara, Rio de Janeiro, 1996
Mendes, L., 7 mil horas de futebol, Freitas Bastos, Rio de Janeiro, 1999
Milan, B., O Pat's da Bola, Editora Record, Rio de Janeiro, 1998
Murad, M., Dos pes a cabeca, Elementos Bdsicos de Sociologia do Futebol, Irradiagao Cultural, Rio de Janeiro, 1996
Proni, M. W., A Metamorphose do Futebol, Unicamp, Campinas, 2000
Ramos, R. (ed.), A palavra e Futebol, Editora Scipione, São Paulo, 1990
Saldanha, J., Historias do futebol, Editora Revan, Rio de Janeiro, 1963
Sebe Bom Meihy, J. C. and Witter, J. S. (eds.), Futebol e Cultura, Coletdnea de estudos, Imprensa Oficial do Estado, São Paulo, 1982
Souto, S. M., Os Tres Tempos dojogo, Graphia, Rio de Janeiro, 2000
Souza, J. de, Rito, L. and Sa Leitao, S., Futebol-Arte, A cultura e o jeito brasileiro de jogar, Editora Senac, São Paulo, 1998
Sussekind, H., Futebol em dots tempos, Relume Dumara, Rio de Janeiro, 1996
Taylor, C, The Beautiful Game, A Journey Through Latin American Football, Victor Gollancz, London, 1998
Journals
Pesquisa de Campo, Revista do Núcleo de Sociologia do Futebol, 1-5, Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro
Revista USP, no. 22, June-August 1994, Dossiê Futebol, Universidade de São Paulo
Newspapers
Lance!, O Globo, Jornal do Brasil, Estado de São Paulo, Folha de São Paulo, Extra, O Dia
Magazines
Caros Amigos, Época, Istoë, Placar, Playboy, Realidade, Veja
Films
The Brazilian film industry has produced several interesting football movies. The difference between the Garrincha and Pelé biopics reflects the difference between the two players-Garrincha is only heard twice in his film; in Pelé's, the 'King' is constantly talking about himself. Barbosa is a short, and includes a moving interview with the 1950 keeper. While deeply sympathetic to him, it nevertheless reinforces his image as a national pariah. Futebol includes several interviews with old footballers – some who have since died – which I have quoted.
Barbosa, directed by Jorge Furtado, 1988
Boleiros, Era Uma Vez o Futebol, directed by Ugo Giorgetti, 1997
Futebol, documentary directed by Arthur Fontes and João Moreira Salles, GNT/Videofilmes, 1998
Garrincha, Alegria do Povo, directed by Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, 1963
Isto É Pelé, directed by Eduardo Escorel and Luiz Carlos Barreto, 1975
Appendix Two
THE CLUBS
It is impossible to say precisely how many professional clubs there are in Brazil, since they are endlessly being founded and shut down. The best that the Brazilian Football Confederation can say is that in 2000, the last year for which figures are available, it registered forty-eight new professional teams – almost one a week. Lance! lists 794 in its encyclopaedia, and Placar claims that 302 are operational. However, according to Marco Aurélio Klein's almanac Futebol Brasileiro, the twenty-seven professional state leagues (accounting for fifty-two divisions) contain 531 clubs. I have separated the major teams into their four states.
Fan numbers (Source: Lance!)
Rio de Janeiro
Fluminense, founded by the upper classes, were Rio's first football club. In 1911 a group of Fluminense players left to join Flamengo, already an established rowing club, where they formed its first football team. Botafogo started life as an idea that a fourteen-year-old had during his algebra class. He scribbled the suggestion down on a piece of paper. The teacher saw the note and enouraged his pupil to carry it through. Vasco da Gama are the club of the Portuguese community.
Flamengo soon established itself as the best-supported club in Rio. Many reasons are given, none conclusive. Some say it was because the club trained on public land in its formative years, others say its mass appeal comes from the late 1930s and early 1940s when the club won titles with the most famous black stars of the era – Domingos da Guia, Leônidas and Zizinho.
In many situations to call someone a 'Flamenguista' is akin to calling them a slum-dweller. There are middle-class Flamengo fans, sure, yet the percentage increases the lower you go down the social ladder. If Flamengo are losing, opposing fans chant: 'ela, ela, ela – silencio na favela' – silence in the favela.
If Flamengo are the team of the masses, then, conversely, Fluminense are the team of the aristocracy. I have met Fluminense fans living in poverty who believe they are more socially refined than their Flamenguista neighbours – merely because of their choice of football club. Botafogo gained, in the 1950s and 1960s, a reputation as the team supported by intellectuals and the superstitious. Vasco, although still the club of the Portuguese, have a large black following too – linked to their pioneering introduction of black players.
Only Vasco has a proper home stadium,
at São Januário. The other three have such small grounds – holding only a few thousand each – that they tend to play all home games at the state-owned Maracanã.
Fluminense means 'from or of the state of Rio', Vasco da Gama was the name of a Portuguese navigator, and Botafogo and Flamengo are neighbourhoods in Rio's South Zone.
Botafogo
Founded: 12 August 1904
Colours: Shirt with vertical black-and-white stripes, black shorts and grey socks.
Titles: Brazilian champions 1995. Seventeen state championships.
Famous Players: Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Didi, Zagalo, Gérson, Jairzinho.
Website: www.botafogo.com
Flamengo
Founded: 15 November 1895 (football department started on 24 December 1911)
Colours: Shirt with horizontal red and black stripes, white shorts with red vertical stripe on the side, striped red and black socks.
Titles: Brazilian champions 1980, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1992. Twenty-seven state championships. Libertadores Cup 1981. World Club Champions 1981.
Famous Players: Zico, Zizinho, Leônidas, Domingos da Guia, Júnior, Romário, Bebeto.
Website: www.flamengo.com.br
Fluminense
Founded: 21 July 1902
Colours: Shirts with thin white and thick green and grenadine-red vertical stripes. White shorts and white socks with green and grenadine-red stripes.
Titles: Brazilian champions 1984. Twenty-eight state championships.
Famous Players: Rivelino, Tele Santana, Didi.
Website: www.fluminense.com.br
Vasco da Gama
Founded: 21 August 1898 (football department started on 26 November 1915)
Colours: Black shirts with a white diagonal stripe that contains the Patee Cross. Black shorts and white socks.
Titles: Brazilian champions 1974, 1989, 1997, 2000. South American champions 1948. Libertadores Cup 1998. Twenty-one state championships.
Famous Players: Roberto Dinamite, Ademir, Barbosa, Bellini, Vavá, Edmundo, Romario.
Website: www.crvascodagama.com.br
São Paulo
Like in Rio, São Paulo's clubs are divided along social lines. São Paulo is the traditional club of the elite. It emerged from the ashes of Paulistano, who were runners-up in the first state championship in 1902 and, in 1930, shut down their football department in protest at professionalism. Corinthians are the team of the masses; the club was founded by members of the working class – a driver, a mason, a cobbler and two painters. They chose the name since in 1910 the British team Corinthians had toured Brazil. In 1976, 70,000 Corinthians fans went to Rio's Maracanã to see them play a semi-final of the Brazilian championship – the largest away crowd in Brazilian history.
Palmeiras – meaning Palm Trees – are the team of the Italian community. They were originally called Palestra Italia but changed their name in 1942 when the Justice Ministry ruled that, because of the Second World War, no sporting entity could contain the name of enemy countries. Santos are the only one of the state's big teams from outside the city of São Paulo. The club owes its fame and success largely to Pelé, who played there between 1956 and 1974, scoring 1091 goals.
Corinthians
Founded: 1 September 1910
Colours: White shirts, black shorts and white socks.
Titles: Brazilian champions 1990, 1998, 1999. FIFA World Club Champions 2000. Twenty-four state championships.
Famous Players: Socrates, Rivelino, Gilmar.
Website: www.corinthians.com.br
Palmeiras
Founded: 26 August 1914 as Palestra Italia, changed name on 14 September 1942
Colours: Green shirt, white shorts and green socks. Titles: Brazilian champions in 1972, 1973, 1993, 1994. Libertadores Cup in 1999. Twenty-one state championships.
Famous Players: Ademir da Guia, Djalma Santos, Rivaldo, Edmundo, Roberto Carlos.
Website: www.palmeiras.com.br
Santos
Founded: 14 April 1912
Colours: White shirts, shorts and socks.
Titles: Libertadores Cup 1962, 1963. World Club Champions 1962, 1963. Fifteen state championships.
Famous Players: Pelé, Pepe, Zito, Carlos Alberto, Clodoaldo, Coutinho.
Website: www.santosfc.com.br
São Paulo
Founded: 16 December 1935
Colours: White shirts with two horizontal stripes – one red, one black. White shorts and socks.
Titles: Brazilian champions 1977, 1986, 1991. Libertadores Cup 1992, 1993. World Club Champions 1992, 1993.
Famous Players: Rai, Leônidas, Careca, Müller.
Website: www.saopaulofc.com.br
Rio Grande do Sul
At the turn of the twentieth century, Germans were the dominant immigrant group in Porto Alegre. Grêmio – which means Fraternity – was founded by the man who owned the city's first football and, in its early years, only admitted Germans. Two Brazilians who had moved south from São Paulo were not allowed to join, so they founded Internacional.
Grêmio
Founded: 15 September 1903
Colours: Shirts with thin white and thick black and sky-blue vertical stripes. Black shorts and white socks.
Titles: Brazilian champions 1981, 1996. Libertadores Cup 1983, 1995. World Club Champions 1983. Thirty-three state championships.
Famous Players: Renato Gaucho, Everaldo
Website: www.gremio.net
International
Founded: 4 April 1909 Colours: Red shirts, white shorts and socks.
Titles: Brazilian champions 1975, 1976, 1979. Thirty-three state championships.
Famous Players: Falcao, Taffarel, Paulo Cesar Carpegiani.
Website: www.netinter.com.br
Minas Gerais
Atlético acquired their first football by sending some beetles found in the streets of Belo Horizonte to an insect collector in Paris, who sent a ball back in return. Their local rivals were originally called Societa Sportiva Palestra Italia, founded by the local oriundi. Its name changed during the Second World War for the same reason that Palmeiras's did. Cruzeiro is shorthand for Cruzeiro do Sul, the constellation Southern Cross – whose pattern is on the team's shirts.
Atlético Mineiro
Founded: 25 March 1908.
Colours: Shirts with black-and-white vertical stripes, black shorts and white socks.
Titles: Brazilian champions 1971. Thirty-eight state championships.
Famous Players: Reinaldo, Dario.
Website: www.atletico.com.br
Cruzeiro
Founded: 2 January 1921
Colours: Blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks.
Titles: Libertadores Cup 1976,1997. Twenty-nine state championships.
Famous Players: Tostao, Piazza, Ronaldo.
Website: www.cruzeiro.com.br
The Other States
Flamengo's fans are referred to as the Nação Rubro-Negra, the Ruby-and-Black Nation. Justifiably, since the number of its supporters is the equivalent of the population of Peru. About 15 per cent of Brazilians are Flamenguistas – double the total number of fans of all Rio's other clubs combined. However distant you are from Rio you can guarantee that you will find a Flamengo fan wearing a replica shirt. In the swathe of land that stretches from the northeast and covers the entire Amazon region, there are more than three times more Flamenguistas than fans of the next most popular team, Corinthians. Since Flamengo is associated with the masses, there is a sense that a Flamengo shirt is more authentically Brazilian than even a Brazil shirt.
Brazil is also a nation of Flamengos. Six states have their own Flamengos, independent professional football clubs named in homage to the Rio original. Similarly there are four cloned Corinthians, three Vascos, three Fluminenses, two Botafogos, two São Paulos, two Santoses and one Palmeiras.
Radio spread the popularity of Flamengo during the peak of transmissions between the 1940s and 1960s. In most states more attention is paid to the Rio a
nd São Paulo championships than to their own state leagues. With seven exceptions: the four mentioned above and Bahia, which has two big clubs – Bahia and Vitória; Pernambuco, which has three – Sport, Santa Cruz and Náutico; and Paraná, which has Coritiba, Atlético Paranáense and Paraná.
Appendix Three
BRAZIL IN WORLD CUPS
Brazil is the only country to have taken part in every World Cup. The line-up in each case is of Brazil's last game.
1930
Hosts: Uruguay
Winners: Uruguay
Brazil knocked out in first stage.
First Stage: Brazil 1 Yugoslavia 2, Brazil 4 Bolivia 0
Brazil: Velloso; Ze Luiz, Italia; Hermogenes, Fausto, Fernando; Benedicto, Russinho, Carvalho Leite, Preguinho, Moderato.
Coach: Pindaro.
1934
Hosts: Italy
Winners: Italy
Brazil sail home after one game.
First round: Brazil 1 Spain 3
Brazil: Pedrosa; Silvio Hoffman, Luiz Luz; Tinoco, Martim Silveira, Canalli; Luizinho, Waldemar de Brito, Armandinho, Leônidas da Silva, Patesko.
Coach: Luiz Vinhaes.
1938
Hosts: France
Winners: Italy
Brazil win third place.
First round: Brazil 6 Poland 5
Quarter-final: Brazil 1 Czechoslovakia 1, Brazil 2 Czechoslovakia 1
Semi-final: Brazil 1 Italy 2
Third-place play-off: Brazil 4 Sweden 2
Brazil: Batatais; Domingos da Guia, Machado; Zeze Procopio, Brandao, Afonsinho; Roberto, Romeu Pellicciari, Leônidas da Silva, Peracio, Patesko.
