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The Artful Dodgers of Brazil The Artful Dodgers of Brazil
(3 months later)
Paris — When Brazil faces off against Croatia in São Paulo to open the World Cup on Thursday, “futebol” returns home. Paris — When Brazil faces off against Croatia in São Paulo to open the World Cup on Thursday, “futebol” returns home.
Not soccer, which everyone knows was born in England. No, futebol — the distinctly Brazilian variation of soccer, played with trademark Brazilian panache, guile and joy.Not soccer, which everyone knows was born in England. No, futebol — the distinctly Brazilian variation of soccer, played with trademark Brazilian panache, guile and joy.
It’s the same game as soccer anywhere else — except racier, more flamboyant, artfully graceful.It’s the same game as soccer anywhere else — except racier, more flamboyant, artfully graceful.
More than anything, what defines it is its dribbling, a spectacle of speed, evasion, rhythm and trickery passed on by generations of Brazil’s giants — Garrincha, Pelé (the acknowledged king), Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and the star of this year’s Team Brazil, Neymar.More than anything, what defines it is its dribbling, a spectacle of speed, evasion, rhythm and trickery passed on by generations of Brazil’s giants — Garrincha, Pelé (the acknowledged king), Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and the star of this year’s Team Brazil, Neymar.
Its origins can be found a century ago, in the very divisions that still characterize Brazil, a multiracial society with staggering differences of wealth and class. Soccer first got a foothold in Brazil around the turn of the 20th century, when the abolition of slavery in 1888 was a vivid memory. Its black athletes were strongly discouraged from playing with European-descended whites. There was no legal segregation, but among the white elite, the white-superiority theories of the 19th-century French writer Joseph Arthur, Comte de Gobineau were in vogue.Its origins can be found a century ago, in the very divisions that still characterize Brazil, a multiracial society with staggering differences of wealth and class. Soccer first got a foothold in Brazil around the turn of the 20th century, when the abolition of slavery in 1888 was a vivid memory. Its black athletes were strongly discouraged from playing with European-descended whites. There was no legal segregation, but among the white elite, the white-superiority theories of the 19th-century French writer Joseph Arthur, Comte de Gobineau were in vogue.
Upper-class soccer clubs, like Fluminense, Flamengo or Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro, took such bigotry seriously; at the beginning, the well-groomed lawns on which they played were sealed-off havens for the upper crust. Meanwhile, in Brazil’s urban slums, poor boys took up the game in their narrow streets and cramped yards, playing with anything usable as a ball — an orange, a coconut, even a can — and dribbling past not just their opponents but the many stones, trees, potholes and roaming dogs.Upper-class soccer clubs, like Fluminense, Flamengo or Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro, took such bigotry seriously; at the beginning, the well-groomed lawns on which they played were sealed-off havens for the upper crust. Meanwhile, in Brazil’s urban slums, poor boys took up the game in their narrow streets and cramped yards, playing with anything usable as a ball — an orange, a coconut, even a can — and dribbling past not just their opponents but the many stones, trees, potholes and roaming dogs.
As time passed, a vanguard of talented mixed-race players began gaining acceptance to some teams; to minimize racist insults and physical abuse from opponents and spectators in 1914, Carlos Alberto of Fluminense is said to have lightened his face by daubing it with rice powder. Others, like the legendary Arthur Friedenreich in the first third of the 20th century, would smooth their hair down with Brilliantine.As time passed, a vanguard of talented mixed-race players began gaining acceptance to some teams; to minimize racist insults and physical abuse from opponents and spectators in 1914, Carlos Alberto of Fluminense is said to have lightened his face by daubing it with rice powder. Others, like the legendary Arthur Friedenreich in the first third of the 20th century, would smooth their hair down with Brilliantine.
Soon, though, their talent and gift for improvisation commanded recognition. Friedenreich, the son of a German immigrant and an Afro-Brazilian woman, played so aggressively that he earned the nickname O Tigre do Brasil and became the first legend of futebol, scoring 1,329 goals in his lifetime. That record still stands.Soon, though, their talent and gift for improvisation commanded recognition. Friedenreich, the son of a German immigrant and an Afro-Brazilian woman, played so aggressively that he earned the nickname O Tigre do Brasil and became the first legend of futebol, scoring 1,329 goals in his lifetime. That record still stands.
Friedenreich also pointed the way for Brazilian soccer. Unconventional, capricious and devastatingly effective at fooling opponents with his body feints, he was an artiste at dodging — a skill honed, no doubt, by the need to evade violent tackles by white opponents, whose fouls the referees rarely flagged.Friedenreich also pointed the way for Brazilian soccer. Unconventional, capricious and devastatingly effective at fooling opponents with his body feints, he was an artiste at dodging — a skill honed, no doubt, by the need to evade violent tackles by white opponents, whose fouls the referees rarely flagged.
And so the dribble was born in Brazil: in part a product of youthful improvisation on the rough turf of the favelas but also a trick, a survival tactic for early players of color. By bobbing and weaving, black strikers didn’t just move the ball forward; they avoided being bashed.And so the dribble was born in Brazil: in part a product of youthful improvisation on the rough turf of the favelas but also a trick, a survival tactic for early players of color. By bobbing and weaving, black strikers didn’t just move the ball forward; they avoided being bashed.
In the second decade of the new century, in Rio de Janeiro, the Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama, an ambitious multisport organization founded by Portuguese immigrants, took up soccer and dared to recruit the best players, without regard to race, from the impoverished outskirts of the city. By 1923, the club had risen to League A and promptly captured the Campeonato Carioca, Rio’s football league championship, with a team that included three black players and one of mixed race.In the second decade of the new century, in Rio de Janeiro, the Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama, an ambitious multisport organization founded by Portuguese immigrants, took up soccer and dared to recruit the best players, without regard to race, from the impoverished outskirts of the city. By 1923, the club had risen to League A and promptly captured the Campeonato Carioca, Rio’s football league championship, with a team that included three black players and one of mixed race.
This proved a revolution for Brazilian soccer. When the leagues in Rio and São Paulo went professional 10 years later, the game was opened widely to the lower classes, especially black people. Just as Jackie Robinson and other American veterans of the Negro Leagues would later change the face of North American baseball — by bringing a dynamic, more exciting and aggressive style of play to it — skills born in Brazil’s rougher neighborhoods transformed a once staid sport. Quickly, the long pass and the boring old kick and rush imported from Britain gave way to the joga bonito (“beautiful game”) — in which forwards shifted their center of gravity with the suaveness of a samba or the unpredictable ferocity of capoeira, the martial art that slaves brought from Angola. And the fans loved it.This proved a revolution for Brazilian soccer. When the leagues in Rio and São Paulo went professional 10 years later, the game was opened widely to the lower classes, especially black people. Just as Jackie Robinson and other American veterans of the Negro Leagues would later change the face of North American baseball — by bringing a dynamic, more exciting and aggressive style of play to it — skills born in Brazil’s rougher neighborhoods transformed a once staid sport. Quickly, the long pass and the boring old kick and rush imported from Britain gave way to the joga bonito (“beautiful game”) — in which forwards shifted their center of gravity with the suaveness of a samba or the unpredictable ferocity of capoeira, the martial art that slaves brought from Angola. And the fans loved it.
From the 1930s on, most of the best Brazilian soccer players were black. The sociologist Gilberto Freyre has called the game they played “futebol mulato,” in the style of a Brazilian cultural trait known as la malandrade (wiliness). It is a mix of guile, low cunning and adroitness, with a zest for pleasure; a legacy from tropical slaves and their descendants, who carved out from difficult circumstances some room to get by and enjoy life. This spirit was transformed on the soccer field into ad-libbing and zigzagging, body feints, leaps and bounds.From the 1930s on, most of the best Brazilian soccer players were black. The sociologist Gilberto Freyre has called the game they played “futebol mulato,” in the style of a Brazilian cultural trait known as la malandrade (wiliness). It is a mix of guile, low cunning and adroitness, with a zest for pleasure; a legacy from tropical slaves and their descendants, who carved out from difficult circumstances some room to get by and enjoy life. This spirit was transformed on the soccer field into ad-libbing and zigzagging, body feints, leaps and bounds.
Eventually, of course, others would contribute their own forms of new drama to the game, including the Hungarians in the 1950s, with their tactically brilliant “Socialist soccer.” Brazil’s distinctiveness, however, was a contribution not just to soccer, but to its society’s acceptance of a mixed identity. And it came first.Eventually, of course, others would contribute their own forms of new drama to the game, including the Hungarians in the 1950s, with their tactically brilliant “Socialist soccer.” Brazil’s distinctiveness, however, was a contribution not just to soccer, but to its society’s acceptance of a mixed identity. And it came first.
Olivier Guez is the author of “Éloge de L’Esquive” (“In Praise of the Dodge”), an appreciation of Brazil through its soccer play. This essay was translated by Edward Gauvin from the French.Olivier Guez is the author of “Éloge de L’Esquive” (“In Praise of the Dodge”), an appreciation of Brazil through its soccer play. This essay was translated by Edward Gauvin from the French.