Buscador avanzado

A la izquierda, el delantero brasileño Neymar durante el juego del Grupo E contra Serbia; y, a la derecha, el delantero mexicano Javier Hernández durante el primer partido del grupo F, entre México y Alemania. Credit Patrik Stollarz/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

El 30 de septiembre de 1970, el estadio Maracaná fue el escenario de un partido amistoso entre Brasil y México conocido como el Juego de la Gratitud. Casi dos meses antes, la selección Verdeamarela había ganado su tercera Copa del Mundo en el estadio Azteca de Ciudad de México. Esa conquista en México fue crucial en la historia futbolística brasileña. Significó la consolidación de Pelé —quien dio una actuación magistral en la final—, conseguir el tricampeonato (en disputa con Italia, que había ganado dos Mundiales en la década de los treinta) y quedarse de manera definitiva con el trofeo Jules Rimet.…  Seguir leyendo »

Neymar, el futbolista estrella de Brasil, durante el partido contra Suiza, que terminó en empate Credit Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Neymar es tema de debate en Brasil. El mejor futbolista de la selección brasileña divide las opiniones de los aficionados, y no es por su afiliación política o su apoyo en las presidenciales de 2014 a la candidatura de Aécio Neves, quien perdió en la segunda vuelta frente a Dilma Rousseff y que ahora está en desgracia por la revelación de una serie de escándalos de corrupción.

No, Neymar está al centro de la polarizada discusión brasileña por su incesante simulación de faltas y su descontrol emocional (se veía a punto de llorar después de la victoria contra la humilde Costa Rica).…  Seguir leyendo »

Philippe Coutinho celebra su gol contra Suiza el 17 de junio de 2018, el primer partido del grupo E que terminó en un empate. Credit Marko Djurica/Reuters

La selección de Brasil debutó en el Mundial con un empate frente a Suiza. Y ese resultado ha disminuido el optimismo de la afición canariña de ganar una sexta Copa del Mundo. Pero si a partir del viernes la selección brasileña empieza a ganar partidos y el 15 de julio resulta campeona en Rusia, ¿qué consecuencias tendría en un país convulsionado políticamente y que celebra elecciones presidenciales en octubre? O, acaso más problemático, ¿qué pasará si pierde?

Aunque me atrevo a especular que ningún resultado del Mundial influirá en la elección del próximo presidente en Brasil, es inevitable ver la influencia del deporte más popular del país en su política.…  Seguir leyendo »

A boy from Santa Marta favela with his Panini World Cup sticker book, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2014. Mario Tama/Getty Images.

Every four years, Brazil is transformed by a sportive Midas touch that turns everything into apolitical emptiness. It sweeps our country with a force almost too strong to resist.

We puff up our chests and recall that we are the only country that has attended every single FIFA World Cup since its beginning in 1930 (a distinction we have held alone since 1950, when Romania did not enter the competition and France withdrew). We have also won the championship five times. And although Brazil has never gotten a Nobel prize—just three Ig Nobels and too many Darwin Awards—at least on the soccer field we can proudly face first-world countries such as England, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.…  Seguir leyendo »

Neymar, futbolista brasileño convocado a Rusia 2018, disputa un partido amistoso contra Croacia en Liverpool el 3 de junio de 2018. Credit Dave Thompson/Associated Press

Piense en un país cuya selección de fútbol es la única que ha disputado todas las Copas del Mundo y, en unos días, disputará en Rusia la 21.ª edición.

La selección de ese país ha ganado el 25 por ciento del total de los Mundiales disputados: tres veces cuando se otorgaba el trofeo Jules Rimet, entre las décadas de los treinta y los setenta —conquistado definitivamente después de ganarlo en 1958, 1962 y 1970— y dos cuando a partir de 1974 cambió el trofeo al actual, el Copa Mundial. Piense, además, que el equipo de ese país ha disputado la final del Mundial siete veces, solo superado por la escuadra de Alemania, que ha llegado ocho veces a la final pero ha sido derrotada en cuatro de ellas.…  Seguir leyendo »

Last week, with great solemnity, Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that “being able to overcome defeat I think is the feature and hallmark of a major national team and of a great country.”

So what happened to Brazil that was so dreadful? Was it something similar to the 1940 defeat that drove Charles de Gaulle to call for French resistance? Thankfully, it was nothing of the sort. It was just a soccer game — a national nightmare, during which Germany scored seven goals, four of them in under six minutes. Fortunate is a people that is capable of such commotion over a simple soccer match.…  Seguir leyendo »

In February, during a protest here against the World Cup, demonstrators were running away from rubber bullets and tear gas when they bumped into a group celebrating Carnival. The Carnival people took shelter inside a bar, while cheering the police repression with shouts of: “Well done! Well done!” One man insulted a female demonstrator. He was laughing and clapping, his eyes filled with a mixture of rage and joy.

Similar scenes have been repeated across the nation in the last few weeks. It seems Brazil doesn’t have just one national team representing it during this World Cup; it has two: those who support the tournament, and those who do not.…  Seguir leyendo »

It’s the soccer off-season in South Africa these days. Cape Town’s huge Green Point Stadium — purpose-built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup — sits dormant, an imposing but vacant sentry blotting the sweeping ocean views once enjoyed by the area’s wealthy residents. The $600 million, 55,000-seat behemoth was, for the past three seasons, home turf for Ajax Cape Town, the city’s only representative in South Africa’s premier soccer league.

But that status hasn’t earned the club any freebies. The City of Cape Town, which owns the stadium, allowed Ajax to use the stadium under a fixed-term rental contract that expires this year, returning the club for the moment to its training ground and spiritual home 12 miles away, in the working-class suburb of Parow.…  Seguir leyendo »

For England fans, last week was all about the traditional World Cup Groundhog Day. Same old story, then? For England maybe. But for the World Cup and Fifa, the competition in Brazil is beginning to look like a turning point where popular discontent at the profligacy with state funds and avarice could have far-reaching consequences.

For me, the most striking image of the tournament so far has been the shot of Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, celebrating one of the Seleção's goals against Croatia during the opening game in São Paulo's Itaquerão stadium. She was not in pride of place halfway up the middle of the stadium, but almost hidden at the back of an executive box.…  Seguir leyendo »

Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, the ambitious president of FIFA, must be pulling his few remaining hairs out of his head because his dreams of taking the so-called Beautiful Game to world sports domination are turning to nightmares. New squalid facts, claims and rumors are emerging every week suggesting that the game may be beautiful but some of its leading figures are too close to dark and shadowy criminal forces.

In Brazil, you might think there would be general rejoicing. Brazil is described as the spiritual home of soccer because of the exhilarating talent of its players. Brazil is the host of the World Cup that kicked off Thursday, and most pundits predict that Brazil will pick up its sixth World Cup championship when the final is played on July 13.…  Seguir leyendo »

Protest at the World Cup. Demonstrators push over a police car.

As football's top event kicks off in Brazil, Anthony Pereira dispels some of the myths surrounding the 2014 World Cup's host country -- and its approach to the game it is showcasing.

MYTH: Many Brazilians are in the mood to party

REALITY: Many thought that the awarding of the finals -- and the 2016 Olympics in Rio -- would be a "coming out" party for Brazil, confirming its new status as a global player. But that is not the atmosphere which seems to be taking hold. For the last year there have been protests over the spiraling costs of the tournament (around $11.5 billion) and government priorities.…  Seguir leyendo »

Transformar o Jogo Bonito em Vida Bonita. Sobre la frase que se ha convertido en inmortal en la mitología del fútbol, uno de los más grandes entrenadores de la historia de O Jogo Bonito (el “juego bonito”, como los brasileños lo llaman), un escocés llamado Bill Shankly, del Liverpool FC, resume la importancia de este deporte para los obsesionados con el fútbol: “Algunas personas creen que el fútbol es un asunto de vida o muerte... Te puedo asegurar que es mucho, mucho más importante que eso”.

Quizá sea ir demasiado lejos, pero cientos de millones de personas están ya celebrando el mundial como cada cuatro años.…  Seguir leyendo »

When the World Cup ends a month from now — I hope with a sixth star shining on the golden jerseys of the home team — the problems that plagued Brazil's hosting effort will remain. With or without a trophy, Brazil will face major challenges in its transformation from one of the world's most unequal societies into a thriving democracy..

Brazilians have been in a sour mood since June 2013, when massive street demonstrations erupted against lavish World Cup spending in a country lacking good basic education, healthcare and public transportation. The protesters' underlying message was simple: their love of soccer should not be taken for granted by the government and the country's self-serving politicians.…  Seguir leyendo »

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.

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.…  Seguir leyendo »

Likely to Hoist World Cup

Whenever the World Cup approaches, my thoughts run back to 1954, the year when Germany, a country still in postwar ruins, won the title against all the odds. The surprise was even greater as the German team had lost its first encounter, against Hungary, in the qualification rounds. Hungary had been unbeaten for years, and the "Magical Magyars" had even bested England at its own holy ground of Wembley, making them one of the clearest favorites ever in the history of football.

My hero was Fritz Walter, the captain of the German national team. I will never forget the day of the 1954 final in Bern.…  Seguir leyendo »

«On a dépensé des milliards pour investir dans la mobilité urbaine autour de stades monumentaux, mais les embouteillages vont continuer. Il a fallu changer nos lois pour pouvoir vendre de la Budweiser dans les arènes, mais la recette publicitaire appartient à la Fifa, pas au Brésil. Oubliez la Coupe du monde, cette fête est celle de la Fifa, pas la nôtre !» Lettre de lecteur, journal O Globo, 26 mai 2014.

A quelques petites semaines de la grande fête quadriennale du football mondial, on aurait pu espérer un peu plus d’enthousiasme. Surtout au Brésil, ce pays considéré comme le sanctuaire planétaire du ballon rond !…  Seguir leyendo »

When Diego Maradona was asked in 1998 who would win that year’s soccer World Cup being played in France, he said, “Countries organize the World Cup to win it,” thus suggesting that France would be the winner. And it was.

The same thing could be said for this year’s World Cup in Brazil. For most people, Brazil is favored to win the competition. History, however, may foreshadow a different outcome.

The year is 1950, when the fourth FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) World Cup was held in Brazil from June 24 to July 16.

Before qualifying for the final game Brazil had extraordinary performances: it beat Mexico 4-0, thrashed Sweden 7-1, and defeated Spain 6-1, to become finalist for its group.…  Seguir leyendo »

This week sports fans around the globe will turn their attention to the most watched athletic event in the world — the soccer World Cup. In remote villages and urban centers, close to 1 billion fans will stop what they are doing and find the nearest accessible television set. Except in the United States. While the enthusiasm for soccer here has grown, its fan base pales in comparison to the Super Bowl, for instance.

The philosopher Paul Woodruff suggests that, to be a good spectator, you need to know how to care about what you are watching. Here are some suggestions for developing a deeper appreciation of this monthlong competition.…  Seguir leyendo »

My passion for soccer was inspired by the infectious enthusiasm of my football-crazy youngest son. From the ages of 6 to 21, I humored him with presents of jerseys, Nike sneakers and other sporting paraphernalia, all of which had to feature the green-white-green of the Nigerian flag. Having invested so much in his passion, I am very happy that the Nigerian team is competing in the 2014 World Cup.

Watching soccer helps to bridge the divisions in my society. People in Nigeria are able to put aside their differences and, when the national team is playing, unite behind a common cause.…  Seguir leyendo »

In England, soccer loyalty is to club rather than country. For more than 50 years, I have watched and supported Aston Villa, one of the most famous, if not the most successful, clubs in the world. During that half century, there have been many ups and downs. And the same could be said of the British economy.

I first visited Villa Park on Oct. 8, 1960. Aston Villa beat Newcastle United, 2-0. The great stadium stretched out in front of us as the autumn mist fell over the Holte End. The club has a proud history, and played the main role in the creation of the Football League.…  Seguir leyendo »