Category Archives: Brazil

Rethinking How We Treat Referees

It’s a fixture of headlines that appear with disturbing regularity: violence against and abuse of sports officials at all levels. And soccer isn’t exempt from the pattern. A well-documented phenomenon at both amateur and professional matches, instances of referee abuse are scattered across headlines from many professional leagues. Diego Costa, a striker for Atletico Madrid,… Read More »

Brasil: Las Dificultades Dentro de 12 Años de Gloria

En “The Country of Football”, Roger Kittleson nos habla sobre el desarrollo y aspiraciones que Brasil tenía en la época de 1950, cuales se acompañaron con los decepcionantes resultados del equipo de fútbol brasileño. Después del “Maracanaço” de 1950 que los brasileños aún recuerdan hoy en día, se esperaba que el equipo por fin consiguiera… Read More »

Brilliant Orange, Magnificent Yellow

Football is creative and expressive, however, more often than not, the creativity on the field is an expression of the society off the field. In David Winner’s “Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer” he analyzes how the rise of TotalFootball in Holland during the 1960s reflected a theme of “totality” that was evident… Read More »

The USWNT and Female Empowerment

In reading both The Country of Football: Soccer and the Making of Modern Brazil and Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football, it is clear that the culture of a region is one of the factors that can impact a team’s style of soccer.  Kittleson discusses and draws connections between the Brazilian Carnaval culture… Read More »

Democracia Corinthiana

“Ganhar ou perder, mas sempre com Democracia” “Gagner ou perdre, mais toujours avec la démocratie” En 1981, alors que de nombreux étudiants, artistes et intellectuels participaient aux mouvements pour donner fin à la dictature militaire au Brésil, un club de football brésilien a décidé de participer au combat d’une manière non conventionnelle. La Démocratie Corinthienne… Read More »

The Craque and the Favela

At the end of Roger Kittleson’s book, “The Country of Football,” he comments on how representations of Brazil have changed in the past decade or so: “The rich culture of the povo, understood for so long as the source of the tropical essence of Brazil, has taken a backseat to images of Brazil’s natural beauty––its… Read More »

Changes Politiques avec les Athlètes

Entre l’opposition de leur gouvernement, et tous les autres équipes de Brésil, Socrates et Corinthians ont suscité un mouvement pour le démocratie. Pendant une ère d’un gouvernement militaire il n’y avait aucun signe du démocratie dans le pays, sauf pour l’équipe de Corinthians. Ils ont voté pour tous les choses à propos de leur équipe.… Read More »

Rainbow Colored Football Country

In a Brazilian culture where dark skinned Afro-Brazilians were “less than” the lighter skinned members of their society, they sought to move upwards and gain recognition, respect, and a sense of national identity. The best way to do this? Through football. The Afro-Brazilians thrived on the football field because they learned how to play in… Read More »