Looking back, looking forward, going nowhere

The 2010 World Cup is history. Spain were deserving winners over a preternaturally violent Dutch side that should have been sent to Robben Island for a week of rock breaking. The juxtaposition of the villainous anti-football of Van Bommel and De Jong to the heroic jogo bonito of Xavi and Iniesta gave Spain well-deserved moral and sporting triumphs.

By most popular accounts, the 2010 tournament was a success: relatively safe streets, beautiful stadiums, decent organization, and incredible hospitality on the part of South Africans. FIFA agrees: the South Africans really were wonderful hosts, spending public money freely so that the Swiss-based monolith could rake in a record profit. It won’t take long for FIFA to count their US$3.3 billion in revenues (for the month); it will take South Africa many decades to pay off the party. The tourists have gone; the hotels, stadiums, airports, communications facilities, transportation lines, cultural attractions, and debt remain.

In order to make sense of what has happened in South Africa one has to get rid of the idea of the 2010 World Cup as a month long football tournament. A mega-event is not an “event” but a multi-year process that has residual effects that most people can’t, don’t want to, or refuse to acknowledge. In reading the responses to a recent article that draws attention to Brazil’s poor state of preparedness for the 2014 World Cup, one is struck by the degree of ignorance, short-sightedness, and willful disregard about the way the World Cup functions in the local context. While we distract ourselves about notions of “Fair Play” and contribution to cultures of deceit (i.e. the Suarez handball against Ghana), the dirtiest, cheating-est, most dishonest game is in the very production of the World Cup itself – where the laws that govern society are changed, violated, and ignored so that “we” can consume the inherent drama of sport in safety and comfort.

     1)   FIFA is a corrupt institution of organized criminals that bullies national and local governments into financing a private party. FIFA is very explicit about the private nature of the event. Everything within an x-kilometer radius of a World Cup stadium is FIFA’s private domain: a sanitized and securitized world of private accumulation where only certain signs, symbols, and behaviors are permitted. Worse, this FIFA-world is controlled by public and private security forces that act to ensure the smooth production of a global spectacle.

     2)     The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) has little or no public accountability even though they receive and direct all public funding for the event. This closed organization is neither elected nor subject to public regulatory agencies. In South Africa, one of the 23 SA2010 LOC  members was shot dead outside his home on his way to a whistle-blowing deposition. Once the event is over the LOC will dissolve, forever eliminating the possibility of legal action or public accountability.

   

      Brazil 2014 is a story of corruption foretold. The Brazilian LOC only has 6 members. For the first time in the history of the event the head of the national football federation (Ricardo Teixeira) will head the LOC. His daughter is the Secretary-general. Her grandfather is João Havelange, president of FIFA from 1974-1998. 

     3) Transportation infrastructures are constructed with only short term mobility and use in mind. FIFA does not employ urban planners. A LOC does not hold public meetings. In Johannesburg, for example, the construction of BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) lines linking the tourist zones with the stadium had two effects. One, it eliminated employment for thousands of informal and formal transportation providers, who later opened fire on the BRT. Secondly, the BRT will be almost completely unused after the World Cup, draining public coffers to maintain the linkages between the five star hotels and the Ellis Park Coca Cola Park Stadium (itself a totally unnecessary construction).

In Rio de Janeiro, the construction of BRTs linking the Zona Sul and the International Airport with the Olympic Zone in Barra de Tijuca is underway. There is also much talk of a bullet train linking Campinas-São Paulo-Rio de Janeiro (at a cost of R$45 billion). Presently, there is no passenger train service at all! Fala serio.

     4)   Most World Cup stadiums are isolated from the urban and cultural contexts, have no programmed post-cup use, and are very expensive to maintain. The anticipated maintenance costs for Soccer City are R1.5 million per month. That is R18 million a year (US$2.5 million) just to keep the thing standing. The average attendance at South African football games in 2009 was around 8,000. Who will pay to keep these stadiums standing?

In Brazil, the idea is that ticket prices are going to increase from an average of R$20 in 2010 to R$60 in 2014. This is seen as part of a necessary and inevitable process of “elitization” of Brazilian stadiums. There are no plans for multi-use stadiums. There are no plans to integrate stadiums into the urban fabric (partially as a result of FIFA’s requirement that there be one parking space for every 6 spectators which creates dead space around the stadiums). There are, in short, no plans that will make the stadiums anything but a perpetual drain on the public coffers.

     5)     While there are short –term employment benefits and increases in civil engineering projects (with corollary booms in commodities like concrete and steel), there is no evidence that mega-events bring economic benefits. While there is a boom in construction jobs, the haste to build the South African stadiums resulted in labor law violations, forceful strike breaking,  and the civil engineering companies responsible for the projects (at least in the South African case) brought in their skilled labor from abroad. Stadiums bring no medium to long-term economic gain anywhere in the world, much less in a country with 20% unemployment.

     6)     The restructuring of urban space and culture for tourism creates a dependency on a tourist economy. The current debt crisis in Greece can be traced, in part, to the massive borrowing for the Olympics plus the global financial meltdown that killed the tourist economy. This begs the question about why public funds are directed to hosting international tourists instead of providing basic necessities for the national population. 2010 World Cup spending equaled what is spent on public housing over a decade. Will more tourists arrive in South Africa? Maybe. Would they have arrived without the World Cup? Maybe. Will the South African housing and public health crises continue? Definitely.   

     7)     The way in which the world outside of the World Cup stadiums perceives and experiences the World Cup has become completely homogenized and controlled by the FIFA production crew. Everyone sees the same thing at more or less the same time in more or less the same way. From replays, to close-ups, to wide angle shots, FIFA controls the narrative. Granted, this narrative is delivered in HD with 36 cameras and super slo-mo, etc, etc, but what is presented to the world as reality is a simulacra of what is happening in the stadiums: an incomplete and fragmented narrative of events that only gives us limited insight into reality.

     8)      It is not only tele-spectators, but also live spectators that are crushed into a hegemonic, homogenous box. FIFA’s stadiums are basically the same. They all have to follow the same “manual”, meet the same “requirements”.  The worst example that comes to mind is the Maracanã. The architectural project submitted to FIFA in March was not approved because the architects did not take into account that the advertizing boards that surround the field for a FIFA World Cup (and occupy our field of vision for the 128 hours of football) are 30cm higher than those commonly used in Brazil. Therefore, the slope of the lower tier of stands had to be readjusted, which necessitated the complete revamping of the stadium project.

     9)     Is there any doubt that mega-events widen the gap between rich and poor? The South African government pail hundreds of millions in advertising to attract people, and then paid hundreds of millions more to control them once they arrived. The South African debt from the World Cup is roughly equivalent to FIFA profit.

    10)   If there is so much money to be spent on public works projects, why not do it anyway? (The event tends to unify coalitions that are usually at odds). By building on a massive scale for a month-long event, governments opt for a strategy of maximizing capital accumulation in the shortest possible time frame. That the public will continue to pay the bills for decades to come is not of much interest to the political power de jure as they will be remembered more for the successful hosting of the event than for the unfulfilled promises of economic and social development.

    11)   This table reflects the current state of the stadium projects for the 2014 World Cup. One year ago, the estimated cost for all of the stadiums was R$ 4,411,000,000. This has jumped by 31.6% - without actually building anything! Stadiums in Cuiaba and Manaus have begun to be demolished, but none of the remaining ten projects have begun.

Cidade-sede      Construção        R$xMilhões        Gestão       Atual (13.7.10)

Belo Horizonte	renovação	657,4	pub/ppp?	não contratada
Brasilia	demolição	702	publico	edital publicada
Cuiaba	demolição	342	publico	contratada
Curitiba	renovação	200	privado	Em duvida
Fortaleza	novo	452	publico	na justiça
Manaus	demolição	499,5	publico	contratada
Natal	novo	400	publico	Licitação pendente
Porto Alegre	renovação	150	privado	procurando dinheiro
Recife	novo	464	ppp	contratada
Rio de Janeiro	renovação	720	publico	não tem licitação
Salvador	demolição	591,7	publico	Contratada ; suspensa
São Paulo	renovação	630	publico	Fora
		5808,6

São Paulo has no stadium project, as the Morumbi has been excluded. Rio de Janeiro has not yet published the Novo Maracanã project (to which we should add the R$430 million in reforms undertaken for the 2007 Pan American Games). Several other projects are held up in the courts. And…the national government just passed a law that will make it more, not less, difficult to track how public money is spent for the World Cup and Olympics.

    12) Mega-events as a model of social and economic development are inherently flawed. These events are promoted by local and national economic and political elites who erect autonomous agencies to direct billions from the public coffers. The restructuring of urban space for capital accumulation is exacerbated by the use of public and private security forces to ensure its unimpeded flow into the hands of multi-national corporations and international sport governing agencies. Once the “event” has passed, there is no public accountability, frequently nothing left in terms of a “legacy”, and massive sporting, transportation and tourist infrastructures that have little to no local context but need to be maintained with even more public money.

    13)  Is a mega-event completely horrible? No. Was the World Cup an unmitigated disaster? No. I nearly died from emotional overload on a number of occasions. Does a mega-event bring intangible benefits to the hosts? Yes. A mega-event is a global party during which a host city or nation is able to welcome the world. The emotions and drama of global sport are captivating and important and form part of our collective human consciousness (especially post-WWII). However, the form, function, processes, and lasting effects of the World Cup and Olympics are, on balance, terrible, nefarious, and destructive. The World Cup and Olympics need to be massively reconfigured, re-scaled, and re-thought, or they will continue to destroy environments, economies, communities, and lives around the globe. 

Previewing Uruguay x Holland

There are 3,510,386 Uruguayans living in Uruguay. As with 21 of the 23 players on the Uruguayan roster, some three million more Uruguayans live and work outside of the República Oriental del Uruguay. Uruguay is nestled snugly between Brazil and Argentina. Uruguay is lovely.  It is fun to repeat "Uruguay". The Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol (AUF) is bidding for the 2030 World Cup, which would mark the Cup’s centennial in the Estadio Centenário, originally named for the hundredth anniversary of Uruguayan independence.

In 1930, when Uruguay had 1,734,000 residents, they beat Argentina in the World Cup final. The Argentines burned Uruguayan businesses in Buenos Aires. In 1950, when Uruguay had wildly grown to 2,194,000, they beat Brazil in front of 200,000 suddenly silent cariocas. In 2010, Uruguay is the team with the second smallest national population in the tournament (Slovenia) and is one game away from the final. 

There has been much vilification of Luis Suarez, for denying Ghana a birth in the semi-finals by swatting the net-bound Jabulani with two hands. It was a crazy moment but tactically the right thing to do. Guarding the line, Suarez chose expulsion and an 80% chance of a goal to a 100% chance of a goal. If he hadn’t done that Uruguay were out. He did it and only he was out, and will get to play at least one more game.

 I’m not sure why his tactical decision makes him a cheater to some people. The rules were clear and correctly applied. Gyan had the chance to win the game in a way that almost never happens in soccer – a game ending spot-kick, in a historically laden situation - sending the only remaining African team to the first African semi-final in the first African World Cup. The pressure was too much and he missed, Suarez’ gamble paid off. (Gyan’s bravery in taking the second penalty was as stirring as his initial miss.) Here’s the question as put by Luis Fernando Verissimo in today’s OGlobo, “should a moral goal [Gyan’s] count more than a grave infraction that causes the perpetrator to be expelled?” That is to say, Suarez’ handball counted as much as a legal goal, as conditioned by the rules. Fair play, indeed. Maybe that’s what people don’t like about it.

For tomorrow, the most Uruguayan looking coach in Uruguayan history, Oscar Tabárez, will have some thinking to do as he fills out his team sheet. Captain Diego Lugano is doubtful, Suarez suspended, defenders Fucile and Godin are suspended and injured respectively. But there’s Diego Forlán, putting on a show as CR9, Rooney, Kaká, Messi couldn’t (one goal between the four of them). The key to Uruguayan success against the dour Dutch will be in absorbing pressure while remaining organized (a lon3-5-2 that turns to 5-3-1-1 on defense) and then hope that Forlán will be able to counter at pace, creating opportunities for others, and getting a few free kicks around the box to try his Jabulani luck. Two goals from Uruguay would be a miracle, but they’re here, have a hell of a footballing tradition, and anything is possible.

On the other side of the planet, seventeen million Dutch will be biking to their bars dressed in Oranje, hoping to see Die Oranje actually show up and play some voetbal. Unlike 16th century Indonesians, most people expected the Dutch to get this far. They have some of the best technical players in the world and cruised through qualifying. Yet in their five games they have scored nine goals, well below the tournament average (2.6). They have hit more long balls than any other team. They have not convinced. Against Brazil, they were TERRIBLE, unbearably predictable, monochromatic, and violent. It was an absolute disgrace what Marc Van Bommel was getting away with in midfield during the second half.

(To re-enforce my conspiracy theory #1 about the Brazil loss, I again quote Verissimo in OGlobo, “Julio César and Felipe Mello’s errors do not explain everything: where did the team that left us completely radiant at halftime disappear to? In what parallel world did they disappear to, what vague mystery swallowed them?)

Holland will likely stick to their 4-3-2-1 formation, which allows them relative flexibility in attack and defense. Even though Holland is a very technical team, their midfielders (other than Sneider, #6 in the Castrol Ranking) have not looked comfortable under pressure. In a system designed for ball circulation and player interchange, passing accuracy is key, so look for Uruguay to pressure and hassle in midfield as much as possible. Surprsingly, Holland (and Spain) have hit more long balls than any other teams in the Cup, so the idea of them being a short passing, technical team may be more imagination than reality.

 Arjen Robben’s (aka. Flopping Ninny) slicing and dicing from the right wing was shut down easily by Brazil with a few good kicks to the back of the leg and with solid collective defending, both Uruguayan specialties. Van Persie was doubtful, but looks like he will play up top where he has been isolated and disappointing. Kuyt looks slower in Oranje than in Liverpudlian red but he manages to cover about 10km a game which contributes to overall flow. Marc Van Bommel will be trying to stop Forlán from getting the ball but will have much more time and space on the ball than he did against Brazil. Wesley Snejider is in form and tricky. Uruguay will need to shut off his service and not let him operate between the fullback and midfield lines.

In summary, Uruguay need some luck to get to their third World Cup final. The injuries and suspensions may be too much for the garra charrua and Loco Abreu to overcome. Perhaps if there were more people to choose from they would have a chance. Holland will also be trying for their third final and they will need to put on a convincing display if we are to believe they have a chance against Spain or Germany. 

Prediction: Holland 3 x Uruguay 1. The Flopping Ninny wins a penalty in the second half.

Germany 4 x Argentina 0

The last time Argentina were so convincingly beaten in the World Cup was when they suffered a 6-1 thrashing at the feet of Czechoslovakia in 1958. Argentina had refused to participate in the World Cups of 1938, 1950, and 1954. Their rude re-introduction to international football was a national embarrassment, the defeat figuring heavily in the national consciousness for decades. The utter thrashing that Maradona's side suffered today will never be forgotten and has permanently altered the historical trajectory of El Pibe de Oro.

Argentina never came together as a whole team during the reign of Don Diego. The attack had nothing to do with the defense and vice versa. His team selections were based as much on personality as capability, and those who didn't fit in with Diego's worldview (Riquelme, Camibasso, Zanetti) were dropped or refused to play for him. Their absences were cruical to today's result. There was no one to distribute the ball through the center of midfield as Mascherano was busy trying to catch Schweinsteiger. The initial dependence on Veron for creative attacking gave way to...nothing. Riquelme!

Otamendi had performed better than Gutierrez on at right back, but today, all four goals came from Germany's left flank, where Zanetti (captain of Inter Milan) would have shut down the same Germans he faced in the Champions League final. Otamendi caused the first foul, then was beaten on the goal after TWO MINUTES! The injury to Samuel didn't solidify an already shaky defense, but Heinze? Come on. Two of the goals resulted from his reckless tackling. Zanetti must have been chewing his own liver in disgust.

Even as they were getting taught a lesson in tactical (spatial) awareness, Argentina had chances. Higuain ruined almost all of them. By my count, there were seven times when he had the ball at his feet, going forward and either gave it away easily on a dribble, made the wrong pass, or was too slow in making a decision. Diego Milito must have been beside himself with frustration. Higuain may be the worst player in the history of the World Cup to score four goals. A shocking performance.

From a tactical perspective, Argentina never had a chance. The only way to restore some of the balance in midfield was to have Messi or Tevez (or both) retreat into midfield to relieve the overwhelmed Mascherano. Messi played as well as possible when there is someone else in your shorts, another person in your shirt, and two others on your shins. When he received the ball (sometimes 55 yards from goal), there was nowhere to go but into two rows of Germans. Diego Maradona is the only person capable of ruining Messi's genius.

As I was watching the game in relative isolation with an Argentina jacket on, the room began to fill with Brazilians. By the end, they were celebrating as much as if Brazil had been winning. I hung my head, and left the restaurant as quickly as possible to the chants of "Auf Weider Zehen!"

It will take some time for the dust to settle in Argentina. The Diego Experiment is hopefully over. The confidence of the albiceleste, and the public confidence in the AFA, must be wearing thin as the team has not won a senior-level international tournament since the Copa America in 1993. Fortunately for the Argentines, the less one wins and the more one suffers, the more valuable your passion becomes.

Brasil 1 x Holanda 2

Brazil were brilliant for 53 minutes. Holland were terrible for 75. For about an hour, Brazil had constant midfield pressure, were recovering the ball with ease, winning the tactical battle, attacking with fluidity and pace. Kaká was playing well, looking comfortable on the ball. Robinho was running hard, Dani Alvez and Maicon were causing problems for the Dutch, there was no beating of Lúcio and Juan in the air. The orange defense struggled to cope with blue movement. Robinho’s goal was all too easy, exposing the total confusion in the Dutch ranks. Brazil deserved to be winning by two, but a flying Stekelenburg spectacularly denied Kaká.

Brazil played beautiful football for the first time in the tournament. Really. The sequences that began the second half and the attacking moves that defined the first, made me doubt that Brazil could be beaten. What team was capable of competing with them technically and physically?  I had just started to re-think my anti-seleção stance, was starting to want them to win, primarily because Brazil were not playing futebol de resultados, and they were winning convincingly. How could they lose when their football was SO MUCH BETTER than the dour Dutch. Dunga’s tactical structure combined with an insane technical skill set to produce a team that looked the business. They were putting on a show de bola. Everything was working. 1-0 at halftime.

Brazil dominated the first ten minutes of the second half. Juan was always finding himself with free headers on set pieces. Holland wandered around the pitch, replacing the divots they made chasing Maicon. Dunga screamed on the sidelines, happy as ever. Despite his general mal-estar, Brazil’s 1994 captain had made sure that Brazil were one of the tournament’s better organized teams. Robben rode his one trick pony, then dived onto the crappy grass, again, looking for pasture. Holland were going out. Brazil were going through.

Then it fell apart. Julio César, considered by many to be the best goalie in the world, collides with Felipe Melo and misses a relatively harmless cross. The ball skims off Melo’s head and into the net.  Um frango monumental.  1-1. No worries, these things happen. Even to the best goalie in the world on a relatively simple cross. Felipe Melo got in his way, didn’t mean to. Everything under control.

Even after the gift of a goal, Holland didn’t threaten. They were terrible, and had been up to absurd tricks throughout. For example, in the 34^th minute, Robben took a corner kick. Instead of kicking it towards the goal, he rolled it just a little bit forward and then ran away as if he hadn’t touched it. Danny Alvez saw what happened and cleared the ball off a Dutch player and Brazil regained possession. It was beyond absurd. Did no one inform the Dutch that they were playing in the quarter-finals of the world cup, down 1-0. That was their set-piece? WTF? In the 46^th minute, Dutch midfielder Weil was booked for diving. One minute after the kickoff, diving in lieu of playing football? Horrible. Clueless. Disorganized. Going out of the Cup. Definitely.

Before I could really figure out whether I was going to want Brazil to win through footballing virtue, Robben won a free kick in midfield. Sneijder’s quick ball played in Van Persie, who won a corner. The in-swinging ball  was flicked on by Kuyt to THREE UNMARKED DUTCH PLAYERS INSIDE THE 6 YARD BOX! Sneijder heads home, 2-1.  From there, Brazil looked crestfallen and had no way back into the game, although they still created some chances. That was until Felipe Melo was sent off in the 73^rd minute for stomping on Robben. Then it was really over. What happened? Brazil had defended free kicks very well throughout the tournament. Julio César looked comfortable on nearly every other ball that came into the box. Why did he miss that one (with Felipe Melo’s help)? Were these lapses in concentration? Or was something more sinister at work? Were Brazil simply comfortable with a 1-0 lead and decided to muck about? How did a team that was so completely dominating the game in every category lose so pathetically? Why wasn’t Marc Van Bommel cautioned or expelled for his hacking every Brazilian as they tried to go by him on their way to the semi-final?

Theory #1

The CBF sold the game to FIFA/ FIFA bought the game from the CBF.

Let’s say that Brazil beats Holland convincingly, as they had been doing up until J.C.’s frango, progressing to the semi-final against Ghana or Uruguay. Uruguay or Ghana in the final? I don’t think so. Once in the final, the chance for the 6^th (hexa) World Cup is pretty high. With the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, the expectations for a trophy on home soil will be enormous, and from there what nation could ever catch Brazil in the trophy count? Better to lose in Africa with a coach that is generally hated by the Brazilian media. It’s hard to crucify J.C. because he’s clearly one of the best players in the world, having just won the Champions League and the Scudetto with Inter Milan. It’s easy to crucify Felipe Melo because he’s a bit violent, caused an own goal, and saw red. It’s easy to pillory Dunga because the seleção  needs a new coach, no one liked his brand of football, and he’s already at odds with the Brazilian press. Kaká? He’s so pure and handsome, even if he didn’t score a goal

The dirty dealings between the CBF (Confederação Brasilieira de Futebol) and FIFA are notorious, as are those between the AFA (Associación de Fútbol Argentino).CBF president Ricardo Teixeria is the son in law of former FIFA president João Havelange, and may be in line for the FIFA presidency after the 2014 World Cup. AFA president Julio Grondona is also the treasury secretary of FIFA, privy to all of the ways in which money flows in and out. He also has an eye on the FIFA presidency, should Herr Blatter start behaving like the Jabulani. Something went down behind closed doors to get Brazil to stop playing football in the second half. Will something similar happen to get Argentina to the semi-final against Spain/Paraguay?

As I was walking home there was a very drunk woman sitting on a very dirty wall, moaning “Foi comprado! Foi comprado!” (It was bought.) Many of my co-spectators felt the same way. Many other people I have talked to were convinced long before the Cup started that Brazil were not going to be allowed to win so that they could win in 2014, in the R$1.4 billion Nova Maracanã.

Theory #2

Julio César’s frangão destabilized the Brazilians psychologically. 

The lack of concentration was something that was evident against North Korea. The goal disrupted the delicate balance that made for such attractive football for the first hour. From there, the Dutch took more control. Scoring the second goal fifteen minutes later.

Theory #3

Holland out-played Brazil. 

This is the least likely of the conspiracy theories. Even at the end of the game when Brazil had completely given up and the Dutch had Robben, Kuyt, and Sneijder with only Juan and J.C. to beat, they blew it. The result could have easily been 4-1, but the orange machine couldn’t count that high.

Theory #4

FIFA’s eugenic plan for the world includes a Holland v. Germany final as a symbolic and functional European dominance of Africa. (Thanks to my friend Kaká (not the player) for this theory).  

Theory #5

Add your own. 

USA x Ghana; Argentina x Mexico; Brasil x Chile

20 million people suffered because Bob Bradley didn't get his tactics right. The same sorry scene from 2006 repeated itself. USAmerican defensive central midfielder gets caught in possession with a crunching tackle from a bigger, faster, stronger player (Reyna, 2006; Clark 2010), goal for Ghana. From there, Bradley was forced to change Clark for Edu and the game turned in favor of the Yanks. The second change, Feilhaber for Findley, should have happened the day before, not at halftime. The third change, Gomes for Altidore, was completely absurd as the USA lost physical presence in the box. Oh well. The Yanks earned a lot of respect here in Brazil for their raça e garra. Look for the USA to be based in the north of Brazil for the 2014 WC, probably Manaus or Fortaleza, places that have direct flights from the East Coast. 

At the FFF, the Mexican fans outnumbered the Argentines.Geographically, that didn't make any dang sense at all. Following more general football logic, the vast majority of the 10,000 strong crowd were pulling for Mexico. Every time Maradona's face showed on the screen the guy next to me would scream "Pelé". He would also scream "Maricón" at every opporutnity, the equivalent of yelling "faggot". His probably learned the word from watching this commercial for Skol, one of Brazil's many interpretations of Bud Light. 

Everyone agrees that Tevez's first goal was offside. But what about that pass from Messi? As the ball was floating ever so gently on to Carlitos' offside head, Messi was indicating with his own head that Tevez should head it home. It was as if Messi was passing the ball to himself. Even playing poorly, Messi is a destabilizing factor. The same could be said for Higuain, who continues to destabilize me because he is so out of form. Yet he continues to score goals. Unfortunately for Argentina his continued inclusion (and the whirling dervish defending of Heinze, plus getting overwhelmed in a three man midfield) will not cut it against Germany. Pity that.

When Brazil plays in the World Cup, everyone in the country takes the afternoon or morning off. They should take the whole day because going to work dressed in yellow and getting back home with everyone else at the same time causes an incredible amount of traffic chaos. Heading north from the center yesterday on the Metro was not for the claustrophobic. Within three stops, a totally empty train filled to the point where I literally could not move my arms. The air conditioning had no effect. There was no point in holding on to anything because there was nowhere to move. Were there an accident, everyone would die. With so much extra weight, do the brakes still work? The train lurched around curves. In order to get out of the car,  I had to slither and push and squirm before being shot onto the platform like a watermelon seed out of a slippery mouth. Many tens of thousands listened to the first half in their cars, paralyzed. 

Kaká's first involvement in the game was positive, so I settled in for a Chilean loss. The pace of the game was extraordinary. Brazil did not leave any time on the ball for the Chilean midfield and the technical superiority of Alves, Ramirez, Kaká, and Robinho won the day. It's hard to take a football off a Brazilian, which in turn makes for very few opportunities to counterattack, which contributes to defensive stability. Forced to chase the game after a well-taken corner, Chile opened up, leaving a 3v3 situation with Robinho, Kaká, and Luis Fabiano running at speed. Game over. 

3-0 was a fair result. Unfair were the interviews with Kaká's mom and grandmother during halftime and after the game. A perpetual state of forced ignorance of what actually happened during the game is shoved down the collective throat by OGlobo. The presentation perpetuation of Kaká as some kind of capital-religious-footballing superhero that embodies the best virtues of Brazilian-ness continues to make me sick. There's some dirty, dirty stuff going on with that lad with very open fights between him and Juca Kfuri in the Brazilian media. 

My general sense of Brazilian fandom in relation to the national team is that people would much rather see their club teams win than the seleção. The CBF has done a wonderful job of distancing the team from the people. The vast majority of people I know have never seen the seleção play in person, nor are they likely to see them. 20 of the 23 Brazilian players in the World Cup ply their trade abroad, so there's no identification with them as local or even national figures. Of course, everyone is happy to see the team win, but it's kind of like cheering for the USA Basketball team in the Olympics. The win is expected, there's low emotional investment because of the general lack of tension, so why not use the opportunity of the game to party with friends and family? The social role of the seleção and the World Cup is much more profound than I had imagined, full of the contradictions and coherencies that make this such a fascinating place to live. 

Previewing Brasil x Portugal, debunking some other things

These photos and captions are taken from the back page of the sports section of Brazil's biggest paper, OGlobo, during the first week of the World Cup.

(caption 1: After Dunga began to show his fashion at the World Cup, the coach for Ivory Coast resolved to show the world what he is going to wear against Brazil)

It’s pretty amazing that Brasil, year after year, cup after cup, is always the team to beat. It’s hard for Brasil not to be in the group of death, because they are death to opponents. Not only has Brasil won more cups than any other nation, they have more victories and the highest points per game average, the most goals, the most everything. It’s hard to think of Brasil as a place without thinking about how many times they’ve won the World Cup. Even with the crappy team Dunga has assembled, they’re going to finish top of their group.

(caption 2: Not everything is well at the World Cup. The Bafana Bafana, poor guys, return home.)

Brasil x Portugal stirs up a Luso-world of geographic, historical, and cultural associations. In 1808 the Portuguese court fled Napoleon’s marauding army, brining the entire imperial apparatus to Rio de Janeiro. Brasil was the only colony to have ruled over its metropole. It’s pointless to point out all of the connections, but interesting to note that the Portuguese flag hangs in abundance in Rio de Janeiro.

(caption 3: The miserable North Korean players that go hungry in their homeland asked FIFA for the chicken that [the English keeper] Green came up with [chicken is a goalie gaff] so they can make a stew.)

There isn’t too much riding on this game, other than a strategic positioning for the second round. I would be shocked and amazed to see anything but a draw here. The first place in Group G will cross with the second place in Group H, which is very much up in the air, could be Chile or Spain. Portugal will qualify in second place with one point, and Brasil will qualify regardless, so it would be an act of fratricide for Brasil to win. It's not going to happen.  1-1. Dunga will get to experiment with some other players and rest a few stars in the middle of the second half (Robinho, Maicon, Luis Fabiano). If an equalizer doesn’t happen “naturally”,  look for the referee to balance the scales.

(caption 4: The World Cup also has a social function. The goalies' chickens are going to do away with hunger for the miserable Africans.)

Dunga will replace the suspended Kaká with Julio Batista. Today’s (24.6) headline in the OGlobo sports section:  “The beast in the place of the crack: someone who Dunga trusts, Julio Baptista is the only bachelor on the team but has a wedding planned with a Spanish model after the World Cup.” Nothing but high quality reporting here.

The coverage of the World Cup in OGlobo and on OGlobo networks has been horrible. There is a total überload of information, none of which actually says anything that provides deeper insight into what is going on. To the contrary, in the lead up to the Ivory Coast match, OGlobo continued to publish photos that were very explicit in their portrayal of Africans. I have included the photos and captions with translations. I am not sure what to say about them but wow, the animalization, orientalization, generalization, and blatant classism combine to make a powerful broth of racism that you can sip one day at time. Delicious!

(Caption 5: Brazil plays today and even here in South Africa we can see people preparing their cookout with music and a lot of beer.)

I do hope you foreign correspondents out there will publish similar things about Brasil four years from now. Some indigenous folk with bows and arrows, lip discs, painted faces, headdresses, the symbiotic nature-culture-Avatar thing will be a good start.

(caption 6: Today is a festive day in Johannescheesburger: the Ivory Coast fans promise to throw their weight behind their team in Soccer City to cheer for the Elephants.)

Mais uma coisa para o Zé Ninguém. Os times Africanos não correm tanto assim. Os primeiros cinco colocados em distância ate hoje são: Australia, Japão, México, Inglaterra, e os EUA. Quantas vezes eu ouvi gente falar que os times Africanos não tem técnica, só correm, não tem técnica, só bate com sua força física. A verdade é que Australia e Nova Zelanda tinham cometido mas faltas que qualquer outro time. Vamos falar que os Oceânicos são tipos violentos? Cala a boca Galvão.

(Caption 7: Furious with the unpredictable Jabulani ball, the  Ivory Coast is training with balls that they brought from home.)

Brasil x Ivory Coast, a few days later

The Rio de Janeiro FIFA Fan Fest (FFF) is a textbook example of how space can be manipulated to create and reproduce socio-economic hierarchies, cultural value systems and accelerate patterns of consumption. Watching Brazil versus Ivory Coast there on Sunday afternoon was a strangely unemotional experience in a country and city that prides itself on stopping everything for the national team.

The streets surrounding the FFF in Copacabana were full of yellow clad fans heading in all directions. Since it was Sunday afternoon, the Avenida Atlântica was closed to cars. On the sidewalks where there would have normally been camelôs (vendors) selling hats and shirts and beer and food, there were cops making sure that no commerce outside the realm of FIFA was occurring. The sterilization of the area surrounding the FFF was stunning. That public employees were directed to liberate public space for AmBev to sell beer at twice the price of informal vendors made me thirsty.

The line into the FFF was long. Hundreds of security guards regulated the waves of fans who passed through the various checkpoints. No one was concerned about the rules that prohibit the wearing of bathing suits into the FFF. However, inside the FFF, there were no musical instruments, no drums, no vuvuzelas (thank God). It would have been difficult to hear the crowd above the pounding bass of the booty beats coming from the gigantic stage. As the FFF filled, people passed out on the sand, hundreds lined up to get their beers and dancing started to take over the crowd. There was a definitive party atmosphere, ripe with anticipation. There were no songs about the national team, no syncopated “Brasil, Brasil, Brasil” chants, just people at a stage on the beach, dancing about with the people they came with.

The journalists were able to hang out in the shade of some palm trees in relative comfort, while the majority of the crowd baked in the afternoon sun. The VIPs in the Coca-Cola and Itaú boxes danced with the pretty lads that were there to lead them though some dance steps. In the Hyundai tent, young couples circulated around the cars. Two hundred people waited in line to get the Sony 3D experience. On the sand in front of the stage, people danced until the party was interrupted to watch a video game simulation (FIFA 2010, of course) of the Brazil versus Ivory Coast game, replete with live commentary. This is the spectacularization of the banal.

Thirsty, I went to get some beer and was shocked to see that it came out of a can and into a plastic cup. There were 18,000 people in the FFF. That’s a lot of cans. The maxim of the mega-event seems to be “maximize consumption.” I went back for more just to be sure. New can, new cup. Delicious.

I have catalogued for some time why I am not a fan of the Seleção Brasileira. I can’t take the smug satisfaction, the religious proselytizing mixed with crass commercialism, the corruption of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), the sense that winning the World Cup is an inalienable Brazilian right combined with a kind of dispassionate consumption of the spectacle.

Then there’s Kaká, Dunga, Robinho, Lúcio, Luis Fabiano and Dani Alves with their pinched expressions, their petulant characters, their mercenary attitudes, their futebol de resultados, their crass commercialism.

Brazil is not playing well. Kaká is putting in especially poor performances. The first five times the unholy warrior touched the ball, he lost it. In the sixth minute, he was dispossessed twice. It happened again in the 11th, 14th and 21st minutes.

The game was ugly, not at all helped by Ivory Coast’s lack of interest in football and Drogba’s total lack of movement. I watched the game with my dad, who knows a thing or two about football, and he commented, “It’s like watching an MLS game.” Ouch. The crowd was quiet. No songs, no noise, no chants, nothing.

When Ivory Coast missed a key tackle and the ball popped up at Kaká’s feet, he slotted through from Luis Fabiano who could barely miss. 1-0. The goal came out of nothing, a mistake, a fortunate bounce. The crowd exploded, someone threw beer all over me and then nothing happened until half time, when nothing much more happened. A terrible half of football in a crowd of 17,000 atomized individuals.

Luis Fabiano’s second goal was as unbelievable as it was illegal. The short clip of the French referee running back to midfield with Fabiano, asking if it was a handball, laughing and then patting his FIFA badge, launched a thousand conspiracy theories in my mind: There is much talk about Ricardo Teixeira, the president of the CBF, running against Blatter for the FIFA presidency next time around. Could it be that FIFA is giving a few presents to the Brazilians? Could it be that Ivory Coast was paid to let Brazil walk over them? How can two handballs in two seconds be missed by two referees? Why was there laughter in missing the call? With Brazil playing so poorly, has FIFA agreed to let them through to the next round?

If the second goal came out of nothing, the third goal made me think that the fix really was in. The Ivorian right back allowed Kaká to get to the line easily, when even slight pressure on his holiness would have complicated the cross. Elano flew into the middle of the box unmarked, 3-0. The goal came out of weak defending as much as attacking buildup and put the game out of reach. Where was the Ivory Coast team that took the game to Portugal? Why was Drogba so sleepy?

The Ivorian reaction to their 3-0 deficit (perhaps annoyed that their federation had sold the game?) was to start kicking the snot out of everyone and everything (and the Brazilians under Dunga are just as likely to do the same thing under similar circumstances).

Dunga should be blamed as much as Kaká for the latter’s sending off. Knowing that the key player to Brazilian success in the tournament is injured and off-form, why not take him off with a 3-0 lead? Kaká got involved in some scuffles, drew a yellow, and then threw an elbow - a well deserved explusion.
From there Dunga blew a gasket, screaming ladrão, ladrão (thief, thief) at the French referee. In the post-match press conference, Dunga tore into some journalists calling them “pieces of shit” among other niceties. FIFA decided not to take action against him.

Kaká, roundly criticized for his petulance, had a go at the son of the polemical journalist Juca Kufuri. Kaká claimed he was the target of journalistic persecution because he is a follower of Jesus Christ. Kaká, persecuted? Jaysus Christ! Every time someone clicks on the FIFA website to watch game highlights (which are all exactly 2:12 long, somehow), they see Kaká shooting a ball at some ostensibly African goal. I feel persecuted by Kaká! This guy is THE face of FIFA and he’s bitching about being persecuted? Fala serio.

I think Kaká’s sending-off was intentional so he could rest his injured groin before the second round.

Brazil only played about 10 minutes of football against Ivory Coast, finally getting into a rhythm that resembled Brazil in the 32nd minute of the second half. The defense lost concentration late, allowing Drogba to do something other than walk around carrying his limp arm.

Watching a game with thousands of Brazilians is not particularly exciting. The Brazilians admit this. There is only one song with one line, repeated halfheartedly. With so much of the national consciousness wrapped up in the national team, I was expecting more.

I have been asked innumerable times if I have ever spent a World Cup in Brazil, a negative answer followed by quick guarantee that there is nothing like it. After watching Brazil versus Ivory Coast, I’m pretty sure there is.

Argentina x Korea

The irony of the name Soccer City is probably lost on FIFA. From the air, the stadium looks to be surrounded by nothing, a world apart, a huge bowl of money, a colorful tip jar sitting in isolation from the dichotomous reality of Johannesburg.  FIFA is an increasingly savage and rapacious beast, gnashing their teeth at the slightest provocation. During the Holland x Denmark match, twenty female Dutch fans were forcibly removed from the stadium because they were suspected of engaging in some kind of guerrilla marketing campaign, when in reality they were just trying to have some fun.  

Here in Brasil, the 2014 World Cup Local Organizing Committee, run by the mind-numbingly corrupt president of the Brasilian Football Federation (CBF) has decided that the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo will not be used in the 2014 World Cup. The reasons were clear enough for anyone who has ever tried to go to a game there, but the final excuse was that São Paulo F.C. and the city couldn’t find a financing package for a project that had exploded from an initial estimate of R$136 million to R$630 million. The transportation and tourist infrastructures of São Paulo are in no condition to receive the Shiner Circus, much less the World Cup. The decision to exclude the Morubi could be a sign that logic is starting to enter the thinking of the 2014 LOC.

Argentina x Korea this morning had me up at 7am boiling water for mate and heating up some empanadas for the 8:30 kickoff.  Argentina were dominant but Korea were strangely slow and didn’t look to impose themselves on the game at all. This World Cup has been very strange in that regard. There are a few teams that it is impossible to try to play football against. If you try to play attacking football against Spain, Holland, Argentina, Germany, a loss is guaranteed. The best that Korea could hope for was a draw and they set out their stall to defend like the goal was the 38^th parallel, but Di Maria and Tevez used the space that Messi vacated and picked apart the Korean back line.

Messi was dropping into deep midfield positions to pick up the ball. In the absence of the injured J.S. Veron, Messi and Rodriguez provided the incisive passes to Di Maria and Tevez and Higuain. The latter was probably the worst player on the field for Argentina yet he ended up with a hat-trick. In the first fifteen minutes of the game, Higuain fell over when trying to control the ball and then blasted fifteen yards over inside the box.  His first goal (32^nd minute) was abetted by the Korean keeper, the second he was offside (and the easiest goal of his life), and the third was more due to the brilliant passing of Messi and Agüero. Higuain should have had six. The bad news (for Argentina) about the hat-trick is that it hides Higuain’s poor overall performance and means that Milito will not see the field.

The good news for Argentina was Di Maria’s first half performance, the loss of the Messidependencia of the Nigeria game, the improved organization of the midfield, Gutierrez’s improvement at right back (though he will miss the Greece game through card accumulation), and the massive improvement over the performance against Nigeria.

The bad news:  a very worrying injury to center-back Samuel, Di Maria’s disappearance in the second half, DeMichelis total lack of concentration as the first half was coming to a close, gifting the Koreans a goal. Also bad: Maradona’s inabilty to make tactical changes in response to changed tactics from the opposing manager. Korea were able to impose themselves much more in the second half and were very close to an equalizer on two occasions. Maradona was too slow to bring on Agüero, but when he did they scored two goals in ten minutes.

The Argentina commentators on DirecTv are brilliant, so much more pleasant than the burros at OGlobo. The final words of the game: Señores e Señoras, Argentina es candidato al título.

Dàle.

FIFA Fan Fest (FFF), Rio de Janeiro

I went to the Rio de Janeiro FFF for the opening days of the Cup. The experience confirmed my long standing opinion that everything FIFA touches turns to shite.

FIFA, the Rio Prefeitura and D+ Produções have turned the public space of the beach into a place of individual consumption and social distinction through contrived territorialization. There are separate entrances for VIPs, who are entitled to entry into the “luxury boxes”. Of the 20,000 spectators permitted into the Fan Fest, 850 can hobnob with executives from Coca-Cola, Itaú, Soy, AmBev, Hyundai, and Emirates. Thus, 4.25% of the Fan Festing population can sit in a chair, or duck into luxury if it rains.

For those 850 people, there are 16 bathrooms, or one for every 53 people. For the 19,150 others, there are 150 bathrooms, one for every 128 people.

There are 200 private security guards working every day, all day. There are also 12 security cameras and an operations center. The area surrounding the FFF is militarized, but “light”, kind of like drinking a Coke Zero.

The following are not permitted on the beach: plastic bottles, cans, food, musical instruments and flags, bathing suits, people without shirts or with school uniforms. Choose your expletive. If you haven’t worked yourself into a fine lather by now, “entry will not be allowed to groups wearing clothes or objects advertising companies competing with those licensed by FIFA.” Que porra essa?

To enter the FFF, you have to show some kind of government sourced identification. Then you pass a pat down, then a bag search, then a metal detector. Then someone gives you a wrist band. Then you have to have your wrist band scanned. One of my friends was wrongly sent away because she had a camera! The FFF has taken up all of the parking along the Avenida Atlântica for the VIPs. The only mention of public transport in the FIFA documents is the Metrô, nothing about bus lines.

They’ve got a big screen, so what? The sound is so loud that you can’t get very close to it, so you might as well be at home or in a bar. At half-time, the speakers crank up to an ear splitting decibel, literally driving the fans away from the screen towards the consumption zone. There, you can find the “Sony 3D video experience” where a numbed crowd awaits to be fed even more visual stimulae.  There's also AmBev beer (a barely swallowable R$4), and where there was once open sands has turned into the terra de ninguém. There’s nowhere to sit or congregate that isn’t on the sand in front of the screen. No one brought chairs in, though apparently they aren’t prohibited. 


The experience of a Brasil game at the Fan Fest will be, hopefully, radically different. The current level of interest  is confirming Juca Kufuri's assessment in this month's Brazilian edition of Le Monde Diplomatique, that "Brasil não é o pais de futebol."
 I have yet to go to one of the free shows that are part of the FFF, I imagine it's pretty cool. There's a show every night during the Cup, with some pretty big names, whatever that means. In fact, spending a whole day at the Fan Fest will be a fun adventure that I am looking to undertake with my dad this coming week. 


For those following the World Cup on a tactical level, www.zonalmarking.net is an indespensable resource. 

cada quatro em quatro anos...

It's the night before the World Cup and I can't sleep. These four weeks, these sixty-four games, this World Cup will define the rest of my life, in one way or another. The life cycle of football fans is linked to seasons, temporadas, campeonatos, fixtures, and World Cups. I frequently count backwards in four year increments to 1930. Uruguay. Monumental. Despite the horrors of producing and hosting the World Cup and all of the criminally banal acts of intimidation, corruption, and authoritariansm that accompany these thrity days, there is something irresistable about the World Cup.

11:00, Brasilia time, Mexico vs. South Africa. Where will you be?  I love to hate Mexico. It wasn't always that way. I used to like Mexico.  But when the US started beating them regularly, El Tri turned into a swarthy group of petulant punks, kicking and crying their way to defeat. The Yanks were, and are, a better side. Not as creative or tricky, but much more mens sano em corpore sano.

During qualifying, Mexico did well to get rid of the ineffectual Swede Ericksson, now the manager of the Ivory Coast. They recalled former coach Javier Aguirre, who has El Tri playing like El Tri. Mexcio are fun to watch. They pass the ball beautifully and have players with real techincal gifts. This generation of youthful attacking players (Dos Santos, Guardardo, Torres, Vela, Franco) are all in the top European leagues. And even though C. Blanco has headed so many balls that he's lost his neck, having your talismanic triker named after the last Aztec emperor is cool. So, arriba Mexico?

The Bafana Bafana will be performing under more pressure than the Mexicans. It's hard to know what to expect from them, other than an incredibly high work rate. I think they'll be fortunate to get a draw, probably with a little help from the referee. It's hard not to sympathize with them, but perhaps best to lose early to get started with the decades-long hangover.

Prediction: RSA 2 x MEX 2

15:30, Uruguay vs. France. Les Bleus are tout enigmatique that it's impossible to say what they're going to do. Coach Dominech doesn't really seem to have a clue and the players are openly confused. France might just be a bunch of well-fed eurostars who can't be bothered to fight their way into the second round. I don't envision a coherent performance, but if three or four players get into sync they will score more than they concede.

Uruguay is no fun to play against, and only slightly more enjoyable to watch. They will kick and pull and counter and run until they have to change feet or get sent off. Diego Forlan is a world-class striker, capable of turning a sleepy draw into a win.

Prediction: URU 2 FRA 1

A taxa triplica dos estádios. Pensa nisso quando olhando a Copa.

O cidadão paga três vezes para suportar estádios construídos com dinheiro publico.

Na primeira estância, a cidade inteira paga e sofre, desviando dinheiro para sua construção. O que vai aos estádios não vai às escolas, saúde, meio-ambiente, transporte público.  No caso da Copa do Mundo 2010, além de R$3,9 bilhões em nove cidades foram tirados. No caso da Copa do Mundo do 2014, o custo antes de começar as obras é além de R$6 bilhões. Se o orçamento quadriplicar (como o Pan 2007), seriam R$24 bilhões. Ou seja, R$2 bilhões por estádio.

Na segunda instância, @ torcedor@  precisará pagar custos elevados para assistir os jogos. A entrada do Brasileirão 2015 terá que atingir RS$40, e temos que lotar as arquibancadas. O publico médio de Brasileirão 2009 foi 17.601. A meio entrada por um jogo bonito no Maracanã, Junho 2010, foi R$19.  Então, de onde vem mais 17.000 fãs dispostos pagar o dobro para tornar o projeto viável? É uma divida prevista. Essa situação já se espalhou na África do Sul.

Na terceira instância, o dono do estádio precisa pagar os custos de manutenção. Se um órgão publica for o dono, o povo pagará. No caso de Engenhão, a manutenção é R$450.000 por mês. O Botafogo tem que assumir essa carga de aqui há dois anos, quando a garantia expirasse. O clube Glorioso sobreviveria sem ajuda pública? As cidades da África do Sul não terão como manter esses estádios gigantescos e custosos. No Portugal estão falando já em demolir alguns estádios da Eurocopa 2004.

A cidade também sofre dos impactos urbanísticos e ambientais. O discurso de sustentabilidade, construção verde, e tal, não servem para nada se os espaços e o entorno dos estádios não se inter-relacionam com a cidade. E como é possível melhor o meio-ambiente quando você está aumentando consumo? O caso de Johanesburgo mostra que até as novas linhas de transporte estão causando muitos mais problemas que estão solucionando. O seja, a solução é pelo curto prazo (e para a dona da festa), os problemas sempre estarão.

Os casos de estádios desastrosos não faltam. Montreal, Wembeley, Atenas, Vancouver,  o Ninho do Pássaro, o Pan.  O que é surpreendente é que continuamos construindo-os do mesmo jeito. Se valesse o investimento, em concordância com lógica econômica, o capital (cada vez mais livre) teria chegado já.  Mas esse não aconteceu na África do Sul, nem aconteceria no Brasil. Os estádios deles estão prontos, vamos lá.

De um ponto frio, os dez estádios são bonitãos, de alta qualidade. Pode passar horas investigando a arquitetura, técnicas, materiais, mão de obra. As tecnologias de iluminação, produção, transmissão são fascinantes e quase inacreditáveis. Posso receber um vídeo de um gol feito por um Norte Koreano em África do Sul no meu celular no Rio de Janeiro, menos de um segundo depois de acontecer. É.

O estádio é obra da arte, teatro, cenário, lugar de encontro, palco da festa, face da nação.  Produz, reflete, e transforma a sociedade. Se não pensasse nos problemas, se você acredita, se você já esta salvado das necessidades cotidianas humanas, pode ate se ajoelhar e rezar na direção dos estádios da Copa. O Kaká, o seu Coca Cola, o seu Nike, o seu CBF, e a puta que te pariu estão lá liderando o choro. Mas também está lá seu Zé Ninguém Vuvuzela quem trabalhou no estádio e tem orgulho no seu produto. Também estão o pai, a mae, o filho, a filha, o primo, a vovozinha, e o povo africano (com certas limitações, obvio).  A Copa vai deixar muito além de que podemos imaginar. Mas é verdade que os donos da bola, os donos de tudo, arrumaram uma festa de tamanho global com o dinheiro de povo. Sua festa muda de lugar cada quatro em quatro anos, e o dinheiro sempre vai à mesma direção, mas as memórias da Copa são de todos nos. Estar lá será um privilégio.  

Enquanto eu sempre falo sobre o lado negativo de tudo que vejo no mundo esportivo (é porque não), eu gostaria ir a Copa, ir aos estádios. Gostaria saber o volume, a textura, o efeito na paisagem desses estádios. Eu gostaria ver, ao vivo, os maiores craques do mundo jogando para entrar na historia, na memória global. Eu gostaria encontrar com gente de tudo o mundo, conhecer África da Sul, os sul-africanos.O futebol é emocionante, é coletividade, é representação, é encontro, é o mundo.

A Copa faz das tripas coração. Dá para se perder num jogo de futebol.  Dá para se emocionar, chorar, gritar, sacanear, festejar, deprimir, ficar fora de lugar e tempo. Dá para ver todos os jogos da Copa. Dá para fazer porra nenhuma por um mês. Mas é preciso entender que é a Copa é muito além do o que acontece durante 90 minutos de espetáculo televisual.  

Kaká – the unholy warrior

The key to Brazilian success in the World Cup is Kaká. Dunga’s system is predicated on absorbing pressure and counter-attacking. I’ve been making the metaphorical connection between Dunga’s tactical scheme (destructive creativity) and Lula’s embrace of free-market capitalism with its waves of creative destruction.  Kaká, as the team’s major star, is an embodiment of Brasil, the seleção, and just about everything that is wrong with modern football.

Kaká is the perfect embodiment of capital, religion, and patriotism. His naked and shameless commercialism was on display during a press conference the other day when he started kissing the Adidas Jabulani world cup ball. The ball has come under fierce criticism from nearly everyone except those who Adidas is paying to make out with it for the international press corps. Real Madrid is sponsored by Adidas, Kaká wears Adidas boots, Kaká makes money for Adidas, Adidas loves Kaká, and Kaká loves Adidas so much that for his next trick he is going to inflate the Jabulani without a needle.

Hands in the air, lips moving, eyes rolled back in the head? A crack addict getting arrested? No, Kaká in his pregame ritual. Kaká is so pentacostal he’s hexacostal, wants to be a pastor after playing. I’ve got no problem with that, but the Igreja Renascer em Cristo to which Kaká belongs is much more than a church, it is a money making machine that has turned into a political party, hiding its naked worldly ambitions behind a veil of sanctimonious righteousness that keeps bringing me back to the idea of throwing a basket full of snakes in the locker room.

It’s difficult to imagine a country where national identity is more involved with the fate of the national team than Brasil. The streets are decorated green and yellow, the stores are running out of televisions, people are planning weeks in advance for the first round games, nearly every conversation I overhear on the street, metro, bus, small gatherings, parties, is about the Seleção. Kaká is the most well-known Brazilian player (outside of Brazil) and as the fate of Dunga’s team depends on the former world player of the year he has become an ever more important figure in the national consciousness. Unfortunately for Brazil, this pretty boy from São Paulo doesn’t know how to dance (and is out of form and a bit injured besides) and that is going to mean a quarterfinal exit for the Seleção Brasileira.

The World Cup in Brazil is a strange mix of popular festival, nationalistic chest pounding, nostalgia, hopeful anticipation, and resignation. I have yet to meet a Brazilian that does not have an opinion about the World Cup, or that is planning on doing something other than watch Brazil play. There is not much love lost for Dunga’s side here and even though they are ranked number one in the world and a heavy favorite to make it through to the final, many people are secretly hoping that they will lose with dignity, so as to not valorize the futebol de resultados that defines the modern game (political and financial gain at the expense of popular culture and spaces, increase in social discipline via blind devotion to god and economies of scale, the cold abandonment of a perceived national style).

Cade a licitação pelo Maracanã?

The project detailing the planned reforms for the Maracanã were finally made public this week. R$ 720 million. Obviously, the final cost will be much higher as the demand for concrete, steel, and other stadium parts are not going to maintain the same price over the next three years. Adding the reforms undertaken for the 2007 Pan American games, R$450, we get a stadium project worth R$ 1,170 billion. Billion!

After searching the Rio de Janeiro state government websites (http://www.turismoesporte.rj.gov.br/licitacoes.asp and http://www.governo.rj.gov.br), I was not able to find any details for the project. According to OGlobo the project is going to go to the lowest bidder, but, really, if they are so committed to spending so much money, why not go with the most competent. I could do this reform with my graduate students for about R$500,000. 

I would love to explain what the plans for the stadium are, but the black box of SUDERJ is inside the black box of the Tourism and Sport ministry, which is inside the black box of the State Government, which is inside the black box of CBF, inside the black box of FIFA. In short, a brilliantly complex shell game carried out with billions in public money. 

In other news, Brasil were shockingly bad vs. Zimbabwe the other day. Kaka was truly awful and Robinho and Luis Fabiano kept running into the same spaces. Brazil have the talent to open up any defense with one brilliant pass and quick finish, as they did for their second goal, but this team is not enjoyable to watch. I have talked with dozens of Brazilians who are actively looking for another team to support, many of them actually hoping that  Argentina win the cup. 

For those who have more than a passing interest in what has happened in order to produce the 2010 World Cup and the lecacy of destruction, social exclusion, environmental devastation, murder, greed, avarice, etc. that has defined the South African experience, the book Development and Dreams can be found here.

Eu não torço pelo Brasil

Every day I pick up the paper I find another reason not to like the Brazilian National Team.

Today’s cover of the sports section is a child soldier standing with a wooden rifle in a stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe. The CBF (Corrupto Bosta Fodido) is collecting US$1.8 million for tomorrow’s game, which will no doubt feature Ricardo Teixeira sitting next to Roberto Mugabe in the vip section. Brining the Brazilians to Harare will help to legitimate Mugabe’s twisted regime while directing a chunk of money to the pockets of the CBF. The only critical analysis undertaken by OGlobo was the headline “In  Zimbabwe, we’re the circus: The population of Harare, capital of this African country, one of the poorest in the world, sees this game with the Seleção as a miracle, while the dictator Mugabe in power for thirty years, uses the game to legitimate his regime.” E daí, porra?

Lula. My god, man, grow up. He used his weekly radio address yesterday to ask Brazilians to support the team, which no one likes because Dunga’s team is basically a footballing expression of the neo-liberal economic approach of the PT. The only creativity comes out of destruction and the benefits of winning with “futebol de resultados” accrue to the politicians and thieves at the CBF.

Pentecostals, the team is full of them. Why does every other sentence have to have “se deus quiser” in it (if god wants, or the Brazilian version of Inshallah). God doesn’t give two shites about football, nor did, does, or will he (in this case) help but the ball in the back of the ol’onion bag . No self-respecting Christian would play for the CBF, knowing that his salary is paid for with the blood of the child soldiers defending Mugabe’s regime.  I know that it’s human nature to throw your hands up in the air in celebration, but palms in the air and a prolonged skyward gaze make me want to throw a basket full of snakes into the dressing room to really test the faith. 

Corrupto. Burro. Formação de quadrilha. CBF.

Corprófilos. Besuntões. Fariseus. CBF.

Cabungueiro. Biriteiro. Flexíloquo. CBF.

Capeta. Bigorrilha.Filaucioso. CBF.

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