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Canadian Joe Raso
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 By
Joseph Raso
I spent the preseason with Rio Claro FC, a team that recently won
promotion to Serie A2 in the Paulista (Sao Paulo state) championship. As most
readers will be aware, the state competitions are important affairs in Brazil
for historical and geographical reasons. In Sao Paulo, Serie A1, A2 and A3
each have 20 teams competing, and Serie B has 40. Most of the A1 teams also
play in the national Serie A or B. Although it may seem incredible that
there are 100 professional clubs competing in the state (population: 40 million),
it’s actually not surprising given the amount of talent available and
intense passion for the game.
Rio Claro has a population of approximately 200,000 and it’s about a
2-hour drive from the city of Sao Paulo. There is another pro team in Rio
Claro that competes in Paulista Serie B. Like the rest of Brazil Rio Claro
became football mad in the early part of last century, and Rio Claro FC was
among the first clubs founded in the country. City residents are especially
supportive of the club when it promises to be successful and this year
they had high hopes because of the quality of players in the side.
I left Canada for Brazil not knowing exactly what to expect from the
club officials, players, etc. I knew I would be the only foreigner at the
club. In fact, there are few foreigners anywhere in Brazilian football. One
Canadian had played professionally in Brazil but he lived in Brazil
from a young age and had Brazilian parents. As it turned out, the players
(like most Brazilians I met) were great and included me in all of their
activities off the pitch. I keep in contact with a few of them by email. Language
wasn’t the problem I thought it might be and I was able to get by using
Spanish.
For the most part they have very disciplined and regimented lives with
most free time spent together playing cards or watching television in the
club facilities where I stayed. After matches on the weekend they take some
time to go out for drinks, shopping or visiting family. It was also clear
that the Socrates-led players’ rights movement in the 1980s has given more
freedom to Brazilian footballers but they still face many restrictions
from club authorities.
Many of them make major sacrifices, including long-term separation from
families, girlfriends, and in some cases their wives, despite the fact
that about 85% of professional players in the country make the minimum wage
of US$130/month. Fortunately their accommodation and meals are provided,
and there is the intangible of living the Brazilian dream of being a
professional footballer.
Also, this club, unlike many others in Brazil, pays consistently on the
same day every month. In general, Paulista clubs at all levels are more
reliable than even the largest clubs in Rio de Janeiro. One example speaks
volumes: at the time of my arrival in Brazil Flamengo players hadn’t received
any pay in over 3 months!
Actually, I know of even worse cases from the last few years. From
everything I saw and experienced, Paulista football clubs and
structures seem to have fewer problems with corruption than Carioca (Rio) football
organizations. In recent years clubs from Sao Paulo have been the
strongest at the national level, most likely in part due to the solid
organization of the top clubs.
Of course that’s not to suggest football in Sao Paulo is free of
corrupting influences (is anything?), and nothing can compare to the legendary
Estadio Maracana in Rio, which I was able to visit before leaving Brazil. From
a young age I had dreamt of experiencing Brazilian football, and of
course the Maracana was the centrepiece of all of these Brazilian football
fantasies. For football fanatics it is worth the trip to Rio to see what is
arguably the planet’s greatest footballing ground.
Anyways, on most days we trained twice, intensive morning and afternoon
sessions of about 90 minutes each, with the day after a match and the
occasional morning or afternoon free. The two physical trainers ran
most of the practices and were more demanding than other trainers in the
experience of many of the players. On my first day, our afternoon session of
interval sand training immediately threw me into the regimen. I had arthroscopic
surgery last year but thankfully my knee didn’t pose any problems.
Training either took place at the club stadium or we took the team bus
to the club training ground on the outskirts of the city. The week’s
schedule was announced in advance, divided into physical, tactical and technical
sessions. Before every practice it was almost mandatory to spend time
joking around with one-touch games before the whistle blew and playtime gave
way to serious business.
A typical day consisted of morning training, returning to the club
facilities for lunch and rest, then afternoon training, dinner and an
evening of relaxation and socializing. There was an 11pm curfew on most
nights. After months of preparation in Canada it still took some time
to fully adjust to the regime but it was not very different from my
training years ago in the neighbouring country of Bolivia, where I trained at
the famous Academia de Futbol Tahuichi and then had a stint with two
national first division teams.
The manager used a 3-5-2 system, a popular formation in Brazil which
changes my usual position from an outside right back in a 4-4-2 set-up to
outside right midfielder, or lateral direito in Portuguese. I prefer the 3-5-2
because I enjoy joining the attack through overlapping runs. It also makes
better use of the player who would otherwise be a fourth defender in a
back line marking only two strikers.
We played several friendly preseason matches at home against some
strong sides from A1 and A2, achieving a few victories and draws, pleasing the
manager who placed much emphasis on securing good results in the
friendlies As for myself, I was satisfied with my 45-miunte performances in the
matches and received very positive feedback.
The Brazilian style, keeping the ball on the ground and building the
attack from the back with short passes, has always been my preference.
Unfortunately, in Canada the traditional English long-ball game has
always been dominant at the national level, with the players selected
accordingly.
When spending time in the professional environment in Brazil and seeing
the clubs at various levels, you quickly begin to appreciate the depth of
footballing talent in this nation. After Brazil took the 2004 Copa
America title with its B team, all the talk in the press was about how no other
country in the world could have accomplished this feat. This is true,
but it’s also true that a Brazilian C or D side might have also won the
tournament.
The Sao Paulo state football federation (FPF) has an excellent website
with information on all things Paulista football, including amazing rotating
video of many stadiums in the state. The
federation has its impressive headquarters in the Barra Funda district
of Sao Paulo city. Another great website for Paulista football is Futebol
Interior: www.futebolinterior.com.br
I wish I could have stayed longer but the players’ salaries, visa
issues and personal reasons made it infeasible. It was a great experience and I
would be happy to respond to any questions from readers.
Joseph Raso lives in Hamilton, Canada. He can be reached by email at:
usrasoj@hotmail.com
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