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 The following text is taken from the 48-page booklet of sleeves notes Brazil became a republic in 1889. Five years later Charles Miller arrived with two footballs at the port of Santos and the country's destiny was foreordained. Within decades football was the strongest symbol of Brazilian identity. Brazil has won the World Cup four times - more than any other country. It has produced some of the most talented players of all time, such as Leônidas, Didi, Garrincha, Sócrates Zico, Romário and Ronaldo, and - of course - Pelé, the greatest of them all. But the romance of Brazilian football is not just that the country is the most successful. It is because of the graceful, awesomely skilfull and acrobatic way they play. It is because of the musicality and contageous good spirits of their fans. And it is because the commentators shout: "goooooooooooooal". The history of Brazilian football and the develpoment of its musical styles are entwined. Perhaps because of the emphasis on the dribble, which moves one's whole body, the sport is often described as a dance. With good reason. Domingos da Guia, Brazil's outstanding defender of the 1930s and 1940s, said "My elder brother used to say, aren't you good at dancing? I was and this helped my football. I swung my hips a lot,that short dribble I invented imitating the miudinho, that type of samba." To Top The rhythm, happiness and ingenuity that marks Brazilian football makes it perfect subject matter for music. Pixinguinha was the first major composer to write a song about a match, in 1919, and since then football has inspired almost all the great twentieth century popular Brazilian artists - including Chico Buarque, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Elis Regina and Jorge Ben. There is barely a musical genre that does not include a tribute to a team, a match or a player. Football is an obvious stimulus since it is such a central part of Brazilian life. Brazil also invented carnivalesque ways of supporting. In the 1940s they became the first fans to dress up in fancy dress and the first to bring along a musical band to liven up the terraces. Football matches are now unthinkable without a soundtrack of batucada beats. Brazilians best express their creativity through football and music. Often both at the same time. To Top Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life Email: Copyright © 2005 by Alex Bellos. Published by Bloomsbury, New York and London. Distributed to the trade by Holtzbrinck Publishers. |
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