Talking about football in Brazil is always a hot topic, particularly because of the 2016 Rio Olympics and even before that, the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The Brazilian style of football is world famous; the creativity and flair of their players is unmatched. Brazilian legends like Ronaldo, Pelé, Ronaldinho, Garrincha, and Carlos Alberto played the game in a way that had never been seen before. But where did it come from?
Looking back at the history of Brazil is looking back at the history of the beautiful game. It is a game that started off with the elites, the wealthy and powerful and grew to become a sport for the masses.
Gregg Bocketti’s The Invention of the Beautiful Game: Football and the Making of Modern Brazil dissects the history of the game in Brazil in an incredibly thorough way, something we haven’t seen before in any text. Seeing football evolve from a white Eurocentric sport to a game played by everyone, including those in favelas across the country. It’s the most dramatic transformation of any sport at any point in history.
We were fascinated with the discussion surrounding Charles Miller, the father of Brazilian football. It’s amazing to see that the game has dominated this massive country since “its discovery” in 1894 and it all started with one man. The author spent countless hours doing research and writing this text and it proves to be worth the effort.
This book explains the obsession Brazilians have for the sport and why football has become a nationalist symbol and barometer for the success of an entire country. Reading this allows us to have a better understanding of the game in other places, particularly in North America. The experience seems to be the exact opposite as the game in U.S. and Canada has become a sport for the middle class or the wealthy in modern times.
University Press of Florida may not churn out many soccer or football titles, but this one is certainly worth a read. It is by far, the definitive text on Brazilian football history. We didn’t truly understand the game there until we read this one.
Brazil may have had an early exit from the Copa America Centenario, but you could read this to prepare for watching Neymar at the Olympics. The beautiful game will certainly be on display there for all the world to see. You’ll certainly appreciate jogo bonito better once you have read this fascinating text.
