O JOGO BONITO

No one in Brazil was happy as the 2014 World Cup came to an end last month. Brazilians were shocked and dismayed at the stunning defeats in the game that has special cultural meaning and is a source of national pride in Brazil. Brazilian teams were known for a version of the game that was at once skillful and flamboyant, joyful, like a dance, like a game. They called it O Jogo Bonito, the beautiful game. Their super stars like world famous Pele made dazzling footwork look light-hearted, easy.  Carnaval, futebol, e praia—Carnival, soccer, and the beach—are said to be the three passions of Brazilians, and they are all three places where Brazilians of all classes come together.

It wasn’t always this way with soccer.  Although precursers of the game can be traced to many cultures dating back to ancient times, soccer as an alternative to rugby dates back to Britain in the 19^th century. The first soccer club in Brazil was founded by Englishmen in São Paulo in 1888, mostly consisting of their countrymen, and as in England, it was mostly played by the upper classes. My grandparents were in São Paulo at that time, and I imagine that they were acquainted with the British community there. I can’t imagine them playing it, though!

After the first World Cup in  1930, in which Brazil participated, the sport took on a cultural shift—it became widely popular, played for fun in the streets and beaches all over Brazil, and the democratization of futebol, as it is called in Brazil, changed the style of the Brazilian game.  Influences of Capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial arts/dance and even of Brazilian samba can be seen the movements of the Jogo Bonito. Clearly, the fusion of the European game with Afro-Brazilian freedom of movement brought flair and creativity to the game.

Some say the Brazilian team lost because they strayed from the Jogo Bonito—I don’t know, but it certainly can be said that the 2014 FIFA World Cup played in 12 cities of Brazil captured the attention of the world, and especially new interest in the sport in the United States, and the Brazilians will be back in Russia in 2018—you can count on it!