MARACANA HAS ETERNAL APPEAL

THERE is a backlash in Brazil over the proposal to rename the Maracana stadium after Pele. Critics believe this cuts across the cherished history of the arena, with much of its uniqueness already lost in the World Cup renovation. Pele also has a stadium named in his honour, in Maceio, home to two Serie B teams. Admittedly, he has no real connection there, unlike the Maracana, where he scored both his 1,000th goal and, arguably, his greatest — for Santos against Fluminense in 1961. there is even a plaque commemorating that. Yet again, there is dispute. Pele spent most of his career with Santos, a club whose home is more than 300 miles away from rio de Janeiro. If Santos’ Estadio Urbano Caldeira — more familiarly known as Vila Belmiro after its location — is not named in his honour, why mess with the Maracana? that is the nub of it. the Maracana is a pet name, too. the home of Brazilian football is in fact Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho, after the newspaper man and writer who championed its construction. Mario Filho was a huge influence on modern Brazil. He sponsored the first samba school parade, wrote of football as meaningfully as art — and when a national stadium was required for the 1950 World Cup final, campaigned for it to be in the heart of the city. It was built in a region known as Maracana, and was named in Filho’s honour after his death in 1966. Yet the Maracana it remains. And the Maracana it will stay, even if the politicians get their way over Pele. there are names that no rights sale or populist whims can erase and fans will always thrill to their mention. the Maracana is one; Wembley another.