Gabriele Marcotti ‘O
FINAL do Sonho”. The dream f i nal. That’s the billi ng tonight’s Confederations Cup c l i max is being given here in Rio de Janeiro. Hosts Brazil versus not just world champions but undisputed global number ones Spain.
Some European media have spun a yarn of Brazilian disaffection towards football, due to the ongoing protests and demonstrations that have brought millions of people to the streets. They’ve peddled the line that football success, which in the past was used by the country’s military dictators as a kind of narcotic t reatment to ensure the nation’s ills were ignored – a smiling Pele, “jogo bonito” and the Jules Rimet Cup to stupefy you into accepting the lack of social mobility and free speech.
But that is no longer a substitute for basic rights in the minds of the masses. The adoration for the Selecao continues unabated. It’s just that folks also want to make their voices heard on other issues.
It’s a far more complex story than the simple narrative peddled by some. Beginning with the fact that Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, was imprisoned and tortured in her early 20s because of her political activism. A few decades ago most of her cabinet would have been out on the streets themselves.
On the pitch, Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Brazil have made tangible progress compared to a few months ago when they were struggling to win friendlies. The formula is a familiar one for “Big Phil”: a tough, veteran back four, two holding midfielders to shield them, and a group of forwards relying on the verve of Neymar.
The Barcelona-bound starlet has thus far proved his critics wrong. He may be hyped – he endorses more than a dozen products and it’s impossible to watch an ad break on Brazilian TV without seeing him at least twice – but it’s justified. There simply aren’t that many genuinely two-footed attacking players with his quickness, creativity and technique anywhere in the world game.
Neymar has had to carry Brazil at the attacking end of the pitch and that’s the main concern. Centre-