BRA5IL

Damn, Brazil Won!

A Good Reason Why Brazil Should Have Lost the World Cup

For its own sake Brazil should have lost. Bringing the World
Cup home will be a triumph for corruption. This article was
written before the world knew the result of
the final between Germany and Brazil.

Alex Bellos

We all want Brazil to win the World Cup. And it's not just because we don't like the Germans. Defeating the Germans will be a triumph of flair over efficiency, of passion over rationality, of the Third World over the First. The triumph will show that Brazil is a contender, not just in football, but in the modern world. Or so we like to believe. However, there is an ugly side to the jogo bonito, the beautiful game, and, if Brazil wins on Sunday, this side has the most to gain. The biggest loser could be Brazil itself.

Before the World Cup started, I spoke to Tostão, who played for Brazil's glorious 1970 team and has subsequently become the country's most eloquent football writer. "A good performance in the Cup will delay vital reforms," he told me. "The party atmosphere will mean that the need for change is forgotten." I spoke to Socrates too, from Brazil's classy class of 1982, who despite—or perhaps because of—his name has internalized his role as football's philosopher. "For things to really improve, perhaps what is required is a great humiliation," he said, "like Brazil being knocked out in the first round."

Would Bobby Moore have ever spoken so positively about England losing?

Brazil was run by a dictatorship between 1964 and 1985. Its first presidential election was held in 1989. In the past 13 years much has changed—the country is slowly becoming a modern democracy. But of the few parts of Brazilian life that have been impervious to change the most visible—and symbolic—is the world of football. The men in charge behave just the way the dictators did, with arrogance, incompetence and impunity.

Look what happened in 1994, the last time Brazil won the World Cup. The victorious team flew back from the US to Rio with 15 tons of baggage, mostly of electronic goods bought by the players and the CBF (Confederação Brasileira de Futebol—Brazilian Football Confederation) entourage. On arrival at customs, Ricardo Teixeira, the CBF president, demanded that the products pass through without inspection, thereby saving huge sums on duty. He said that the team would refuse to parade if they were not allowed to pass. The matter was resolved only when the government intervened. The team was allowed through, and despite a public outcry, the CBF got away with it.

The incident illustrates the CBF's attitude. "Ethics," according to their catchphrase, "is for philosophers." The CBF is power-hungry, self-serving and greedy. It is not interested in setting a good example, in helping the country or its dispossessed millions. It breaks the law without fear of the judiciary—possibly because it has funded trips to the World Cup for judges and their wives. Funding political campaigns means it has Congress in its pocket too. The "football lobby"—powerful enough to block legislation—is one of the most reactionary groups in Parliament.

When the national team is doing well, no one minds the corruption. But when the team plays badly, public pressure grows. That's what happened two years ago, when the under-23s' defeat by Cameroon in the Olympics combined with disgust at Nike's sponsorship of the national team and lingering doubts about what happened to Ronaldo in the 1998 World Cup, provoked two parliamentary inquiries.

It was the first time football had been the subject of such high-level investigations. The inquiries found that much of Nike's millions had disappeared and recommended that more than 30 people should be prosecuted. Ricardo Teixeira was accused of 13 crimes, including tax evasion, withholding information, giving misleading information, lying on his tax return and using CBF money for his private needs.

But instead of resigning, Teixeira continues as if nothing had happened and Brazil's success in Japan and Korea has strengthened his position. Internationally it gives him more power within FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), where he is aligning himself to be Sepp Blatter's successor.

That men like Teixeira are brought to account is important for Brazil, where football is the greatest symbol of nationality. How can Brazilians feel truly proud as a nation if their cherished sport is seen as rotten to the core?

One of the consequences of the recent football inquiries was a bill signed by President Fernando Henrique Cardoso a fortnight ago to force football clubs to abide by ethical business practices. It is the first step in trying to clean out the sleaze.

Other changes will come as the process of democratization continues. Only one thing now will accelerate their arrival: a good drubbing by Germany. If Brazil wins, the reforms will be put on hold and Teixeira will have the last laugh.

Alex Bellos is the author of FUTEBOL: Soccer, the Brazilian Way (Bloomsbury, May 2002). He is the correspondent in Brazil for the British paper The Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk) and can be reached at alex.bellos@guardian.co.uk 

This text was originally published by The Guardian.

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