WHAT AILS THE SOUTH AMERICAN GAME?

Story by Patrick Kamanga

WHAT AILS THE SOUTH AMERICAN GAME?

David Luiz, victim or villain?

Argentina’s 2-1 lose to Germany in the World cup final game at the iconic cathedral of football; the Maracana Stadium ended a miserable week for South American football.

The humiliating 7-1 drubbing that the Brazilian national football team, the Selecao suffered at the hands of the Germany’s national football team, Die Mannshaft came as no surprise to keen observers, what was shocking was the manner and ease with which the German machine carved out the hosts. That national disaster has now been christened the “Mineirazo”

The huge score line however was a microcosm of a larger problem, a cancer that has slowly and progressively ailed the Brazilian game over the last few decades.
The shortcomings of the modern Brazilian game are both technical and administrative.

The lofty stature that the Brazilian game enjoyed prior to that crushing defeat was as a result of the efforts that came about after Brazil’s humiliating 2-1 defeat to Uruguay as hosts in the 1950 World cup final, a disaster better known as the Maracanazo.

The burning desire for vindication and redemption of their national pride was the spur that inspired Brazilian football to great heights and was the bedrock upon which subsequent generations of their footballers took on the world.

From the ashes of that calamity rose names such as Garrincha, Pele, Zico, Socrates and numerous other wizards of the game who became legends and in the process firmly established Brazilian football as the gold standard, the epitome of finesse and artistry.

The Brazilian game thus became the true spiritual representation of the beautiful game, otherwise known as “O Jogo Bonito!”

The great Pele and most of his generation retired after Mexico ’70.
With the 1970 World cup win as their last triumph, the 80’s decade was a trying period for the Brazilian game. Brazil had entered subsequent tournaments as favourites but was eliminated by Italy and France in the quarter finals of both the Espana ’82 and Mexico ’86 editions, followed by a shocking second round loss to a jaded and below par Argentina in Italia ’90. That elimination in Italia 1990 at the hands of perennial nemesis Argentina was particularly painful after which the Brazilian football fathers had had it, they'd seen enough!

Being bundled out by less talented well organized but more disciplined opposition thus became a recurrent theme.

Their game was also at cross-roads and something drastic needed to be done.

More and more of their talent had also been leaving the domestic game headed for Europe a trend that started after the 1982 World cup in Spain, with their footballers attracted by the obvious better remunerations across the Atlantic.

The numbers accelerated through the 90’s and have kept increasing to date. For instance from June 2011 to June 2014, 5,526 Brazilian players were transferred; comprising a 13 % share of the global market, according to FIFA statistics. During the same period 2,311 Brazilian players left the country, primarily for Europe, 199 of them still in their teens.
To add to this grim picture, the vast majority of the current Brazilian World Cup squad except four players is foreign-based.

After the 1986 World cup the game of football became more defensive while the general pace of the game increased a style espoused most by the Europeans with the Italians at the forefront of this new trend. This meant that the slower pace, open spaces within which the Brazilian Samba style of yore thrived and ample time on the ball were no more, with much more close marking, tough tackling and rigid contact play becoming the norm.

Brazilians had to be pragmatic and practical about things if they ever hoped to ascend to the world summit hence the more defensive play introduced by Carlos Alberto Parreira at USA ’94.

Parreira’s system was based on twin full backs that bombed forward at every opportunity but who were covered by two dynamic but robust anchor men, complimented by the flair of several gifted attackers and a powerful striker saw. This system saw Brazil win its fourth World title at Los Angeles’ Rose Bowl in 1994. This same system served them well in 1998 in France where they lost the final to the hosts and was the blue print by which Luiz Phillipe Scolari won the nation’s fifth title at Korea/ Japan in 2002.

The game has since moved on leaving Brazilian football stuck in a time warp using the same old tactics and applications.
The migration of theirs players at an ever younger age has not helped matters as the innate flair the Brazilian footballer is progressively diluted by the rigors of the more rigid European game, problems that have gone on to affect their national team.

The modern Brazilian player is simply a confused lot, with no sense of identity to give him the bearing he needs to stay grounded.

Mano De Menezes was appointed as national coach after the disappointing show in South Africa. De Menezes made an attempt at rejuvenating and changing Brazil’s style of play. He even changed the selection bias that had unfairly ensured only players plying their trade in Europe got selected for national duty.

Taking cue from the "tiki taka" style that was the rave that had propelled Spain to the world summit, he cranked the notch higher and attempted to inject some spark into the Brazilian game by getting his charges to move away from his predecessor Dunga’s negative counter attacking and foul laden style whose mantra had been that results justified the means!
He introduced a progressive, proactive style that attempted to take the Brazilian game back to its flamboyant Samba roots.

The then President of the Brazilian Football Federation (C.B.F) Ricardo Texeira, had overseen De Menezes’ appointment as national coach.
However the massive FIFA “Cash for Votes” corruption scandal which implicated Texeira, a FIFA executive member at the time and his father in-law and former FIFA President, at the time a retired honorary member Joao Havelange resulted in the powerful and politically well connected Texeira’s resignation in 2011 ending his 25 year scandal ridden reign. They were also accused of having taken bribes amounting to $41 million in return for awarding of World cup marketing rights.
The cunning Texeira had over the duration of his tumultuous tenure succeeded in warding off numerous attempts by the Brazilian Congress to reign him in and even Brazil's former leftist President Ignatio Lula Da Silva’s attempts at removing him. Along with his resignation he shrewdly negotiated an exit that shockingly included a consultant’s retainer!

From his retirement perch in Miami, Florida Texeira was still able to influence the planning and organization of the 2014 World cup.

Jose Maria Marin, who had served as the Vice President of the CBF was Texeira’s replacement. Along with the CBF Presidency, he was also appointed Chairman of the 2014 World cup organizing committee. He promised nothing would change thus ensuring his predecessor’s stupendous ways would be perpetuated.

The short-termism at the heart of Brazilian football administration ensured that Marin immediately fired De Menezes as national coach replacing him with an old acquaintance Philipe Luiz Scolari deputized by Carlos Alberto Parreira. The three are part of the influential “Corinthians Old Boys Alliance” which has had a firm grip on Brazilian football for decades. At his resignation the ailing Texeira was 67 yrs, while Marin the current President is 82 yrs with his deputy 73 year old Marco Polo del Nero lining up to take over the reins in 2015.

With such a deep rooted and corrupt bureucratic hierarchy, there’s no end in sight to the way things are run within the CBF, not any time soon.

Argentina still obsessed by the legend of Maradona

Despite reaching the 2014 World cup final with the services of four times World Footballer of the Year award winner Lionel Messi at its disposal, Argentinian football is not faring much better than its Brazilian neighbour.

Serious hooliganism, financial problems and the perennial drain of its top talent to rich European clubs have all conspired to bog down the Argentine game.

The relegation of Argentine football giant River Plate football club in 2011 in particular is symbolic of this degeneration and rot.

Argentina’s national collective psyche has also yet to progress beyond the legend of Maradona at the Mexico ’86, with a “new Maradona” ever taunted at every World cup since 1994 expected to lead them to the “Promised Land”! Victor Ortega had been the chosen one in 1994 who exited the stage in 1998 via the disgrace of a red card, with Pablo Aimar taking over in 2002 before Messi came into the scene in 2006 with none producing the desired results.

With the South American region headed towards the Copa America tournament next summer, a football revolution seems to be taking shape in Latin America with Chile and Colombia leading the way.

Football has evolved and will keep on progressing and therefore the two South American football giants need to objectively re-evaluate the state of their game and institute radical changes that will modernize as well as propel them back to the glories they enjoyed before.