Football in Brazil

Association football is the prominent sport in Brazil. The National Team has won the FIFA World Cup tournament a record five times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002 [http://www.fifa.com/en/mens/awards/alltimeawards/0,4638,FWC-7,00.html] and is the only team to have never missed a World Cup participation, and to be among the favorites to win the trophy every time the competition is scheduled. Pelé, one of the most recognized footballers in history, led Brazil to two of those championships and is the top scorer of all time in the sport. After Brazil won its third World Cup, they kept the Jules Rimet Trophy permanently. All of the contemporary talents in the national team prominent in the football world include Romário, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and most recently Kaká. Some of these players can be considered super-stars, achieving celebrity status internationally and signing sports contracts, as well as advertisement and endorsement contracts, in the value of millions of dollars.

The governing body of football in Brazil is the Brazilian Football Confederation.

History

In the 1870s an expatriate named John Miller worked on the railway construction project in São Paulo together with some 3000 other immigrant families from the British Isles in the last decades of the 19th century. in 1884 Miller sent his ten year old son Charles William Miller to Bannisters school in Southampton, England to be educated. Charles was a skilled athlete who quickly picked up the game of football at the time when the Football Association was still being formed, and as an accomplished winger and striker Charles held school honours that gained him entry into the Southampton Club team and later into the County team of Hampshire.

In 1888, the first sports club was founded in the city, São Paulo Athletic Club.

In 1892 while still in England, Charles was invited to play a game for the Corinthians, a team formed of players invited from public schools and universities.

On his return to Brazil Charles brought some football equipment and a rules book with him. He then developed the new rules of the game amongst the community in São Paulo. São Paulo Athletic Club won the first three years championships. Miller's skills were far above his colleagues at this stage. He was given the honour of contributing his name to a move involving a deft flick of the ball with the heel "Chaleiro".

Charles Miller kept a strong bond with English football throughout his life. Teams from Southampton and Corinthians Club travelled to Brazil to play against São Paulo Athletic Club and other teams in São Paulo. After a tour of Corinthians to Brazil in 1910 a new team in Brazil took on the name of Corinthians after a suggestion from Miller.

The Brazilian Football Confederation was founded in 1914, and the current format for the Campeonato Brasileiro was established in 1971.

In 1988 São Paulo Athletic Club celebrated its centenary playing the English side Corinthians at Morumbi Stadium. English Corinthian finish its tour by going against the local professional Corinthians Paulista team, who counted the likes of Sócrates and Rivelino amongst its roster, at Pacaembu Stadium in São Paulo and true to Corinthian principles of good clean football the score was 1 to 0 in favour of the locals when as agreed Socrates changed shirts to play alongside the English amateurs. This did not affect the score unfortunately although a largely packed stadium was cheering on for a drawn result.

It was announced on September 29 2007 that the CBF will launch a women's league and cup competition in October 2007 following pressure from FIFA president Sepp Blatter during the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China.Cite web|url=http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90779/6274126.html|title=Brazil to set up women's soccer league|accessdate=2007-09-30|publisher=People's Daily|work=Sports|date=2007-09-29] Cite web|url=http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90779/6274148.html|title=Brazil will create women soccer cup|accessdate=2007-09-30|publisher=People's Daily|work=Sports|date=2007-09-29]

Football culture

Football quickly became a passion for Brazilians, who often refer to Brazil as "o país do futebol" ("the football country"). Over 10,000 Brazilians play professionally at home and all over the world.

Football has a major effect on Brazilian culture. It is the favorite pastime of youngsters playing football on streets. The World Cup draws Brazilians together, with people skipping work to view the national team play, or employers setting up apparatus for employees to watch. The general elections are usually held in the same year as the World Cup, and critics argue that political parties try to take advantage of the nationalistic surge created by football and bring it into politics. Former footballers are often elected to legislative positions.

One unique aspect of football in Brazil is the importance of the Brazilian state championships. For much of the early development of the game in Brazil, the nation's size and the lack of rapid transport made national competitions infeasible, so the competition centered on state tournaments and such inter-state competitions as the Torneio Rio-São Paulo. Even today, despite the existence of a national tournament, the state tournaments continue to be hotly contested and the intrastate rivalries remain intense.

The development of a single state championship did not have the effect intended. Instead of allowing the best teams to compete, it led to the establishment of many new clubs to share in some of the successes. The increase in the number of clubs resulted in a wider spread of talents and decline in the quality of play. Some of the more successful teams did not like the change, including Fluminense who complained that they were forced to travel across the country to play teams they had not heard of.

Football style

Brazilian football is a reflection of the country's multiracial society. Brazil's unique style is characterised by much creativity and swing and is infused with various rhythms and choreographies. It is believed that this unique style was developed in the low income areas largely populated by people of African descent. The great "foot ability" that the players had could be traced to the physical coordination and rhythm associated with the capoeira, Brazilian martial arts, and samba which are characterized by footsteps to dance or to play under the rhythm of African drums. [http://www.thesportjournal.org/2004Journal/Vol7-No1/AntoniooMullerSoccerCultureinBrazil.asp]

League System

There is a three tier league system.
*Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
*Campeonato Brasileiro Série B
*Campeonato Brasileiro Série CThere are also State Championships which are not hierarchically below the national league, however, they are used for the purposes of promoting clubs to the national leagues.

ee also

* List of football clubs in Brazil
* Pelé
* Archie McLean

References