« This may be one of the worst teams in recent years. It has no respectable leaders, only average players for the majority. Lack of love for the jersey, lack of guts and especially football », launched Ronaldinho on June 15 on his Instagram account. Ronnie’s sharp sling against the Selection was actually part of an advertising campaign for the Rexona brand, sponsor of the Copa América 2024. The objective? Show the impact of supporters’ criticism on the national team players, before their debut in the competition against Costa Rica on the night of Monday to Tuesday. And for good reason, a good part of Brazilians would not deny the speech of the former magician of PSG and Barça.
Out of sight out of mind
The rag is burning between the Brazilians and their team, and it does not seem to be going out any time soon. According to a study by Quaest Consultoria dating from last November, 48% of Brazilian football fans are no longer interested in their Selection. And it is not the prospect of the Copa América that will change the situation. “No one seems to know when Brazil plays. Even before this competition, there is no real excitement. In the street, no one wears the Seleção jersey »regrets Thiago Uberreich, journalist and author of several books on the history of the five-time world champions.
Most of the players are young people who earn thousands in Europe and wear the national team jersey to show off.
Sitting behind the stall of a market in Rio de Janeiro where he sells cassava, tapioca and other specialties from the north-east of the country, Ramon Fagundes is big on potatoes. “Most players are bad and are only there because of their agent”, estimates this Fluminense fan, whose crest is tattooed on his calf. Same story with his colleague Gabriel Silva, whose heart leans towards Vasco. “I am more interested in the Euro than in the Copa América, laughs Carioca between two negotiations. Our team has neither niac, nor love of swimsuits. Most of the players are young people who earn thousands in Europe and wear the national team jersey to show off. » Over the past few decades, the number of national team players playing in the Brasileirão has declined as açaí under the sun. A distance which constrains the supporters of the Selection to maintain a long-distance relationship with their players, who are less and less known to the average Brazilian. “For several years, those who follow football from afar no longer even know the players on the team”, explains Thiago Uberreich. The nuggets of the largest country in Latin America are going into exile at younger and younger ages, as illustrated by the cases of Endrick and Estevão, respectively promised to Real Madrid and Chelsea at just 17 years old. “The players leave for Europe so early that people have difficulty identifying with them, adds the journalist. Among the 22 Brazilians selected for the 1994 World Cup, half played in the country. »
It’s difficult for Brazilians to feel close to players they only see play for one or two years in their championship. Even more so when the federation itself participates in this distancing. In 2006, the CBF transferred to private companies the management of the friendly matches of the Selection. Result: according to journalist Marcos Teixeira, from 2000 to 2019, Brazil played 135 friendlies, including 112 abroad. And during the rare encounters at home, you better be prepared to sell a kidney or two to get a place. To attend Brazil-Venezuela (1-1) on October 13, supporters had to pay the modest sum of 400 reals, in a country where the minimum wage caps at 1,412 reals.
2013-2014, pivotal years
But to understand one of the deep roots of this disenchantment, we have to go back to 2014. At the time, Brazil was preparing to host a World Cup which will remain as one of the most beautiful in history. recent history of football. Except that the submerged part of the iceberg is a little less shiny: the previous year, the country was shaken by huge demonstrations against poverty and the failure of public services, but also against the construction sites and the enormous investments made to host the World Cup.“From that moment on, Brazilians became more politically involved, relegating football to the background, explains Thiago Uberreich . We even laugh about it by saying that today, people do not know the eleven players of the Seleção, but know the eleven ministers of the Federal Supreme Court. »
To regain enthusiasm, we must rediscover our football made of dribbling and beautiful play.
The expensive celebration that was the 2014 World Cup will end in tears, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of Brazilians. Ten years later, the Selection has not really recovered from this humiliation, and the CBF has still not undertaken the reforms promised after the debacle. The growing polarization of Brazilian society is not good for the national team either, which is supposed to unite the country around the same jersey. The latter has, in spite of himself, become an important symbol of Bolsonarism. Enough to explain the lack of enthusiasm around a team which seems to have forgotten the play nice, as evidenced by the purge of June 12 against the United States (1-1). Can the 2024 Copa América allow Vinícius and his friends to win back the hearts of Brazilians? “To regain enthusiasm, we must rediscover our football made of dribbling and beautiful play », Judge Gabriel Silva. Despite the weariness caused by 22 years without a World Cup, a number of auriverde fans will still follow the adventures of their team. This is the case of Ramon Fagundes:“It’s still Brazil. Even if it was table football, I would watch. »
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