Joga Bonito

It doesn’t take an expert to acknowledge creativity, although we may not fully appreciate and understand its full context or meaning, innovative works are apparent. Creativity manifests itself in countless forms and mediums. Perhaps artists, chefs, musicians and dancers have impressed you with their remarkable talents. In fact, just down the road from my apartment here in Curitiba (as almost everywhere in Curitiba), vivid and wonderful street art exhibits its colorful images for eyes to consume.

Alongside boundless graffiti, Curitiba (moreover Brazil in general) has revealed another artistic expression; futebol style. Brazilian futebol descriptors tend to encompass terms resembling breathtaking, imaginative, unique and finesse. Or, put more bluntly, fancy feet. In Franklin Foer’s 2006 novel, How Soccer Explains the World, he suggests that the “Brazilian style is more aesthetically pleasing than any other brand of play (p. 120)”. The ball seemingly develops invisibility by means of rapidly moving limbs and innovative deception techniques. In this attacking minded style elaborate footwork, a fast pace, quick decision making and individualism are rewarded. Plays then become great when futebolistas combine to create attacking formations that are new every game, unquestionably crowd pleasing. Creativity at its finest.

Is this the secret behind history’s record five Copa do Mundo (World Cup) wins Brazil holds? (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002). How did Brazil become so creative? And how does it differ from other countries styles?

Foer (2006) illuminates the Brazilian style by comparing it to literary style: understanding European as prose and contrasting Brazilian as poetry. Prose values a tighter more strategic discipline compared to poetry’s flair and playful nature. Portuguese, Brazil’s national language, expresses this as futebol resultados (play focused on results), and futebol d’arte (play for the beauty of the game). “Brazil became an international power because it played without the rigid strategic strictures of continental soccer. Positions, formations and defense weren’t valued nearly as much as spontaneity, cleverness and the scoring of goals (Foer, 2006).” If placed on a continuum one style must be sacrificed to produce the other more intensely.

Brazilians are known for their technical abilities, especially dribbling, and many attribute this to a history of capoeira. Capoeria combines martial arts alongside choreographed dance, involving great athleticism and coordination; as well as rhythm and grace. The exotic relationship between futebol and capoeira possibly illustrates how one physical sport may affect another. Others attribute Brazilian dribbling abilities to futsal. A guest lecturer from the Pontifical Catholic University of Parana spoke of this saying, “Brazilian soccer makes it different.” Futsal was developed due to a lack of available futebol fields by converting small basketball courts and hockey-like posts into the game we know today. Spatial limitations force players to rely on individual technique, ultimately developing their 1 v 1 skills.

And I got the opportunity to experience this first hand. With central Curitiba framing the futsal court, six classmates and I started a pickup game on the peeling concrete encased in fencing and overhead nets. 

Spectators began to gather as we played; drawing their curiosity with our American appearances and holding it with our free and jubilant play. Our audience slowly crept closer from the park benches to the fence openings. Several local boys looking extraordinarily keen were invited to play, and soon enough we had a rotation of three teams contesting for King’s Court. Individuals joined without hesitation the minute they got ‘the wave’ or ‘the nod’, literally jumping out of their seats like hot kernels. Wearing jeans and hoodies (this is winter in Brazil after all), and one particular boy in bare feet, they turned our game into an extraordinary show of style. The moment the locals joined, the game transformed. I now understand the statement ‘they play futebol as if it were a dance’. Our passing and defensive discipline looked foolish and sloppy compared to the new intensity that entertained the court. Daring moves, like my favorite the caneta (or nutmeg), were successfully and quite easily executed. Brazilians have created a “whole new set of conventions for the game: passes with the back of the heel, an array of head and hip fakes, the bicycle kick (Foer, 2006).” My poor Portuguese did not affect my team’s communication once the game started, as a mutual appreciation for the game and each other generated easy coordination. After two hours and sufficient amounts of sweat a Brazilian girl, the only girl besides Shalla, Anna and myself, also joined. Thinking back, I wonder if she would have played if we were not there…

I learnt a lot about my playing style that day on the futsal concrete, but the biggest lesson of all was that the finesse of the Brazilians can only be used when tricks are perfected; because practicality of most futebol situations overrule the aesthetic appeal of a tricky move. The safest way is usually not the prettiest, but it gets the job done – to score goals. However, trying new moves will only make you better and the time a trick is successful, the feeling is definitely worth it.

Foer, Franklin (2006). How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. New York, NY, HarperCollins Publishers.