Protests in Brazil: What Pelé has to say
Ah FIFA – if anyone in Brazil (or any other nation for that matter) is undecided on how they feel toward the international governing body of football, I’d like to ask where you’ve been hiding for the past 5 years. From levels of corruption that would make even the Sarney family blush, to the aggressive imposition of exclusive sponsorship deals that are completely at odds with both the local culture and also the spirit of the game they purport to represent, this is one organisation that it is tough not to despise.
From a thoroughly dislikeable institution to a well-loved legend of Brazilian football – Pelé.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento – Pelé. One of the greatest footballers of all time and still Brazil’s the top scorer.
Since his retirement, Pelé he has been involved in all kinds of projects, from adverts for erectile dysfunction treatments to UNESCO Goodwill ambassador. However, most of us know Pelé because he was an unbelievable footballer, and as such he brings with him an enormous amount of goodwill.
Being such a popular figure he was an obvious choice to represent the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) and FIFA in promoting the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. And it seems that his ties with FIFA and CBF run deep. Whilst even players in the current Brazil team (such as Hulk and Dani Alves) have admirably spoken up in support of the protesters and their causes, Pelé came out with this:
Pelé calado é um poeta
When even Dilma is coming out with statements saying that she is ‘proud of the protests’, I think Pelé (or his advisers) misjudged this one badly. As an ambassador for Brazilian football, I can understand him feeling concerned with anything that might seem to jeopardise next year’s main event, but the people of Brazil are currently debating something more important than a football tournament.
Who knows? Maybe the government concessions on fares may cause this movement to fizzle out. But I know that many people living in Brazil are hoping that the protests will lead to more fundamental changes – I think the next few days will be instructive on which way things will go. But in any case, if he wants to avoid looking like an establishment mouthpiece, I think Pelé would be well advised to avoid advising everyone to just forget about it and think about how much they love the Brazilian football team.
It seems there is some bad blood between Pelé and fellow former striker Romário which goes back a few years and this has led to a rather stinging quote from 2011 re-circulating on the social networks: Pelé calado é um poeta – When Pelé is silent, he’s a poet. Here’s: the video.
Romário: “Pelé fala tanta merda, cada dia…”
I’m not a big fan of Pelé but I think the post is unfair towards the P man – the P man being Pelé and not Packman (to new Eat Rio reader note that Tom is nerd prone, hence the explanation) :-) . Anyway it seems Pelé is just saying that the Brazilian national team deserves support, regardless of the protests, and if said team does not win nor reach the finals they should not be crucified and included among the culprits people are demonstrating against (this is a smart move to preserve the seleção since by the looks of it Brazil probably isn’t going to win this thing).
Is Pelé siding with the powers that be by providing a pre-emptive strike against contamination of possible failure on the pitch onto the establishment or is he just trying to shield the national team from issues that are beyond their control, and fault?
I think it is too early to judge at this point.
Yeah, maybe a little unfair on the guy – but I still think that a national figurehead such as he should take a lead and make a more profound statement than simply “ignore it all”.
In the end he is a retired soccer player, and regardless of how talented he was on the field that doesn’t mean he is knowledgeable in other areas. I think he did quite well as he spoke about not mixing up the Brazilian squad with what is happening on the streets. He then focused his words solely on soccer (by saying that just because the team may not win now it doesn’t mean they can’t evolve). And soccer is something he does comprehend.
I think it is somewhat refreshing to see a celebrity opine only about his area of expertise. I don’t think people like Bono, or Caetano Veloso for instance, are really equipped to properly analyze anything other than music. It is fine that they speak up though, the crappy thing is when such people start determining policy.
Tom,
On the subject of possible causes to present day discontent in Brazil.
Awesome Gritty! What a great video! I’m probably repeating myself here, but back in the early days when I used to quiz Mrs Eat Rio on why Brazil was the way it was (specifically the problem areas such as corruption, crime, favelas, etc), I found that again and again the problems all led back to education. It’s really amazing.