Lives, modus-vivendi

Saldanha in Canal 100: flawless originality

Pelé is so young, of body and soul, that sometimes doesn't even works as a reference of that football of the past, which we like to call it "rhythmic", "subtle" and "spetacular" (though it was, certainly). Pelé is the player who was born modern, that made a deal with the Sputnik, in which they would rise almost together, and would provide mutual reasons for keep on brighting, up there. Garrincha quickly became past, the cracks of 70 and 82 today rarely approach a ball, and the Simca-Chambord is gone. Only Pelé, a statistical aberration, continues (at 70) looking like a boy. At 70, the hero of 1970 almost has no white hair - the contrary of this scribe that, with less than half the age of the King, mas more than the triple, the quadruple, the quintuple, whatever. Pelé is one of the possible projections of what better youth has: the force and the provision.

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Someteimes, however, our idyllic portion requires we keep ourselves away from the present, the enough distance to reach another temporality, with another caracthers and modus-vivendi. Like (again in this space), João Saldanha.

Trying to explain this sudden banzo for a character that doesn't dwells today's imaginaries is possible. Journalist, Saldanha seems never had embedded, totally, the DT persona. Continued to be a chronicler of good resources, even when had the task of scheduling the "Canarinho" Team (and unpleasant questions, like choosing Pelé or/and Tostão). Garrastazu, in a chiclet passage, was invited to schedule his ministery, while him, Saldanha, would schedule the Seleção. After that, with Zagallo in the helm (of the ship), the team, in a certain way, would be "scheduled" by Médici: Dadá, that wasn't better than Eto'o, was there.

Saldanha, quickly,returned to his natural habitat, the press cabinet, and due to this was in Mexico'70 - and in all other following World Cups, until 1990. Saldanha's finitude was accomplished in the Eternal City, days after watching, in the Olympic Stadium, the Final Match of one of the one of the most boring tournaments ever.

We have, almost, 20 years without Saldanha. We'll miss him for ever. On the other hand, he is not exactly a man of these times - Saldanha is a man of a time when the Berlin Wall was still standing, with all the good and bad meanings this has. Ideas desert wasn't, certainly, the case.

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