Zebras and Œuvres d'art

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If the World Cup will be ours, for the 6th time, nobody nows. If Africa will be the penultimate (there's no World Cup in Oceania yet) continent to be conquered by the Brazilian Team, it's still something nobody knows.

Certain is that, from the next tuesday, June 1st - only 11 days before the opening of the World Cup - the Football Museum will have a new temporary exposition, Copas de A a Z ("World Cups From A to Z"). This expo is a kind of football encyclopedia - or World Cup encyclopedia. With 26 rooms, related to the 26 letters of the alphabet, it will be possible to see "D" of Dribles ("Dribbles"), "F" of Figurinhas ("Stamps"), "G" of Granja ("Chicken Farm"; chickens - when a goalkeeper suffers a goal in an easy lance - are also part of the biggest event in the world football), "M" of Música ("Music") and "Z" of Zebra ("Zebra", the way we, Brazilians, call a score when the weakest team wins). We hope this kind of zebra will not be present - frequently - in Johannesbourg.

Or, if so, we hope with a lot of "O" - of Obras de Arte ("Œuvres d'art")

Below, a brief summary of CAZ rooms:

A

África do Sul (South Africa)

A panel about the first country of the African continent hosting a World Cup.

B

Bola Fora (Ball Out)

Even the greatest cracks stumble in field. Doubt it?

C

Chocolate (Chocolate - Big Scores)

In football, chocolate may have a bitter taste.

D

Dribles (Dribbles)

¡Olé! Or how to drive the opponent crazy...

E

Estilo (Style)

To shine in the field, you may use different hair, uniforms and shoes. Isn't it, Valderrama?

F

Figurinhas (Stamps)

In a time when collecting stamps became a fever, again... only in an album you would find two Maradonas or Pelés, huh?

G

Granja (Chicken Farm)

Mr. Goalkeeper, what a pity... and how many feathers...

If the door remains unlocked, a chicken may escape... or, in this case, enter.

H

Dar um agá (Ripping off)

"Dar um agá" (to rip off) isn't in dictionaries, but every goalkeeper knows what it is. Hand touching, saint-like face... every resource is used to deceive the referees. Even in a World Cup - using human and D10S hands...

I

Inimigos (Enemies)

When football is much more than a game... with countries changing rivalry into field (and even real!) wars!

J

Jardim Irene (Irene Garden)

Now everybody knows: a world champion was born here!

K

Kuwait

Sheik Fahid Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah: a powerful man!

L

Laranja Mecânica (Clockwork Orange)

A tactical scheme that squeezed the opponents.

M

Música (Music)

The soundtracks of the World Cups.

N

Números (Numbers)

For the statistics lovers.

O

Obras de Arte (Œuvres d'art )

La donna è mobiiiileee...

Sometimes football looks just like an opera - or an orchestra. The most beautiful goals of the history of the World Cups must, sure, be in a museum.

P

Primeira Vez (First Time)

People say we never forget it. But it's always good to remember.

Q

Quase (Almost)

Two Pelé's lances that didn't entered in the goal - but it was just a detail.

R

Rituais (Rituals)

When the faith of players and fans drives football...

S

Sofrimento (Suffering)

The defeat's pain is also a part of history.

T

Torcedor (Fans)

Hey! It's you!

U

Uniformes (Uniforms)

When players give their blood to their national side mantles.

V

Vitória (Victory)

Paulo Machado de Carvalho, the Marechal da Vitória (Marshall's Victory): for him, winning was common.

W

Willie e as Mascotes (Willie and the Pets)

Zakumi is the latest of a series of funny characters that will be forever remembered in the World Cups imaginary. Willie, in 1966, was the first, in a time when England was in love for The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

X

Xadrez (Chess)

Anyway... who never compared a football field to a chess table? Assembling winning teams is a work for strategists.

Y

Yashin

The URSS legendary Black Spider, of the World Cups of 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970... a goalkeeper with only two hands would never make so many saves.

Z

Zebra (Zebra)

Unexpected scores come in black and white stripes... will it appear in the World Cup, this year?

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Never before, in the history of this country

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Audience in the Armando Nogueira Theater, at the Football Museum: first steps

Flavio de Campos, Leonardo Pereira, Antonio Jorge Soares, Arlei Sander Dano and Simoni Guedes, in the debate Society and Identities: different approaches

DaMatta in the inauguration class: football, society and societies

The inauguration class: audience from 17 states

As soon as Neil Armstrong touched, for the first time with his right foot, the sandy floor of the Moon, july 21st, 1969, he said one of the most famous quotes ever: "a small step for a man, a gian leap for mankind".

This event has no link with the 1st Symposium of Football Studies. Or almost none: the duality of the meaning of Armstrong's step is, in a certain sense, present in this event, last week, from may 10th to may 14th, at the Football Museum, at USP (University of São Paulo) and PUC-SP (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo ). Small-big steps.

This first Simposyum inaugurates a new moment for the studies of football in Brazil. Close to South Africa'10, and already in the countdown to the second World Cup in Brazil, the Symposium joined about 200 works, an expressive figure that perhaps will grow more and more, due to the coming events - but, above all, to the Symposium itself, and its pioneerism.

The inaugural class, by the antropologist Roberto DaMatta, in the Theater of the Faculty of History of FFLCH-USP (Faculty of Philosophy, Literature and Human Sciences), was followed by debates, coordinated sessions and individual speeches, with a lot of themes, from group of organized fans 'till football and body expressions, passing through football-art and the footballer career.

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There is, perhaps, another common point between Armstrong's pasito (present in the World Cups room, one of the main rooms of the Football Museum) and the Symposium: in the middle point of both you'll find feet, stepping the natural satellite, or kicking the ball, an artificial satellite that goes around, more and more, the Earth.

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About encyclopedias, enhancers and pasitos

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Just like Aurélio in dictionaries, Nilton Santos became the owner of an expression, when we think about football: encyclopedia.

The mozartian style of the Botafogo defender (some people say it's similar to Santos Football Club' Paulo Henrique Ganso) was one of the first references, in Brazil, between art and football. Nilton was an opera character even when he made his "pasito" in Chile'62, against Spain. "Pasito" is an exclusive expression of Nilton Santos "Encyclopedia".

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The Football Museum will present, soon, a new football encyclopedia - or a new World Cups Encyclopedia, in which Nilton is part of the enhancer "H" - when he stepped a little outside the big area, he deceived ("deu um H", in Portuguese) the Chilean referee Salvador Bustamante. "H" is one of the 26 rooms of the new temporary expo of the Football Museum, named "Copas de A a Z" ("World Cups from A to Z"), that shall be inaugurated in the end of May. "A" of África do Sul (South Africa), "C" of chocolate (big scores have always a good taste), "E" of estilo (style), "O" of obras de arte (masterpieces) et cetera. The 26 letters of the alphabet, 26 different angles to watch the greatest global event.

The visitors (of the enchancer "T" - torcedor/fan) will identify themselves with the enhancer "S", of sofrimento (suffering). And a lot of "R", of rituais (rituals) will be needed to resolve this.

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