In November 2004, Brazilian football legend Socrates made a famous (and brief) promotional cameo for English non-league side Garforth Town. As a football correspondent for a leading newspaper in Brazil, I arrived in the West Yorkshire town to write about the madness of it all.
An interview with the legendary midfielder – known as The Doctor because of his medical degree but also because of his political engagement – turned into a long after-hours chat at a local pub. Guards and notepads were down as Socrates, always a laid-back character, spoke about football with a sincerity that was remarkable even for him.
It was in this pub, in such an unusual setting and so far from his comfort zone, that Socrates made a startling confession: he never looked back at Brazil’s 3-2 defeat by Italy in the 1982 World Cup. Was – none of it. He just couldn’t stand it.
“I don’t need to go through this game again,” he said. And it is likely that the denial lasted until January 2011, when he died at the age of 57.
“That Game” was a World Cup classic played 40 years ago on a hot Barcelona afternoon. One of Brazil’s most famous generations of footballers saw their dreams dashed by an Italian side that turned in the tournament, making a torrid start on their way to defeating West Germany in the final.
Over time, many of Brazil’s older fans softened, but on July 5, 1982, they realized that a crime against football had been committed.
In 1982, Brazil was still ruled by the military junta that had seized power 18 years earlier, when leftist President Joao Goulart was ousted in a coup.
Joao Figueiredo, an army general, became president in 1979 with the mission of overseeing a smooth return to democratic practices, but calls for a swift handover were mounting during a turbulent time for Brazil’s economy.
In the early 1980s, Tele Santana was announced as Brazil’s new football manager. Santana was a fine player – a winger who scored 164 goals in nine years with Fluminense for Rio de Janeiro. He is still their fourth highest scorer.
Santana also developed a reputation for fair play. He has never been dismissed in his 12-year professional career. He demanded the same attitude from his players.
Qualifiers for the 1982 World Cup in Spain opened with 1–0 and 2–1 wins over Venezuela and Bolivia, but Brazil soon found themselves beating the same opponents 5–0 and 3–1 in home games. Great progress. In the May 1981 European tour, they raised eyebrows by defeating England, France and Germany in the space of a few days.
But Brazil was doing more than winning. They were playing a fluid game that couldn’t be more different from the tactically disciplined style that enraged fans in the post-Pele era.
Pele and Brazil’s exploits at the 1970 World Cup seemed like a long-forgotten dream during uninspiring campaigns in the next two tournaments, despite the team reaching the last four on both occasions.
Now, alongside Socrates, the Selecao had Zico, the Flamingo playmaker, pulling the reins. They had a flowing brand of football where no player was seen to touch the ball more than twice before going through the goal. It was great to watch and, according to Zico, it felt even bigger to play.
