Want to roam through the history of Brazil as well as world football? Visit the awesome ‘Museu de Futebol’ or Museum Of Football in Sao Paulo and you will be amazed to witness the rich treasures preserved carefully by the Brazilian people and realise why it is referred to as the ultimate football country.
What does it not have? It displays the history of world and Brazilian football and the heroics of the Selecao legends and all the World Cup matches since its beginning in 1930 in Uruguay. There are old movie clips and recorded radio transmissions of the famous football games, including the local and international matches, interviews and analyses of different football personalities in Brazil and an entire room dedicated to Brazil’s football ‘King’ Pele.
Football fans will be stunned to see the movie clips of the past World Cups and observe that football has not really changed over the years. Only the presentation and costumes have been altered. I chose to go through the clip of Didi, the architect of Brazil’s 1958 World Cup triumph which also happened to be their maiden success in world football. Awarded the player of the tournament in Sweden more than five decades ago, Didi provided superb assists and through passes to Pele, who later on became the sensation of world football through the triumph. A football fan is sure to have goosebumps after seeing Didi score a goal from 40 yards out against France in the semifinal with a scintillating free-kick. Compared to that set-piece by the marauding playmaker, the closest goal that comes to my mind was the one scored by Ronaldinho against England in the 2002 World Cup. Brazil have left the opponents and spectators alike stunned with its antiques from 65 years ago. A visitor can choose the language of Portuguese, Spanish and English as per convenience.
In 1958, Joao Havelange became the president of Brazilian Football Confederation and immediately selected Paulo Machado de Carvalho as the manager of the national team. Paulo Machado was a successful businessman and owner of different radio and television stations. For his contributions to the team, Machado was dubbed “O Marechal da Vitória” (Marshall of Victory) and the Pacaembu Stadium, where the museum is situated, is named after him.
The versatile manager, for the very first time in the Brazilian management staff, introduced a nutritionist, a psychologist and a dentist as investigations showed that most of the Brazilian players had cavities which caused discomfort and frequent infections, affecting the performance of the players.
The visitors are likely to shed tears after seeing the video clip of perhaps the greatest upset in football history, that of the 1950 World Cup final when hosts Brazil went down to a shocking defeat at the hands of fellow South American nation Uruguay. Brazil took the lead shortly after half-time through Albino Friaça Cardoso but Juan Alberto Schiaffino equalised for Uruguay midway through the second half before Alcides Ghiggia hit the winning goal for the visitors with just 11 minutes remaining to the final whistle. The result is considered to be one of the biggest upsets in football history. The Brazilian goalkeeper in that catastrophic game, Moacir Barbosa Nascimento, had to incur the wrath of the entire nation as the people blamed him for letting in that second and match-winning goal. Shortly before his death in the turn of the new millennium, Moacir, in an interview, said, “The maximum punishment in Brazil is 30 years imprisonment, but I have been paying, for something I am not even responsible for, by now, for 50 years.”
Pele also has a special place in the museum. He welcomes all through a video presentation with his infamous number 10 shirt of the 1970 World Cup hanging in a corner adorned by numerous photos both of his playing days and after his retirement exhibiting his passion for the beautiful game.
Boots and balls of the old and present days show how football has changed with the passing of time. There are also photographic sections of every World Cup and its heroes, several posters of local and international football events, a 3D presentation of all Brazilian football greats and the presentation of tactics in football.
Football has always been a global game and along with its beauty it also involves business and marketing now. And the Museum Of Football presents the evolution of the beautiful game through the ages and is more than likely to stand the test of time.
