Galera. I read this article today in the Guardian called "The Boy Wonder". Initially it seemed to be about Robinho, so I was going to post in the Robinho thread. But, then it seemed to be about the exporting of talent, so I thought about the Brazilians Abroad thread. Yet, then again, it seemed to speak to the importance of football to kids with few avenues in life. Or how clubs are "nurturing" young talent towards an eye to sales. Even about how parents sacrifice for their children who have a shot at footballing stardom. It touches on how the domestic game has been impoverished with the exodus of the young, yet somehow keeps regenerating itself to produce talent that helps enrich the trohpy cases of big european teams (actually teams of all sizes all over the globe). Although it seemed like a story of hope, it actually made me sad. In short it is one shapshot of the state of the game in the country that most exemplifies the "beauty" in the beatiful game. Its a lengthy read, but worth the effort. Your comments are sought. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,6903,1295010,00.html
A fantastic read t. In fact, that is the best artice I have read this year. It highlights all that is wrong with the game at the moment however and that story can be repeated in many a country outside of Europe in particular. I feel that the stream of Brazilian talent will always be plundered by Europe. It is an established market place now and players are like cattle, sadly. There isn't much chance of Santos getting anywhere near their estimate for Robinho as the cubs who are interested in him will now just wait, Santos will have to sell this prized asset sooner or later and when they do they'll be exploited by big brother.
Indeed an excellent read, being from Sao Paulo myself, it made me very sad to hear about Robinho's background, especially since there are hundreds of thousands like him.
Late 2002, being in my last year at college and all that madness I wasnt following the footie scene that closely. Everywhere people kept talking about a young Santos crop of talented players that could make the difference in the playoffs that were about to start. I decided to check it out and boy werent those kids good!!! How the heck did they manage to keep them for so long, specially Robinho and Diego, I dont know.
It's funny, I had a huge argument with my g/f who's American. She said the World's getting better, I said nope, the Developed Nations are getting better the rest of the world still sucks. This article is a perfect example, commerce is a one way street. The poor provide the raw material, the rich use it to make more money maybe a few shillings find their way into the hands of the less fortunate. This is akin to the way in which young black kids view basketball as their only way out and how parents see a child as a saviour. Imagine the pressure on a young boy to know that his career is the only way out of poverty and misery. How many of us are able to proceed while carrying this sort of burden? I've always said that in poor countries we pour all of our joy into sports to combat the sadness of everyday life. This article is a perfect example of that.
If we're going to go into a truly sociological and social response to this point, it a difficult issue. Is the rest of the world getting better? Yes. Undoubtedly. How much is a different point. But I think its foolish to say that developing nations are getting worse. They only seem that way due to the proliferation of information in the marketplace. Before it was hard to know what was going on in, say, Brazil. (Although terming Brazil a developing nation is a very, very arguable matter.) Now, all you have to do is go online or watch CNN. (Or Fox News, if you're feeling Orwellian.) I work with Brazilian companies, and I can say that the progress IS there. I recently had to spend a lot of time looking at the installation of phone lines and phones in the Western (i.e. less developed) part of Brazil. The numbers rose exponentially. You might say "oh, its only phonelines". But its representative of overall progress. Is life everywhere getting better? No. But that'd be impossible. As for the general trend to focusing so much on sports - that's a strategy prevalent in the US as well. Just look at the story of young baskebtall or football players from project housing. The problem, in my opinion, is that the real solution, education is ignored. There are several reasons for this, but chief among them is that sports seems easier, and offers more. To explain more fully - its easy to recognize if you're good at sports. I doubt Robinho had to wonder if people thought he was good. He WAS good. Its easy to see that. You can't, however, recognize a good lawyer, doctor, accountant, programmer, teacher, etc. It takes years of studying, degrees and a lot of discipline. And the reward will almost never be as as high as that of the sports star. The sports star plays in front of thousands - or even millions. Signs shoe deals, has shirts, gets a big contract. The student doesn't. However, for every 1,000 potential sports prospects, one might succeed, if that. For ever 1,000 potential people who want education, at least 500 can succeed. On average, the 1,000 people dedicated to education will be wealthier. But its hard to see it that way when that's decades down the road and so much work is involved. It almost seems easier to shoot for the stars. Its unfortunate, but there it is. In my opinion. I can't agree with that. Its not that poor countries pour energy into sports. Some don't. Or look a the US - you think Michigan fans are any less insane about their football than Boca fans? I highly doubt it. Well, maybe a bit less. But its damn close. Besides, there are lots of poor countries who don't seem to have such a following for sports. I think Brazil, which I wouldn't qualify as a poor country, is not representative.
I think not...one thing are places like Curitiba or São Caetano.But when you have to live in Caatinga...with 5 sons,5 daughters and 1Kg of Rice for one week... Anyway,90% of Brazilian top prospects came from "periferias"...guys like Leonardo,Caio or Rogério Ceni are true exceptions...
Bonizzoni, I'm not surprised by that at all, most of the foundation of sports is formed by those from underprivileged backgrounds.
I read the article the same day and I had similar feelings to you too Mazembe....it is an excellent piece that lays bare the reality of poor kids in the developing world....