‘Too many blacks’ in Italian soccer, says country’s former World Cup coach
Former Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi claimed Monday that Italian soccer “has no dignity or pride” because there are “too many blacks” and “foreigners” in top clubs’ youth teams. In yet another example of racism in Italian soccer, Sacchi hit out at the number of foreign players and non-ethnic Italians playing for Italian clubs at this […]
Special Brasil Kits
Nike launches special kits for its Brazilian Clubs. In a gesture to honor the Brazilian National Team, Corinthians, Internacional, Santos, Coritiba and Bahia. The teams will wear the special kits that mix the classic yellow worn by the “Scratch” with each team’s own traditional colors. These unique third uniforms will all embody this historic moment […]
Brasil: Capoeira
Capoeira is a martial art infused dance, which is thought to have originated in the 16th century in Brazil. Although today capoeira has become somewhat omnipresent with the booming popularity of street acrobatics such as parkour, its history remains mysterious. Discover the story of this 500 year old martial art, and explore the best places […]
The World Cup and Ramadan
On June 28, two noteworthy global events begin: the second round of the World Cup and Ramadan, the Islamic month observed by fasting. For some of the dozens of Muslim players on Algeria, France, and Germany, this will pose a problem: having to play world-class soccer after having abstained from food and water since sunup. […]
Pickup Soccer in Brazil
RIO DE JANEIRO — In Brazil, the ball is always moving. It moves on grass and on sand, on concrete and on cobblestone. Sometimes, during the rainy season, it even moves on water. Organized soccer, the kind the Brazilian national team will play next year in the World Cup, is known as futebol (pronounced FOO-chee-ball) […]
Japanese Brazilians celebrate mixed heritage
Nearly 1.5 million Japanese descendants live in Brazil, and two-thirds of those live in Sao Paulo state. Sao Paulo, Brazil – The room was a mixture of Brazilian green and yellow and Japanese red and white, as more than 200 members of the city’s large Japanese community turned out to watch the country of their […]
Black identity in Brazil
Before teams representing their countries from around the world arrived in Brazil, the country’s president, Dilma Rousseff, took the opportunity to label 2014 the “anti-racism World Cup.” The declaration came after a wave of racist incidents in soccer around the world targeting Black players, many of whom are Brazilian. While it’s a well-intentioned gesture and […]
Brasil: Samba and the Samba Schools
It all started in the end of the XIX Century in what was then known as Little Africa (Pequena Africa), the residence of the tias baianas. These were ladies who came from Bahia, and made a living selling food delicacies around town in their typical white dresses with big round skirts. They were also the […]
Keisuke Honda: A Japanese football fashion icon
There’s no arguing that the game of soccer oozes style with its fancy footwork, dyed hairdos and the sheer number of trend-setting men in the sport (do we even have to mention that one pretty Englishman?). The Japanese Internet seems to think it even beats that other Japan-favorite sport — baseball — by a laughable long-shot. […]
Barras Bravas Argentina
Barras Bravas… the first time the term was used was in the 60’s by a Argentinian newspaper, La Razón, to name the group of people that in an organized way go to a football match. Normally, the words Barras Bravas are followed by words like violence, mafia, hooligans.. But who are the Barra Brava ? The […]