Few love a party as much as the Brazilians and with the fiesta of music, dance, and colour in full swing this weekend, the nation besotted with football indulges in its other great passion, Carnival. And yet, there are more than a few links between the country’s two great loves.
The big sportswear giants are in maximum World Cup mode with Adidas launching a full-on campaign to ‘Brazil-ify’ their catalogue of gear. With Carnival reaching its climax, the German manufacturers have followed up the Samba series with the ‘Carnaval’ pack.
In 1981, the legendary Zico almost single-handedly took Liverpool apart in the Intercontinental Cup final in Japan. This week, the Brazilian turned 61 and he could think of no greater honour than having an entire samba school pay tribute to his career during Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival.
In the next of our Brazil Series, amid continuing anger ahead of the World Cup, the contrast couldn’t be greater between Carnival, now underway, and the summer’s festival of football. Revellers on the streets brought Brazil to a stand-still at the weekend. A repeat in June could spell a nightmare for FIFA and the image the tournament hosts want to convey to the watching world.
It’s bad enough having to suffer defeat in the Sao Paulo championship but superstar Neymar’s not happy about having to to work while all of Brazil throws a party.
What happens when the Samba School associated with your football club doesn’t score so well in the annual Sao Paulo Carnival? Well, you scale the barrier, tear up the results, and set fire to parade floats as pandemonium breaks loose in Brazil.
