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.
It was a 1910 tour to Brazil by English side Corinthian FC which inspired the creation of Sao Paulo giants Corinthians, by enthusiastic locals. 105 years later, the English outfit’s modern-day descendants Corinthian-Casuals returned to South America to commemorate that first game in front of 26,000 fans
The latest events from the Copa Libertadores and Copa do Brasil threw up more great action and talking points. Ronaldinho couldn’t save the defending champions while Corinthians staged a tribute to former fan and motorsport legend Ayrton Senna.
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.