Brazil is no longer the country of football: “We no longer see children playing in the street, they are addicted to video games”

With its flamboyant game, its legendary cracks and its five world titles, Brazil has long been described as “the country of football”. But this status seems more and more threatened. Pelé, Garrincha, Ronaldinho… These names were the dreams of every football lover.

Today, the Seleçao is just a shadow of its former self. She has not brought home the World Cup since 2002, and a whole generation of players have followed since the previous Brazilian Ballon d’Or, won by Kaka in 2007.

Brazilian football ‘is no longer the best in the world’

“We are going through a slow period Before there were several top players.”, Edinho, eldest son of “King” Pelé, said recently. Even President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva recognizes that Brazilian football “no longer the best in the world”. How did we get here?

Synthetic victory

A first element of the answer can be found in the streets, increasingly deserted by budding footballers. However, it was in alleys or vacant lots that crack players like Rivellino, Zico or Romario kicked their first balls.

“We no longer see children playing in the street, we no longer hear broken windows” after poorly timed shots, laments Lauro Nascimento, a 52-year-old amateur player from the Aurora club, north of Sao Paulo.

As a child, he broke several toes while playing barefoot on the dirt paths strewn with large stones in the Vila Aurora district. They gave way to paved streets. Buildings were built on the vacant lot where Lauro Nascimento also played wild games.

A fifth of the football schools are free

Children living in poor neighborhoods, where most of Brazil’s soccer stars come from, are finding it increasingly difficult to find places to play.

According to an independent study from 2021, only a fifth of soccer schools in Brazil are free. It is most often played on artificial grass, where it is easier to control a ball than on the irregular surfaces of free spaces where many crack players have acquired their unique technical mastery.

“The passion for football still exists, but it is more difficult to train it today”, summarizes Edson Nascimento, 57 years old, president of the Aurora club. The fact that children play less football in Brazil “has a strong impact on our football”estimates researcher Euler Victor.

“We have many players who play in Europe, but few of them play leading roles”, he specifies. The last great Brazilian star, Neymar, shone for a few years, but his career was weighed down by injuries and controversy.

Brazil, the world’s leading exporter of players

Hopes currently rest on Vinicius (23), a spinning striker for Real Madrid, and jewel Endrick, just 17, who will soon join him at the Spanish club. Brazil is still the world’s leading exporter of football players, but sales revenue has fallen sharply.

Last year, 2,375 Brazilian players were transferred for $935.3 million, 19% less than the 1,753 transactions recorded in 2018, according to Fifa data. This is especially due to the fact that Brazilian nuggets like Endrick, Vinicius or Rodrygo are sold younger and younger in Europe, before their market value explodes when they confirm their potential by playing at the highest level.

– The technical level has dropped a lot […]. The style of play has changed and this evolution has ended up robbing our players of their creativity.”

The Brazilians are also struggling to stand out in an increasingly homogenous world of football, where tactics often come before individual technical quality. – The technical level has dropped a lot […]. The style of play has changed and this evolution has ended up robbing our players of their creativity.”sorry Victor Hugo da Silva.

He trains children aged 7 to 10 on artificial grass at the football school that trained Vinicius, in Sao Gonçalo, a poor suburb near Rio de Janeiro. “Our football, which radiates joy of life, has become more mechanical”he insists.

One of his students, Miguel, a nine-year-old goalkeeper, with hair bleached blond like Neymar, is dreaming “to join the Flamengo training center”, the most popular club in Brazil. Victor Hugo da Silva does not question the passion of new generations.

The ravages of video games

But be warned “troubles” new to training them, due to physical problems which he attributes, among other things, to the sedentary lifestyle of children “addict” video games. Brazil has more mobile phones than people, and 34% of its population aged five to 19 is obese, according to the World Obesity Atlas.

Before, we took children who had already played in the street

“Before, we took children who had already played on the street. Now they come without experience, without motor coordination, and this is reflected in their play.”explains the trainer.

But Leila Pereira, president of Palmeiras, double reigning national champion, assures that Brazil will not “Never” lose the title “soccer country”. It was this Sao Paulo club that trained Endrick, sold for more than 60 million euros to Real, according to the local press.

Football activities against the working classes

“If there really was a drop in quality, we wouldn’t be paying these astronomical amounts”, says Leila Pereira, one of the rare women at the head of a club in the world. Brazilian clubs show impressive superiority in South American competitions, sweeping the last five Copa Libertadores trophies, including two won by Palmeiras.

The best teams in Brazil have the financial means to attract talent from neighboring countries by offering them higher wages. But some supporters believe that clubs tend to cut themselves off from the working class in the name of the football industry.

“By paying players huge salaries, clubs have to sell tickets more expensively and this prevents fans like me from going to the stadium.”, laments David Santos. He lives in a favela in Rio and cannot afford to attend Flamengo matches at the Maracana, the temple of Brazilian football.