Brazil’s football fall mirrors India’s hockey decline
Brazilian football is suffering from the “Indian Hockey Syndrome”, a rare physical and mental disorder that degenerates into a terminally ill scenario. What we saw prior to Brazil’s match against Norway in the 2026 FIFA World Cup was a kind of frenzy, as hardcore fans of the Latin American nation were hoping that their ‘idols’ would have the better of the European country, which specialized in exporting Christianity and evangelism to the rest of the world, barring West Asia. In the past, Brazil’s performance against Norway, whom they have met five times, was anything but satisfactory. The Canaries lost three times, while two of the matches ended in draws.
Football in Brazil finds itself on the same page as hockey in India. Since the Hockey World Cup was launched in 1971, India has won the championship just once — in 1975. India won the Cup in 1975 at Kuala Lumpur, beating its neighbour and eternal enemy Pakistan 2-1. In the 1973 edition of the tournament, India ended up as runner-up, while the country had finished third in the inaugural championship. The country’s odyssey in the Hockey World Cup is not at all impressive. It bagged the Cup once, while it had to be content with second and third place once each.
India won Olympic gold medals in hockey in 1932, 1936, 1952, 1964, and 1980. In the Olympics held in 2020 and 2024, India managed to win bronze medals, and there ends the story of the country’s foray into hockey. Once rated as a hockey power across the world, despite its failure to win the top honours, India was a force to reckon with in hockey. Not anymore. It is doubtful whether even Nepal or Bangladesh considers India a threat in hockey.
Connoisseurs of the game blame astro-turf and poly-turf in modern hockey stadia for India’s poor show in modern hockey. The sad thing is that the country has not produced another Dhyan Chand, Balbir Singh, or Surjit Singh Randhawa — players respected and adored across hockey-playing nations. The national hockey federation does everything other than promote hockey. The worst part was the federation importing coaches from foreign countries to train Indian players. It seems the cure was worse than the disease, and this is what is now seen in Brazilian soccer.
The 1950s, 60s, and 70s saw many Brazilian players who went on to become legends in their own lifetimes. Garrincha, Didi, Vava, and Pele were from that generation. Born into poor families, they rose to the global arena through street football. The story of Pele remains as exciting as his style of play. Having represented the Brazil national side in four World Cups, Pele rose to even greater stardom after he quit international football following the 1970 championship, in which he played the lead role in helping his country score a hat-trick of titles. The Jules Rimet Trophy awarded to the champions became Brazil’s own cup, as the nation won the championship in 1958, 1962, and 1970. Films featuring Brazil’s matches remain a visual treat, as they outplayed their rivals through sheer skill, speed, and stamina.
Modern-day Brazilian players like Zico, Neymar Junior, etc., are “born superstars” who graced the maidans and thrilled the fans. More than football, the game, however, their interest was in the moolah. The 2026 Brazilian team that descended on the US was full of paper tigers, barring Vinicius Junior, a real soccer player. Above all, the Brazilian football bosses failed to find a Brazilian coach and had to import Carlo Ancelotti, the Italian coach, to train the national side.
Brazil always had a distinct style of football, as the players reminded us of the motion of sea waves. They played in a manner similar to the Samba dance — a cocktail of artistry, speed, and skill. Watching the Brazilian team play was once a visual treat. This time, however, what fans saw was a Brazilian team sans Samba, skill, speed, and stamina. To make matters worse, Ancelotti fielded Neymar Junior, whose good days (if there were any) were long over. Remember, Pele, the all-time great of the game, retired from international football at the age of 30, at the peak of his career. Ancelotti has become the butt of jokes after deploying Bruno Guimarães instead of Vinícius to take the penalty in the match against Norway. The reason given by Don Carlo, as the coach is addressed, for deputing Guimarães was that the latter was chosen for the job based on past statistics! This is not football, Sir.
Having seen some of the qualifying games played by Brazil in the Latin American group, this writer never felt that Brazil would qualify for the real event. They were not even pale shadows of their forefathers. A team need not win the Cup all the time, but they should excel in the game they play. The Canary Birds looked like birds without wings or any strategy to defend their goalpost. There were no match-makers in this team. The best thing the Brazilian football bosses should do is ask Don Carlo to get lost and never set foot in Brazil again.
The South American giants like Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay should understand that the Africans are here to stay, and the coming decades could see countries like Cameroon, Cape Verde, Morocco, and many others from the Dark Continent waiting near the throne to occupy it at the right moment. They should look towards the great Indian political league, where a ready-made prince is on the run to save his wannabe gaddi from players like Sachin Pilot, Karti Chidambaram, Ranjit Singh Surjewala, and, of course, Akhilesh Yadav.
One cannot survive in the modern world based on one’s royal lineage.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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