Football as football should be – 03/10/2024 – Juca Kfouri

One can imagine that the rare reader from São Paulo expected to find here an analysis of São Paulo’s painful classification for the quarter-finals of the Paulistinha. Or that Cariocas wanted to read about Flamengo’s beautiful, and economical, victory over Fluminense. Or, even, that people from Minas Gerais waited for the evaluation of Galo’s performance, which practically sealed its place in the final of the state championship by defeating América.

But how, when did the Planeta Bola game take place in the Premier League?

Liverpool x Manchester City is today for football what Barcelona x Real Madrid was not so long ago.

Pep Guardiola x Jürgen Klopp, the two best coaches in the world, did not disappoint, although, what a shame!, the Reds played most of the 90 minutes with so many absences, without their two extraordinary full-backs, Alexander-Arnold and Robertson, and without Mohamed Salah, while the Citizens had Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland and were complete.

To compensate, there was Anfield filled with the most moving fans there is, the 12th player to never let the team walk alone on natural and impeccable pitch.

City came out overwhelming, Liverpool balanced, when they balanced, they conceded 1-0 in the middle of the first half and from then on it was forbidden to take your eyes off the game.

That ended in a diabolical 1-1 thanks to the penalty that Aké forced Ederson to commit, with two balls hitting the Liverpool posts, although the reds, especially after Robertson and Salah came on, were superior in the second half, when, go figure!, Guardiola removed De Bruyne for Kovacic to play.
The Belgian didn’t understand either, he got angry and the Catalan explained it to him humbly, arguing that he saw him tired.

Conclusion: geniuses also make mistakes. Why didn’t you ask?

Hero or villain

If the CEO of Botafogo’s SAF, the American John Textor, really has the proof he says he has, although he says and dissays it with enormous shamelessness, he will provide an invaluable service to Brazilian football.

Otherwise, if the recording that boasts of a referee charging bribes for not having received the promised money due to result manipulation is as fanciful as the loss suffered by Botafogo due to refereeing errors in the last Brasileirão is false, Textor should be banned.

The complaint made by the businessman goes beyond the sports investigation, it is a case for the Federal Police, which must immediately summon him to testify and present what he has.

The past of our football with the Sports Lottery Mafia, Caso Ives Mendes, Máfia do Apito, João Havelange/Ricardo Teixeira/José Maria Marin/Marco Polo Del Nero, justifies all suspicions, with which Textor has the benefit of the doubt.

If it’s just crying, levity has to be punished.

Deadbeat marketing

Why has sports marketing been an area for smart guys almost without exception, from the Swiss ISL, which broke even FIFA, to the Brazilian Traffic, Klefer, Sport Promotion and, now, including Brax, with modern discourse and old practices, author of default in CBF and partner of Corinthians, about to experience another blow? Why?

Is it a plague of sport or capitalism?

Impossible to be honest in this environment?

Does everyone who lives in it need to be snake charmers, good at speaking, terrible at service, if not corrupt and corrupting?

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