What if there is racism in Madrid? – 03/24/2024 – Juca Kfouri

This Tuesday (26), at 5:30 pm, at the Santiago Bernabéu, in Madrid, the Brazilian team will face Spain.

It is unlikely that Vinicius Júnior’s home will involve racial abuse against him, although it is always possible that Atlético fans will do what they recently did at their new stadium, just seven kilometers from Real Madrid’s modern ground.

The game is planned as an act against violence and racism in football. What if there are offenses against black Brazilian players?

“We need to be prepared to take drastic measures if this happens again”, declared Dorival Júnior, still in London, before the important victory over England.

There is only one drastic measure to take: abandon the lawn. Let’s hope it isn’t necessary, but let’s hope it will be done if it happens.

As for the game itself, what can you expect?

Spain had its run of nine games without defeat interrupted, also in London, by Colombia, which completed 20 games without defeat.

He played without his best, saving, for example, Manchester City midfielder Rodri, the best Spanish player today.

If England is in third place in the FIFA rankings, Spain is in eighth, three positions behind Brazil.

Despite the importance of the ranking, the game took on greater importance for the hosts — and could serve to mark the reestablishment of the Canarian team’s self-esteem after doing so well in blue at Wembley.

No one, starting with the team’s new coach, jumped up, got too excited or exulted, with the understandable exception of Sir Endrick, because of the victory.

The recognition of flaws was clear, without minimizing the fairness of the result and the joy for the surprising performance of Lucas Paquetá & Cia.

For those who wanted to move to England in order to watch quality football, the satisfaction of seeing the British bowing down to the missing national eleven is undeniable.

Spain and Brazil have already faced each other nine times, with five Brazilian victories, three in World Cups (1950/62/86), two Spanish victories, one in the World Cup (1934), and two draws (one in the World Cup, 1978).

Of the five victories, one did more harm than good to the team, when, at Maracanã, the 3-0, in the 2013 Confederations Cup final, against the then world champions, caused euphoria proportional to the heartbreak experienced a year later.

Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns (1921-2016), the eternal cardinal of São Paulo, taught that there are no definitive defeats for the people.

We all know that today’s victory is forgotten in tomorrow’s defeat.

An eventual Spanish triumph will mean a disappointment similar to the joy experienced at Wembley, but that should not obscure the fact that we have an outline of a team, something that was not seen in the bad taste joke of Ramonismo and the bet on dynamism.

The first is because it is only possible in the empty football head of the CBF president; the second because it is impossible to carry out the intended revolution without living daily with the players for months, unless the coach is called Rinus Michels and has someone like Johan Cruyff as the team’s brain, something seen in the Dutch team during the World Cup 1974.

Did you end up champion? No. And was it necessary?

There are defeats that become nostalgic, like in 1982.

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