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The nature of Brazilian football.

We all know that Brazil is one of the most populous countries in the world & their undisputed national sport is o futebol. Population is one of their advantages so I won't even list that as a point because there's nothing a smaller country can do about it. I've watched some FIFA World Cup history DVDs & know some of Brazil's footballing history. Brazil genuinely loves football hence they say, "Os Ingleses inventaram o futebol, os Brasileiros são mais bonitos." ("The English invented football, Brazilians mastered it."). So what points can we take from Brazil to ensure our countries/lands are, at least, a quarter as good as they are? 

1) BALL CONTROL: One thing you'll notice about the majority of Brazilian footballers is that their technical ability is second to none, virtually everyone in the Brazilian men's national team can be a football freestyler. And, of course, the art of ginga.

2) FUTSAL POPULARITY: Futsal in Brazil is almost as popular as football, futsal is more high-paced & action-filled than regular field football because it's played in a smaller area with less players. I remember reading that most Brazillian youths start out in futsal as training. They play soccer on the beach too so any space large enough, Brazilians will play football in it. 

3) BELIEF: This is not something you can easily teach but Brazilians are a full-blooded country, at least, that's how I think they used to be. This means it's all the way or nothing with Brazilians. We've seen numerous Brazilian footballers dribble two, three or more players & score or dribble through a team's midfield & make a decisive pass. It's almost become their trademark & adds excitement to the Brazilian game - to see a player do the impossible. I think it's called "geist" in German, the belief that you can.

4) FOOTBALL IS VIRTUALLY PART OF BRAZILIAN CULTURE: I don't think any other country can define itself by the game of football like Brazil has done. I think it's to the extent that if you don't know anything about football, you're almost not Brazilian. 

It may seem like there's nothing you can do against a giant country that has it's culture revolving around futebol but it's still eleven men against eleven men on the football pitch & football is not played with history. These are the main points I've noticed on the nature of Brazilian football.

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