July 2014. Brazil is out of the World Cup final, losing 7-1 to Germany.
They will play off for third or fourth place.
Third or fourth in the world is pretty good. But for Brazil this result seems to amount to national humiliation.
The report in my local newspaper quotes someone from Brasilia as saying "People will break everything. They're going to be furious. The Government spent a lot of money for the World Cup instead of investing in health and education."
A sports newspaper ran a headline "The Biggest Shame in History".
Apparently, the stock market was expected to rise on the back of a win.
A finance expert is quoted as saying "It's going to confirm to the people that 'Look, our economy is struggling, we cannot get any growth, now we don't even have a decent football team either."
It's a game. Not everyone can win. Will someone please explain to them the difference between embarrassment and ruin?
How can the fate of a nation's economy depend on a dozen men in T-shirts? What about the economic value of all those international visitors and the multiplier effect of their spending?
Couldn't all that Latin passion be channeled in a more positive way?
After all its efforts to clean up its act, I don't want Brazil to descend into chaos.
I want my concert in Rio.
They will play off for third or fourth place.
Third or fourth in the world is pretty good. But for Brazil this result seems to amount to national humiliation.
Brazil has spent about $12 billion to build new stadiums and improve its infrastructure. And they didn't even reach the final, despite starting as the favourite to win. The people are distraught. Police are out in force to deter rioters. German fans are asked to stay in their seats and wait until the match has ended so they can be escorted from the stadium.
The report in my local newspaper quotes someone from Brasilia as saying "People will break everything. They're going to be furious. The Government spent a lot of money for the World Cup instead of investing in health and education."
A sports newspaper ran a headline "The Biggest Shame in History".
Apparently, the stock market was expected to rise on the back of a win.
A finance expert is quoted as saying "It's going to confirm to the people that 'Look, our economy is struggling, we cannot get any growth, now we don't even have a decent football team either."
It's a game. Not everyone can win. Will someone please explain to them the difference between embarrassment and ruin?
How can the fate of a nation's economy depend on a dozen men in T-shirts? What about the economic value of all those international visitors and the multiplier effect of their spending?
Couldn't all that Latin passion be channeled in a more positive way?
After all its efforts to clean up its act, I don't want Brazil to descend into chaos.
I want my concert in Rio.
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