Soccer is not just one another sport. It is not just choosing and cheering for a team. There’s so much more. For me, soccer is something which has some power to move the world. It’s something beautiful that warms hearts and make you feel it. I was born in 1998, and for you it was just 19 years ago old but it was a World Cup year. Oh, the 98’s World Cup, in France, the first one which had 32 teams. The Final was between Brazil and France. Brazil was counting on Ronaldo, Bebeto, Dunga, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos and our coach was Zagallo. And France with Didier Deschamps (France’s team current coach) and the legendary Zidane (Real Madrid’s current coach) and France’s coach was Aimé Jacquet.
The Stade de France - Stadium- was capable of a lit bit more than 81 thousand people and on that day there were 75 thousand. The match’s judge was the moroccan Said Belqola. It was a Final who brazilians doesn’t like to remember. It was 3 to 0 for the hostess. Of the three goals of the match, two were from Zidane - and for you who knows Zidane, you know the goals was a head goal - and the other goal was from Petit. Ronaldo left the field not feeling well, and the badly talkers says that the match was ‘handed over’ to the French. How do I know that if I was born in that year? Well, history and soccer walk together and I love researching about the history of the most lovely sport of the world. The world population now is around 7.2 billion people and in 2016 the world already had 3.5 billion fans.
I don’t necessary know where this passion came from. It didn’t come from my father like most people. I always followed the "Brasileirão" (Brazilian Championship) every sunday afternoon or Wednesday nights after the soup opera, but in 2010, I realized that soccer was so importante in my life. 2010 was a year of South Africa World Cup. When I choose the teams I would support and follow with all my love although I already loved Argentina, Spain and Germany. I know being brazilian and loving Germany is a kind of contradictory nowadays but in 2010, 7 to 1 didn’t happend yet. And another detail about me; did you guys notice that I said I also love Argentina, didn’t you? Sometimes I think I’m a terrible brazilian.
My love for Argentina ‘get bigger’ when I met him. Lionel Messi - Messinho or Leo, as I really call him - the truly reason I love soccer. About 2006 World Cup, the only think I can tell about it is: Messi, I love you! Back to South Africa World Cup, It was the first Cup I watched all the matches, I didn’t miss anyone. When Brazil was eliminated by Netherland I made an angry decision and started cheering for Argentina but the game was against Germany so It would be hard to choose between one of them. On German team, Thomas Müller is my favorite player - in fact, I call him Müllerzinho. I have a habit of giving nicknames- and the first goal of the game was done by him. The Final turned out to be Spain and Netherland and we know the Spanish team were champions, with an Iniesta goal.
What’s the big point? After the Cup I felt in love with some players and wanted to know in which team they were playing. At one day, I was switching channels then I saw a team playing with a black t-shirt with yellow letters. They played as a team as I wish Brazil plays like, pass rightly the ball not using force like some goalkeepers or defenders until the attack, then I felt in love, but I got distracted and I miss the name of the team that I fell in love. I check the programming out and there was it, the team I won’t ever stop loving: Barcelona. It was there when my world went upside down. I started to cut Barcelona News from the newspaper and pasting into the wall, just like the magazine’s page I used to bought, to know more and more about my team. And then, when they became champions on Champions League, season 2010/2011, I bought a poster of the team and pasted in the middle of my room wall.
That’s was my passion, what mades me happy in every single hour of the day. At least 16 hours I used to search, watch and learn about it. Boughting t-shirts from my team was my biggest happiness. Everytime it was a big party when come Spanish Championship, Del Rey Cup and Champions League. I always ate popcorn and drink some soda just to watch all those players who actually doesn’t know me but they were people who really made me happy. I suffered a kind of bullying just because I choose a international team to love. It was too hard but It Worth it when I saw them playing. I had good and bad moments because of the team, but I never gave up from it. And I’ll never! On my 18 years, I decided to make a party and guess what was it about? That’s right, Barcelona.
I choose to love soccer more than I can love anything else. I know addictions are not good but I can’t stop. When I’m sad, watching the ball rolling - independent of the championship - It’s what makes me happy. Best time of my life? There were some days I watched 8 games from America Cup and EuroCup 2016 just in one day. It wasn’t 9 because the last game was after midnight. I know soccer is not that easy, there are wrong and unfear things too. And In a different point of view that’s awesome because just one thing make us feeling a lot of things -good and bad ones.
I told you about good moments that I felt in the sport but, for example I suffered with the Podolski’s German team farewell. But the only time soccer made me really suffer, to the point of feeling some pain in my chest, to the point of feeling betrayed was when Neymar leaved Barcelona. I know, I know! He had his causes but nothing hurt me so much like this. Nowadays I can’t watch a Paris Saint-Germain games - the actual Neymar’s team - because that hurts me, seeing him wearing another t-shirt that is not that blaugrana* I love so much.
I could write so much more about my experience about soccer. Like sometimes I argue with someone, sometimes I cried, sometimes I went to soccers Stadiums, but the text would be big and probably you would be tired, but always remember that soccer is not just one more sport, is not just a game. Soccer is an art, a passion and a source of happiness. I finish this chronic with a Bob Marley’s phrase: “In life, I learn you have to suffer because for soccer, not for love”.
*= blaugrana means the Barcelona colors, blue and grená, just like another expressions, three -colors and black red
