“Embarrassing”. This was the first reply I read after Sport Witness’ Twitter account shared the Brazilian newspaper coverage of the football Olympic gold.
Yes, it’s natural that the rest of the world don’t give much importance to football in the Olympics. After all, it’s an Under-23 tournament, for which the clubs are not obliged to release their players, making it almost a competition for reserves.
So it’s understandable that fans from abroad don’t get the huge coverage, Neymar’s tears or the enthusiastic celebration. But as a Brazilian, it’s easy to explain.
The Olympic gold was the only title that Brazil didn’t have. And this isn’t something exactly recent. By the 60’s, the Seleção already had all the possible titles, and as the most successful national team ever, this medal became an obsession.
Incredible generations have passed without winning the title. Even the greatest player to wear the yellow shirt had to be asked about this many times, and Pelé’s response was always: “Brazil has never won the Olympics because I never played it.”
Considering it’s a tournament of under 23s, there’s always the hope it will be a team representing a renewal. This time, it must be said, a very necessary renewal. Brazil has a huge number of failures since 2007. Especially if we consider the recent eliminations in the Copa America and the 7-1 defeat to Germany at home in 2014.
The pressure was already big, and because of the Olympics being played at home, it was even bigger. Maybe that’s why the team’s nervousness resulted in two 0-0 draws in the first two games.
During those days, the Brazilian women’s team were thrashing all opponents, which only increased the backlash. The boy who scratched out Neymar’s name on his shirt and replaced it with Marta became a national symbol for some days. There was talk of a lack of love for the shirt and lack of commitment, the ridiculous arguments which only show up in difficult times.
But things improved, and game by game, Brazil proved to be the best team of the competition. Of course, with stars like Neymar and Marquinhos, the squad would be a step ahead of the others. But it doesn’t matter. The team played by the rules, and regardless of who’d come in our way, we’d be playing and supporting as if it was the first team.
Fate seemed to play a part in the final being against Germany, responsible for our most recent vexation. No, the victory would not be a revenge of 7-1, because this revenge will never happen, it’s a defeat that will be marked forever. But still, a win against Germany would mean a new show of strength.
And so, even after some struggle, Brazil won the game. As a captain who was much questioned by the media, Neymar called responsibility upon himself. In addition to a stunning free-kick goal, he also scored the penalty which gave us the much sought Olympic gold.
After the victory, Neymar went over to a fan in the crowd who had been giving the team abuse all night. The greatest symbol of the new Brazilian generation was shouting what millions of voices meant for years: “This is Brazil. You must respect it.”
After all, our five stars are now finally gold plated.
