FIFA World Cup 2014: Futebol is a hit among masses
The British author digs out how the iconic yellow and green jersey of the Brazilian football team evolved
By : tn raghu
Update: 2014-06-27 07:39 GMT
Rio de Janeiro:Brazilians thought they knew every detail about their football history before Alex Bellos proved them wrong with his smashing book: Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life. The British author was the first to dig into how the iconic yellow and green jersey of the Brazilian football team evolved in the imagination of a teenaged illustrator living near the Uruguayan border 60 years ago. The sketches of Aldyr Garcia Schlee, the illustrator, adorn the cover of Futebol.
The book is the go-to material for those who want to know the socio-cultural history of football in its spiritual home. Brazil has also lapped up Futebol. “I was surprised that it was received well here because I thought a book on football in Brazil would be like selling coal to Newcastle. I reckon my observations from a distance helped me bring in a different perspective,” said Bellos, who is here for the World Cup.
Writing a book on Brazilian football wasn’t on the agenda of Bellos when he came to the biggest country in South America as a general correspondent for The Guardian in 1998. Bloomsbury, awash with cash after the runaway hit of Harry Potter, zeroed in on Bellos to get into the bottom of the intriguing subject. The publishers were keen on the refreshing approach a non-football writer would bring to the book. “I started the book with the idea of exploring how football shaped Brazil and Brazil shaped football,” Bellos said.
The life of Bellos doesn’t revolve around football. He is also a prolific writer on mathematics, a subject dearer to his heart. “I concentrate on football only for six months during every World Cup. I have never written a match report in my life. The intricacies of 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1 are beyond me. But I can write about Neymar and his role in Brazilian society,” he said.