O Jogo Bonito
O Jogo Bonito. Portuguese for “The Beautiful Game.”
It is a phrase that encapsulates the essence of a sport played at the highest level. With discipline and courage, with dedication and pride. Yet, it also captures that child-like imagination, our inner-most hopes and desires that we possess as fans of the sport. It is truly a thing of beauty.
Now you might be wondering, what sport is he talking about? Well if you know anything about me, you’d know that there is only one sport that could make my heart whole — football (or soccer for you Americans). Inspired by this story by Susan McCorkindale and this one by KiKi Walter, here’s a tribute to my sport, but with a twist.
Dear Football,
How to begin, except to say, you are the best sport ever invented. Who knew something so simple could turn into something so complex, but for me, there are three reasons why I fell in love with you.
Your History Became Our History: The Inner Workings and Tactics
Throughout the years, your evolution never ceases to amaze me. From the days long gone, you established yourself as the biggest sport in the world. As your popularity grew, so did the minds behind your success. From the 1930s World Cup where the first tactical formations were tested to the dominance of the Brazilian dominance of the 60s and the second coming of the English game in the 90s-00s, you have taken on many faces in the past. Despite this, more than ever, tactical innovations and steady change have still slowly but surely tweaked the fundamentals of how you are supposed to be played.
Who would’ve thought that the 2–3–5 would change into the WM and who would’ve thought that the 4–2–4 which at the time provided a much-needed balance both laterally and vertically would transition to the 4–4–2? Now even, look at the internal structure of the 4–3–3. You could either put out a man operating near the defensive zones, or you could push him up centrally to provide a source of creativity and a threat in front of the goal. It is these changes that amaze me on a macro level.
Without knowing it, you’ve given rise to many schools of footballing education and molded styles that are distinct everywhere you go, even though they are playing the same game. Ninety minutes. Twenty-two players, two goals and one ball. From the Italian emphasis on defensive discipline to the English route-one offense to the Spanish displays of possession-based football. All unique and effective in their own right, designed to do one thing: put that one ball into the back of one of two nets.
Sounds simple right? But yet, you’ve demonstrated time and time again that it is perhaps the most complex thing there is to it.
You Inspire People: Players at the Top Level
Now to the players. Remember those 22 men? Each one on the pitch has unique styles and attributes that make them essential to a team that must work together to achieve a goal. If you multiply that by millions, and perhaps billions of individuals, you get the number of people who have some sort of affinity to you. In reality, most will go unnoticed because of the sheer numbers alone, but as with anything, there are a few who will reach the top and consistently perform at the highest level.
There are a few that are gifted with such mastery of the sport that they become part of the legacy of the game. A legacy, which for every player is built on hard work and dedication, mixed with the passion and hunger to constantly achieve more. Cemented into the history books, it is perhaps the drive to stand out that makes it so. For what is anything, without its legacy?
The next question, therefore, comes without saying is: how? How on earth do they stand out because hard work and dedication will only get you to a certain level. How do they push beyond anything humanly possible to become eternally remembered as a great of the game? Will they break all the records?
Will they be a student of the game and master the fundamentals to such a high level? Will they be remembered as an innovator? Perhaps, a new skill, or even a fundamental change to a role, in collaboration of course, with a top tactician. Or will it be for all the wrong reasons? Whatever the case, I can attest to all when I hypothesize that everyone who has fallen deeply in love with you has dreamt of a moment that very few have experienced with that hope and desire which we all possess as fans.
Your Presence Is Captivating: How I Am Enchanted by the Game
I can also confidently say that with the natural gifts and talents that they have, the dedication and a sprinkle of hope — it is that which those immortal figures harness to cement themselves as such an integral part of your history. It is the gift of having the ball at their feet, which they appreciate and when you look at it once again, no matter how complicated one’s path is, it always begins with such simplicity.
All that is to say when we as fans see this, it reignites that shared passion for the game for us. For me at least, when that whistle is blown for the first time and the clock starts counting, for 90 minutes I forget the world. That same dream, now only tinged with a hint of jealously and sadness, is brought up once more. For 90 minutes I am transported.
For 90 minutes nothing matters. Nothing, except you, o Jogo bonito.
Sincerely,
Your biggest fan — Ning Choi.
PS: Hey, Scot Butwell, what’d you think of this one? Surely one point to the boys right?
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Much appreciated,
