Shocking Brazil: Six Games That Shook the World Cup

by Fernando Duarte, Gilberto Silva (Foreword)

Foreword by Gilberto Silva. The Brazilian game has become synonymous with excellence, success and beautiful, irresistible football. Supporters from every part of the globe are able to recount joyful tales about Brazil's unmatched achievements, especially ones of World Cup glory - not for them the almost fifty years of hurt endured by England fans. But few realise that the most crucial transformations undergone by Brazilian football came as a direct result of the Selecao's failures. Shocking Brazil looks at six crucial World Cup campaigns that radically altered the face of Brazilian football and which had repercussions far beyond the sport. Behind the ignominy lurk narratives of racism, corruption, authoritarianism, corporate power and greed. This tour de force through the history of Brazilian football, told through the prism of these six famous defeats, is by turns fascinating, enlightening, shocking and utterly compelling.

Genres: Nonfiction, Football, Sports

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Ipswichblade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent and informative book about the side of Brazil's World Cup story that we don't often hear about , the losses and what happens after them. It also tells stories of incompetence and alleged corruption at the top of Brazilian football. Interestingly it was written before the 2014 World Cup which would have provided a seventh game that shook the world when Brazil as host nation lost 7-1 to Germany in the semi-final.

[Neetu · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do football fans remember the most - The euphoria that they ride with their team after a win or the edges of despair and the feelings of betrayal that a loss produces? The former produces street parties and victory parades. But after a loss comes the need for pinning the blame and finding scapegoats. What a loss also does is create upheaval and opportunities to shake-up the status quo. And this is what this book is about. There are many books about football and Brazil. But to read a book about the 'epic fails' of Brazil in the World Cup and the aftershocks of those defeats, as analyzed by a Brazilian sports correspondent, is a treat. Fernando Duarte takes you on a trip of Brazilian futebol where you not only meet the big stars, read their mini biographies, stock up on trivia but you also meet the Brazilian presidents, the local club scouts, the team managers, the reporters, and the fans that rise and fall with their beloved Selacao, 'the Chosen Ones' as the national team is known in Brazil. Fittingly, he dedicates this book to Barbosa, the scapegoat of Brazil's 1950 loss in the final, played at the Maracana at Rio. Where the final of the 2014 World Cup will be played. I am glad I read this book before the dawn of the coming final.

[Deji Onitiri]

In November, I read the “SHOCKING BRAZIL: 6 games that shook the world cup”. I really enjoyed reading this book, as it was mainly based on my topic of interest, which is football. It was very easy to read and there was not one moment where I got tired of it. It was very enjoyable for me because many of my favorite footballers of all time are Brazilian, so this book really talks about how these individuals strived to be legendary icons or even heroes in the country of Brazil. This book also talks about how even though the Brazilians were always the favorites of the World Cup tournaments, they sometimes failed to fulfill their status. I would really recommend this book to people who are into football, or people who are just interested in knowing the background and history of the Brazilian national team, as they were all over headlines this summer during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

[Steven Pilling · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best sports books use sport to reflect the national perspective , social history and the state of the world (or at least the world of the sports person / team) involved.

Duarte does that , by choosing to focus on 6 failed world cup campaigns he makes everything more interesting, after all who wants to read "they turned up , they won , they celebrated) their appears to be a lot about the history and politics of brazil , the pressure of the overwhelming needs of fans and the way football has changed.

If you dont like football you might not like this but if you are open minded or a football fan its a fantastic read

[Joel Antony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a really good one as there are many lessons one can learn after reading this book. The lessons that can be learnt are that of determination, struggle and success. It was a really good book to read and I recommend it to everyone who is interested in football and people who are interested in learning valuable lessons.

[Gavin Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Presciently enough, I bought this at the beginning of this year's World Cup, just a couple of weeks before a certain game against Germany that will definitely require its own chapter in an updated version of Shocking Brazil. This is an interesting read with a lot of information about the behind the scenes machinations of Brazilian football that I was largely unaware of. Of course, I'd heard of the great players and teams, seen the highlight videos of the pre-1980s World Cups and have my own memories of the more recent ones, but I had always accepted the mythology of Brazil and its beach-football-urchin magic. In that sense, this was a bit of an eye opener. It seems that Brazil and its soccer federation are as prone to nonsense as any other country. Somehow, that's kind of refreshing.

Shocking Brazil actually acts as a kind of abridged history of Brazil at the World Cup. By focusing on the failures rather than the triumphs, Duarte offers a different perspective and some real insight. His epilogue in particular is interesting, given the most recent events in the Maracana. He writes with an easy to read, conversational style that I very much enjoyed. This is certainly one of the better football books I've read.

[Winona Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclosure: I know the author - so of course I wanted to read his book. Not knowing much at all about world football (and especially in Brazil), I definitely learned a lot. The author's easy, conversational writing style reminds me of a great storyteller, and I got caught up in the stories of the matches, and of the political and social goings-on behind the scenes. Highly recommended for fans of world football.

[Tony Mcgoldrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very topical at the moment with the World Cup being on. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Easy to read and always kept me interested. Nothing particularly new revealed (thus the 4 stars instead of 5) but still good to read about these teams that, in the main, were perceived to have failed. Would recommend to anyone with an interest in football.

[Brendan Crowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable history of Brazilian football. The focus on how it has been shaped by defeats is very good as the defeats are often overlooked when talking about the 5 time champs. An ideal read during the World Cup for any football fan. The writer is also a very entertaining journalist and great as a guest on football podcasts.

[John Costello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and enjoyable