In 1958 Billy, at the age of 17, stepped onto the World Cup field for the first time, a southern hemisphere kid in a northern European country where there were no farmers, no immigrant societies, no patriarchal systems that gave rise to the peculiar South American class and family patterns; where there was more socialism, a middle class with more solid political parties, and a...
Sixty-four years later, remembering it all, Billy still feels a kinship with the country where he proved that a shoe-shine black boy could conquer the world with a soccer ball; on some 6,000 square meters of green grass, no matter where he came from, just how good he was at the game.
Before the start of the World Cup in Qatar at the end of this year, the 'Ballon d'Or' used Twitter to share a photo of him strolling around Stockholm. At the time, he was only a Brazilian player, Billy, and not the King, so he was able to enjoy a moment of relaxation that would be rare later in his career.
Soccer in the 50's wasn't as big a cultural vehicle as it is now, but it was very pure because of that, and people were focused on enjoying it for what it was. Instead of focusing on wins and losses and frills.
In those days, Brazilian players danced after scoring goals, and people didn't argue about whether they should or should not. Nowadays, this inclusiveness has regressed.
Billy's successor in the Brazilian team, Vinicius Junior, who was criticized for dancing like a "monkey" after scoring a goal, has always been one of those
England Premier Soccer League
Roy Keane, one of the few talking heads among the celebrities, actually thought the move was disrespectful to his opponent.
On the other hand, the Washington Post chose this time to invite a historian to run an article on "Why Argentina doesn't have too many black players," to which the Liberal Progressive Party of Argentina tweeted a more humorous retort: "Because we're a country, not a Disney movie."
Such a clash of cultures brings interest to the tournament, but there is also a danger of conflict. No matter how you look at it, this year's Cada World Cup, both on and off the field, is a sign that soccer is diversifying, and that it's no longer just Europe and South America who have the power to interpret the sport.
Kadashian football by the historic Saudi Arabian
an upset (esp. in sports)
And it's official - they became the only team to beat Argentina in the tournament - Asian teams showed their growth and resilience, with Iran beating Wales, Japan going on to beat Spain and Germany, and South Korea beating Portugal.
Relying on foreign coaches and scientific training methods, Asian players began to overcome the obstacle of physical fitness (especially East Asian teams), while finding the most suitable way to play the game - defensive counterattack.
High-pressure pressing and fast counterattack is not a product of Asia, but the success of the Japanese and South Korean teams proved the effectiveness of this set of tactics. Since the stature is not as tall as Europe, and the footwork is not as delicate as South America, I won't tangle with the opponents in this aspect, to create the advantage of instant numbers and space in both offense and defense, the more team-conscious Asian teams are more disciplined in the execution of their tactics, so that this time the teams encountering them suffered a lot of pain, and in terms of the current session alone, they are the earliest to figure out the "version" of this Cup tournament in the region.
As a result, as we enter the knockout stages, we also see more teams giving up midfield dominance to force the other team to press the attack, so that they can get more space in the transition. This style of play sharply punishes immature or incomplete passing kicks. As countries get better and better at defending, it's too difficult to create chances from short passes or set-pieces in positional play; instead, it's often difficult to get a one-touch or one-on-one duel in the transition between offense and defense from a long, well-conscious pass. For the world football world to recognize this, it can be said that it is a result of the late development advantage of the "East", and it is also a way for Asian countries to make an impact.
And this time, African teams are writing their own milestones in Kada, a division that has always had a unique style, with the rhythms of Kola, Kanga Drums, and Woo Woo Zilla, the 'Dark Continent' has never been short of attacking talent, but the lack of tactical literacy, and discipline, has kept their defenses in the limelight.
But Africa has its own advantages, the Europeans have always seen it as their backyard, colonizing it and absorbing countless talents from it (hasn't France been jokingly referred to as the 'United Africa Army' in recent years?). , but the feedback is that they can absorb the most advanced ideas from each other, and the geographic advantage also allows teams to train with stronger teams more easily. This special relationship is very similar to the mutually beneficial model between MLB and Central American teams.
The biggest "dark horse" of the tournament, Morocco, has a lot of players from Europe's top five leagues, such as Ennasri, Hakimi, Ziyesh, Mazraoui, Bono, it is the excellent play of these people to help the team to beat Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and become the first African team to reach the quarterfinals of the World Football League in the history of the team.
