1982 Brazil: The Glorious Failure

by Stuart Horsfield

1982 Brazil tells the story of football's most exhilarating and entertaining World Cup side. This scintillating Brazil team - blessed with Zico, Sócrates, Falcão, Éder and Júnior - lit up the 1982 World Cup with a brand of football that was 'futebol arte'. Playing to the accompaniment of a samba soundtrack from their supporters in the stands, the side scored 15 goals in five games and enchanted the world, but their dream fell apart in the Sarrià Stadium against Italy. Even so, it was a match considered one of the greatest World Cup fixtures of all time and it changed the way the game was played forever. The Brazilian 1982 World Cup side have become a cast of mythical characters. Despite failing to reach the semi-finals, they made the football world hold its breath every time they stepped on the pitch. Told through the eyes of a young boy who fell in love with the men in yellow, and the memories of those who were there to witness Brazil's most glorious failure, 1982 Brazil is the definitive account of the greatest team never to win a World Cup.

Genres: Football, Nonfiction

275 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 26, 2020

Reviews

[Nicholas Batten]

A nostalgic journey back to the last time when Brazil really and truly were Brazil

My experience was similar to the author in that I was eight at the time of the 1982 World Cup and had only got into football the previous season. There were only three TV channels in the UK and the only live matches I recall seeing were FA Cup and European Cup finals featuring English clubs plus England's 1-0 win over Hungary to qualify for Spain. Football meant English club football then - muddy pitches; teams numbered 1-11; goalkeepers in green and officials in black - and while there were a number of high profile Dutch, Polish or Argentinian imports along with the odd Belgian or Yugoslav even the top sides consisted overwhelmingly of British and Irish players. Our mum bought my brother and I England's World Cup record and a little green preview book enabling us to fill in the scores and tables but I was not prepared for the enormous impact that tournament had on my eight year old self. We also watched avidly 1-2 games per day after coming home from primary school and the heat, noise and colour of Spain really emanated through the television set. It was my introduction to an unfamiliar wider world, to countries such as Kuwait, Honduras, El Salvador, Cameroon, Algeria and Chile, to the vagaries of Polish or Italian pronunciation: from this moment I preferred international to club football.

Brazil 1982 remain my favourite team of all those I have been privileged to witness, the yardstick against which all subsequent Brazilian World Cup teams have been judged and found wanting. Even though they contested three successive finals, winning in 1994 and 2002, their fourth and fifth titles owed most to the strike forces of Romario and Bebeto, the Three Rs of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho, which in truth papered over the cracks. World Cup winning captain and unsuccessful coach Dunga dismissed the class of '82 as losers but those latter tournament winners were functional at best in midfield. The chickens have come home to roost in the last five editions, Brazil being eliminated as soon as they ran into European opposition in the knockout stage, unable to match the likes of Zidane, Pirlo, Xavi and Iniesta, Kroos, De Bruyne or Modric because their game no longer produces any comparable to the glorious quartet of Cerezo, Falcao, Socrates and Zico. Another key factor is that only Falcao from the class of '82 played in Europe while the entire 1970 squad plied their trade with Brazilian clubs: it is the other way around now which has made quite a difference and not necessarily for the better.

It was helpful to get a sense of the political situation: I had not been aware that the BBC broke away from the opening match against the USSR to announce the end of the Falklands War or that the greater emphasis on freedom of expression under Tele Santana coincided with the loosening of control as the military dictatorship neared its end. I do feel that Italy's remarkable record-equalling third title is worthy of a similar book in its own right: in the final analysis their victory could not have been more deserved as they swept aside Argentina, Brazil, Poland and West Germany one after another and really won it the hard way. They were more expansive than most Italian sides under Enzo Bearzot, who by all accounts was a thoroughly decent man, while there were a number of legends of the Italian game in that victorious team including Zoff, Bergomi, Gentile, Scirea, Baresi, Cabrini, Antognoni, Tardelli, Conti, Altobelli and Rossi. For all that Brazil v Italy was misinterpreted as a confrontation of good and evil it was actually the Azzurri who vanquished the villains of Espana'82 by seeing off West Germany in the final, so all's well that ends well.

[Brendan Crowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is success in football? It seems that there is an obvious answer. Winning. But if this book was titled 2002 Brazil I wouldn’t have felt the giddy anticipation when beginning it. The 1982 Brazil side didn’t even make the World Cup semi-final. Yet, despite the fact I didn’t arrive in the world until 2 years later, they hold a mystique and allure for me that their more successful successors lack.

1982 Brazil tells the story the of the (arguably) best side not to win the World Cup. This is a definitive account of a team stocked with legendary players who captured the world’s imagination if not its ultimate prize.

The detail is fascinating and Horsfield brilliantly sets the broader context of Brazilian football and society at the time. He traces the development of the team from the 1970 winning team through Pele’s retirement and the preparations for the tournament.

If that was all this book was it would still be a really good read. The book stands out however for the personal context in which it is set. Because as much as it is about the 1982 Brazil team, it’s also very much about the author’s personal experience as a young boy of watching them. Horsfield captures the magic, the awe, the sheer giddiness of the World Cup seen through a young fan’s eyes. All football fans have the first World Cup they truly remember experiencing. It usually happened around 8 to 12 years old when, for 3 or 4 weeks, you got to experience the indescribable magic of watching the best footballers play in a competition which meant more than anything else you could imagine. Very few writers have the skill to capture that magic in the way Horsfield has.

1982 Brazil is simply a joy to read. Packed with nostalgia, insight, and trivia, it fully lived up to my exceedingly high expectations. Beware the list of YouTube links at the end of the book though. Click just one highlights video and it sucks you in and consumes hours and hours and hours!

Also worth a mention that Horsfield is a senior writer for These Football Times, a website and magazine I absolutely love. On moving country recently I left my collection of their magazines with a friend and I really miss them!

[Avnish Anand · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author tells us that he finally wrote this book after having waited 30 years for someone else to write it. He's been obsessed with them, having been dazzled by their brilliance as an impressionable ten year old in 1982. I didn't get to watch them in 1982 ( I was 3 and there was no coverage in India) but I have been equally obsessed and have been waiting for a good book on them myself.


So I was delighted to get my hands on this book and it doesn't disappoint. I finished it in one sitting. You can enjoy it even more if you keep watching the match highlights side by side. The writer recommends the same and has given a list at the end.


The writer sets the context by starting with the glorious Pele inspired side of 1970. He covers how the 1982 team came together, the build up to the tournament and each game in substantial detail. The writer's experiences as he goes through a full range of emotions adds an interesting perspective of the neutral fan. This is a book for the fans who worship the 1982 side and its useful to relive the tournament through the eyes of a fan.


There is only one small complaint which is why this book is 4 stars and not 5. It leaves you hungry for more about the players perspectives. How they felt before, after and during the tournament.

But it's a must read for football fans. Especially for those who fondly remember the 1982 side. A big thanks to Stuart for writing this and to his Mum for letting him live his passion for football and watch the 1982 World Cup in full. He dedicates the book to her

[Rodrigo Monico-Barros · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down. Author provides excellent insight. As you are reading the descriptions of game action, you feel like you are on the field. As I knew Brazil was going to get eliminated, I found myself not wanting to read about the game against Italy as it was like reading of an upcoming death that I could not stop. Yet, I found that though I did not want to read about it, I found that I could put the book down, and had to experience the disappointment. A glorious failure indeed.

[Clive Lillie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent bit of sport and cultural journalism. I was ripe for the nostalgia on offer though, due to my age and this too being my first world cup. Some interesting stuff forthcoming though, and had me on and off YouTube for the footage being competently described.

[Alfred Winther · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fængende, personlig og god indledning - men langt størstedelen af bogen er kampreferater krydret med egne interviews. Der mangler mere samtidig kontekst og uddybende forklaring af, hvad, hvorfor og hvem blev påvirket undervejs.

[Paul McCormack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great subject. Well researched but a bit much of author's own feeling at the time instead of the topic in hand

[Pedro Brites · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sobre bola, é uma coisa linda.