“O País do Futebol”

Football is probably the best discussion topic, especially for men, in Brazil. It is by far the most popular sport in Brazil and every Brazilian can tell you how and where he lived the 5-times that the Seleção won the FIFA Worldcup (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002).After Brazil fell to an all-time low position of 22nd place in the FIFA Nations Ranking in 2012 they are looking stronger now (currently 9th place) a couple month before theWorldcup 2014 will come to the country. Even if there are controversial discussion in Brazilian society about the Worldcup taking place and the money being spent on new sports infrastructure, most of the Brazilians are looking forward to the event and hope for the long awaited triumph after 2002 in South Korea.

However next to the national team also the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the national league where clubs from Brazilian cities play the whole year for the championship, is intensively followed by many Brazilians. The most successful and popular clubs are located in Rio de Janeiro (Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminese, Vasco da Gama) and Sao Paolo (Corinthians, Portuguesa,SaoPaolo).

However next to the national team also the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the national league where clubs from Brazilian cities play the whole year for the championship, is intensively followed by many Brazilians. The most successful and popular clubs are located in Rio de Janeiro (Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminese, Vasco da Gama) and Sao Paolo (Corinthians, Portuguesa,SaoPaolo).Besides the club Vasco da Gama all of the clubs from Rio de Janeiro play in one of the most famous Estádio do Maracanã in Rio. Constadiums  of  the  world-  thestructed in 1950 the stadium has long time been the biggest stadium of the world with a capacity of 200.000 places. After a complete renovation for the World Cup 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016 the number of places was reduced to 73.531.

The winner of the last edition of the Brazilian Football League in 2013 was the  “Cruzeiro Esporte Clube”. Thanks to this win in the League Cruzeiro was able to qualify for the “Copa Libertadores” which is a competition that regroups 38 teams located in South America. It is basically the equivalent to the European Champions League and a very important competition for South American football. There are long rivalries between clubs from Argentina and Brazil and during the last for year the Brazilian clubs dominated the tournament.