My Reasons Why Brazil Should Win The World Cup

The World Cup 2010 Brazilian Team

Warning: This opinion piece does not reflect the views of other News Junkie Post editors and contributors.

I’m not a big soccer fan, in fact, I think the last time I saw a full game of soccer on TV was when I was a child and I didn’t have a say about what channel to watch. But, for some reason this World Cup seems important. It is the first time that the FIFA chose Africa as the continent to host the World Cup. Having this event held in a country once torn apart by apartheid, South Africa, is significant. So, I’m willing to put away how boring I think soccer is and embrace this World Cup with the hopes that Brazil will win.

OK, why Brazil? Again, much of what I know of soccer has to do with what I know of Brazil’s performance. When I lived in San Salvador, everyone in my home, neighborhood, and city always was glued to the TV when Brazil played. Pele was the player to watch. He was a soccer superstar who was as well known as Michael Jackson back in the 80′s. Brazil still considers Pele a national hero and perhaps we won’t see another man who could kick that ball the way he did.

Even after Pele retired, Brazil continued to be the best soccer team in the history of the World Cup, winning five different championships in four continents. But my reasons for rooting for Brazil go beyond how good they play soccer, it’s about the people of Brazil.

We all have interactions with people from all over the world when we live in the United States, but I’ve never met people as friendly and as open as the people from Brazil. They are by far my favorite people in the world. Their friendliness is contagious and I’m a sucker for nice people.

Brazil In Haiti

The biggest proof of how great Brazilians are was when I traveled to Haiti in January. It was two weeks after the earthquake and I had no place to stay. I had been taking shelter at a local bakery in Port-au-Prince, but I faced many transportation and logistical challenges for filing my reports for Free Speech Radio News and for the News Junkie Post. Going to the US Embassy for help was out of the question — they were not offering shelter to any journalists. Thankfully, a fellow reporter, Ansel Herz, told me that the Brazilian base at the UN’s MINUSTAH could give me a place to crash for a week.

At the Brazilian base in Port-au-Prince, I was given a comfortable place to stay. For a few days I was rooming with a female army captain — Capt. Lucimar, she was from Rio de Janeiro and the most warm military woman you could ever meet. She spoke Portuguese, I spoke English and Spanish, and somewhere in between we were able to hold conversations about what the earthquake was like, and also about Brazil and about being in the army.

I was fed three square meals a day at the base. I stood in line with uniformed men who had just come from the field, distributing food and providing security in the streets of the Haitian capital. They did not mind that I was one of a handful of civilians wearing jeans standing in line with them. As a matter of fact, they were always polite and easy to talk to. The food was also very good and nutritious.

Dolores M. Bernal with Brazilian soldiers from the UN's MINUSTAH in Haiti. (Photo: NJP)

At the end of my first week at the base, it was time to leave, but I still had no place to go. I talked to the colonel in charge of operations about my situation and he allowed me to stay one more week with them. I lamented that I could not get the same hospitality from my own American people who were located less than a mile away. The Americans were cold and distant and you could feel that they didn’t trust anyone that went to the embassy, even American citizens like me.

I made a lot of friendships at the Brazilian base. The camaraderie among soldiers and officers was inspiring. The soldiers had all volunteered to serve in Haiti for eight months at a time, and they had received special training to do so. The one unfortunate thing is that these soldiers were not allowed to go outside the base on their days off to interact with the people — not even on the weekends. I was told that it was for security reasons, but they were missing out on getting to know the Haitian people and their culture.

Brazilian nurse holding Haitian child at orphanage. (Photo: NJP)

The Ugly American

I remember going on a food distribution convoy with a group of Brazilian soldiers. The Brazilians were providing security while the American troops were distributing the food in Delmas. The comparison between the demeanor of American soldiers and Brazilians was interesting. The American soldiers walked around very pompously, showing a lot of arrogance towards others. The Brazilians, on the other hand, were calmer, humble and polite to the Haitians waiting for food.

There was an instance when a young Haitian boy walked up to an American soldier to thank him for the food. The boy told the soldier, “thank you for building us a home.” The American soldier looked at him and said in a very condescending manner, “I’m not here to build you a home! I’m not here to give you a home!” The soldier walked away chuckling, while the boy stood there very confused. I had witnessed the interaction from above while I sat in the passenger side of a large truck, the soldier didn’t see me. I was tempted to walk up to him and tell him that Americans could do better than that at how to talk to people.

From what I saw, the Brazilians were distributing some of the food for their troops to the people of Haiti during the weekends. They would go on small convoys to orphanages, to provide medical care, distribute water, etc. They were the only troops actually forming ties with local communities, in a formal, but warm manner. This is important to note because the Americans were distributing food from the World Food Programme warehouses, which entailed filling out tons of paperwork. The Brazilians couldn’t be bothered with all the applications that needed to be filled, they saw the need and they decided to give food meant for their soldiers to the hungry masses.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie? Yes! One of the best things the Brazilians did for me was allow me to see Angelina Jolie. I know, it sounds silly, but I am a huge Angie fan.

Jolie is a UN Goodwill Ambassador and she made a stop to Haiti four weeks after the earthquake. She stayed at the Brazilian base, only a few doors from where I was staying. A reporter from Bloomberg, Adriana Brasileiro, wrote a great article about Jolie’s visit to the base. She and I were excited that the actress was coming to the base.

Standing there like children, Adriana, myself and a couple of soldiers stared at Angelina Jolie as she paced back and forth on the porch of the home where she was going to spend the night. Jolie was on her cell phone and all of us waited eagerly for her to make her way to the reception at the base. The colonel in charge told us that we could see Jolie pass by only if we promised to not talk to her or take pictures. We promised.

An hour later, Jolie walked by the little group along with the MINUSTAH’s head, Edmond Mulet. Our eyes were fixed on Jolie as she passed in front of all of us. I thought I was going to faint. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.

Go Brazil

I don’t know what life would had been like in Haiti for those three weeks I was there if it had not been for the hospitality of the Brazilian army. I know that nobody is perfect and that no one is a saint, but the Brazilians will always have a warm place in my heart. That is why I want them to win the World Cup. Good karma for Brazil! Go kick that ball!!!!

Brazil will play North Korea on June 15. The game will be broadcast on ESPN, check your local listings.

For the World Cup’s Brazil page, click here.

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