Belatedly, a roundup of links regarding the passing of Brazilian great Socrates a couple weeks ago:
Remembering Brazil's Soccer Philosopher King, penned by Gabriele Marcotti,
appeared in the WSJ the day after his death:
Sunday [December 4] morning marked the passing of Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de
Oliveira, better known simply as Socrates.
[caption id="attachment_4685" align="alignleft" width="800" caption="Do you remember the first
time?"][/caption]
While some (primarily English) observers consider Brazil's 1982 "jogo bonito" side to be the
best team never to win the world cup (which is, in itself, ridiculous. The Grande Inter of the
1960s, just to name one, never won the world cup.
Watching the 1982 World Cup in my parent's basement, my brother and I pranced around our basement
trying to imitate the beauty of Socrates. No-look passes, flicks and back heels were introduced to
a growing soccer nation, and I was clearly swept up in it.
With the passing of the Brazilian midfielder this past weekend at the age of 57, Gabriele Marcotti
writes of the great playmaker and leader of the Brazilian football revolution.
1,91 m de altura, 37 cm de pie, un centrocampista "puro talento" nos ha dejado hoy 4 de
diciembre de 2011. Sócrates, un jugador que jugaba con una elegancia, visión y
control orientado tan sólo igualado por Zidane. Sócrates, siempre en las
leyendas del fútbol.
A few weeks ago, the Manchester United FB Page asked the question 'Still thinking about the
8-2?'. I said hell yeah. What else was there to think about? The international break had most
inconveniently followed, and I've never translated my United fandom to following England (for Roon
one could argue, but now practically the entire right wing) or hating them (for Lumplard, Cashley
and the likes).
Last night's international soccer friendly between the USA and Chile was pretty much what fans
expected. An inexperienced USA squad (the most capped player only had six prior USA games under
his belt) gave their all and came out with a tie against a generally savvier Chilean team.
At times it looked more like a race than a game, with the USA's players realizing that their
decision making and play making needed to step up a notch or two to match the pace of an
international game.
