Root for joy, root for DPRK! / 1982 Brazil v Italy: most influential match ever?

As Brazil 2010 prepares to take the field, fans of the “beautiful” game should check their enthusiasm – the future of joy hinges upon the fate of this side. Comrade, brothers, I bequeath you: root against these automatons. A championship for Dunga’s disciplined troops could be the final nail in the coffin for joga bonito at the international level – defeat and Brazil will be forced to amaze in 2014. Victory – and mass, global celebrations will forever-more have a sense of lack – jouissance the ever-unattainable, Nike adds will insist but a vague memory whispers there’s something more – sadly, we’ll buy into it, we’re wired that way, starving for euphoria. Defeat – and global soccer may (just maybe) re-asses the long trend that has turned top flight football so sour.

How’d we come to this? In 1982, Brazil fielded what many feel to be the greatest, most creative national side ever – and their fate? Losing to the eventual champions: Italy. Let me reiterate that again for annoyance and emphasis and annoyance: they lost to Italy.

Sócrates, Zico, Falcão Éder, et al – this one team’s highlight reel from only the matches in Spain equals the highlight reel for all teams all games from all World Cup finals matches 1990 to the present: that’s one side playing five matches vs. both sides in 300 matches.

The fallout from the ’82 defeat? A slow dreary evolution to Dunga’s drably efficient drones. Brazil as Italy. A 6th title for Brazil in 2010 and the sorry lesson of ’82 will be cemented in place for the rest of our lives.

All power to the glorious heroes of the people’s revolution – you play for the joy of the masses! DPRK DPRK DPRK!!!