My first time… Spain 1982 World Cup

At the age of 11 my parents found a high level, but reasonably priced German school for me and my older brother to attend. There I made my first contact with the good rock’n’roll, like Zeppelin. I was learning to play the bass at that time. Suddenly God came to me and said: “Turn on the TV! We are playing against the Russians!” At that time I was still a shy boy but the girls were a nice and positive presence among me and my school friends. My life was changing definitively.

Led Zeppelin, girls and World Cup… what a great mix of sensations. Not to mention Kiss! The band, not the girls, unfortunately. Well, Brazil stopped to see the games and we were meeting at a local sporting club to watch them. Some girls we met there were clearly enjoying our presence. Since I was 100% dork all I did was to look at them with the corner of my eyes.

While in New York there is a hugging service where you pay 30 dollars to hug and cuddle strangers for one hour, here in Brazil we like to hug people (for free). Imagine what was the feeling for an eleven years old kid to smell those girls’ hair while being embraced by them. First game, 2 hugs. Second game, 4 hugs. Third game, 4 more hugs. Forth game, 3 extra hugs. Then came Italy. We could tie and go forth in the competition. That game got me 2 hugs, but I was so stressed that no aroma got my attention. A clear penalty on Zico, categorically ignored by the refs, was the sign that our fate was already sealed.

Before that tragedy, I remember watching one of the greatest Selections on Earth. I’ve seen the golden shirts performing in the greatest stage of all. It was in 1982 that I understood the reason why we already were 3 times champions. It was in that World Cup that I started to see that Brazilian football is different than most, more beautiful. I learned about the power of football in my country, to my friends, to my family and specially to me. I also realized that football can be unfair some times, like life itself.