Blog Front Page: Raven's Nest

SC Internacional hope that success both at home and abroad will finally earn them what has long been denied: A place among the most revered clubs of Brazil.

The writing is, quite literally, on the wall of the massive Beira-Rio Stadium in Porto Alegre: “Campeão de Tudo” (“Champions of Everything”).  The storied club from Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul is, indeed, one of the few clubs in the world that can make such a claim, having won every trophy there is for a Brazilian club to win in their 101 year history: The Rio Grande do Sul State title on thirty-nine occasions, the Brazilian League title three times (1975,1976 and 1979), the Brazil Cup in 1992, the Libertadores Cup and the Fifa Club World Cup in 2006, the Recopa Sudamericana in 2007, and the Copa Sudamericana in 2008.

Yet, somehow, the Colorados (as club supporters are known) have always noticed a lack of respect, both at home and abroad, for their club, feeling overshadowed by the likes of Flamengo, Vasco da Gama, São Paulo, Corinthians, and even cross-town rivals Grêmio – and they are unhappy about it. The good news for the long-suffering Inter supporters is that, with a bit of good fortune, 2010 could finally place Internacional on the pedestal with the better-known clubs from Rio and São Paulo for good.

Rise to Prominence

Brazil had already won the World Cup on three occasions (1958, 1962 and 1970) before the nation had an official regular season national championship at the club level. Instituted in 1971, the Brazilian Championship (“Campeonato Brasileiro” in Portuguese) was expected to be dominated by the Rio- and São Paulo-based giants - particularly the Pelé-led Santos side that had not only dominated the São Paulo State tournament during the 1960’s, but also demonstrated their superiority at the international level -  winning two intercontinental titles and two Libertadores Cups. Yet in the first decade of the Brazilian national championship it was Internacional that dominated, winning three titles in five seasons, including the 1979 title after going undefeated – the only club ever to do so in the thirty-nine year history of the Brazilian league. Central to this success was attacking midfielder Paulo Roberto Falcão, whose departure to AS Roma in 1980 (after the Italians began readmitting foreign players to the league) coincided with Inter’s sudden – and devastating – fall from prominence.

False Hopes

After finishing runners-up to Uruguay’s Nacional in the Libertadores Cup in 1980, o Colorado spent most of the 1980’s and 1990’s languishing mid- to lower-table in the Brazilian Championship, and the club and their supporters soon saw themselves eclipsed by fierce cross-town rivals Grêmio, who won four Brazil Cups (1989, 1994, 1997, and 2001), two Brazilian League titles (1981,1996), two Libertadores Cups (1983, 1995), and one Intercontinental Cup (1983) to Inter’s lone Brazil Cup title in 1992. As if to rub salt into their wounds, Inter were eliminated from the Libertadores yet again, this time in the semifinals after they squandered their 1-0 away win over eventual runners-up Olimpia of Paraguay by losing 3-2 on home ground in the Beira-Rio Stadium, then dropping the eventual penalty shootout.

Inter’s rivals throughout Brazil began to refer to the club mockingly as “Interregional”, as the club seemed incapable of succeeding beyond the Rio Grande do Sul State tournament, while arch-rivals Grêmio had enjoyed considerably more success. The Turn of the Millenium seemed to hold little promise for Inter, particularly as the club narrowly avoided relegation in 1999, when a last-gasp goal by former Brazil captain Dunga provided salvation in the last round, and again in 2002, when the Gauchos picked up three points in a tricky away venue against Paysandu in the final round, again avoiding the drop.

Enter Fernando Carvalho

The Twenty-first Century brought about major changes in the club’s structure. Under new club president Fernando Chagas Carvalho, emphasis was placed on strengthening youth programs, providing benefits (including free entrance to club matches) for club members, and encouraging fiscal responsibility. The results were immediately evident: In 2005, Inter, under Coach Muricy Ramalho, finished runners-up to Corinthians in a controversial campaign in which a match-fixing scandal caused eleven matches to be replayed, which directly benefitted the São Paulo-based club, to Inter’s detriment. Combined with o Colorado’s defeat to eventual champions Boca Juniors in the quarterfinals of South America’s secondary club competition, the Copa Sudamericana, most observers outside the club felt that Inter’s recent history of falling short was set to continue.

2006 would go down as one of the greatest years in the club’s history. The Gaucho club, built on the long-term goals by its new directors, overcame storied opposition in Nacional of Uruguay, LDU of Ecuador, and Libertad of Paraguay to reach the finals of the Copa Libertadores, where they faced defending champions São Paulo, now under Inter’s former coach Muricy Ramalho. Inter shocked the champions 2-1 in the away leg through two goals by youthful prodigy Rafael Sobis, setting the stage for the emotion-packed return leg in Inter’s Beira-Rio Stadium in Porto Alegre, where o Colorado, playing a man short for the final twenty minutes of the match after midfielder Tinga received a second yellow, held on for a 2-2 draw, securing the title and ending any mention of “Interregional”.

Despite their recent success, however, many outside Brazil, and indeed outside the state of Rio Grande do Sul, considered the club anything but “an upstart”, one that would be easy pickings for UEFA Champions League winners Barcelona in the FIFA Club World Cup. Inter responded, first by defeating Egypt’s Al-Ahly in the semifinals, then by upsetting the Catalonians 1-0 in the final through Adriano Gabiru.

2007 and 2008 would prove capstones for SC Internacional, despite the highly publicized departures of stars Rafael Sobis, Fernandão, Alexandre Pato, Luis Adriano, and Tinga. The club continued in their winning ways, claiming both the Recopa Sudamericana, played between the Libertadores Cup and Copa Sudamericana winners of the previous year, and the Copa Sudamericana, respectively, completing the cycle of available titles. Still, however, something was lacking; Inter, while considered a very strong team in their own right, still lacked the label of “dynasty”, granted to more-popular clubs like Santos, Flamengo, and Palmeiras.

2010: The Final Chapter

Inter supporters’ dreams of a major title in 2009, the year of the club’s centennial, saw their hopes dashed, as the club failed to respond to the pressure, winning only the Rio Grande do Sul State Tournament. However, 2010 has proved far more promising. Several stars from the 2006 squad – including striker Rafael Sobis, midfielder Tinga, defenders Bolívar and Fabiano Eller, and goalkeeper Renan – have returned to join the base of the 2008 Copa Sudamericana squad, including popular Argentine imports, playmaker Andrés d’Alessandro and stalwart defensive midfielder Pablo Guiñazu.

After a slow start under Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati, which saw the Rio Grande do Sul State Title pass to rivals Grêmio, Internacional advanced to the second round of the Libertadores.  They cruised through to the semi-finals where - revamped under new coach Celso Roth - they defeated São Paulo, their opponents from the Libertadores Finals in 2006, on away goals in the semifinals of the competition to reach the finals again, this time against Mexico’s Chivas of Guadalajara. As Chivas are an invited club in South America’s premier club tournament, o Colorado are guaranteed in the FIFA Club World Cup tournament in December, where the Brazilians are already looking forward to a potential final against another “International” club, Italy’s FC Internazionale Milano.

As Inter are also currently among the leaders of the Brazilian Championship, there are high hopes among the storied club’s faithful that 2010 will finally assure SC Internacional’s place not only among the greatest clubs in Brazil’s, but indeed the world’s, football history – a place long overdue for the supporters of the world’s “other Inter”.

While most of the world’s attention turns from the events of the past month in South Africa to transfer speculation and the upcoming club seasons, Brazilian focus remains on finding the root causes of the Seleção’s failure and assigning blame.

José is a man obsessed. “What was Dunga thinking, taking Felipe Melo to South Africa?” he mutters, pacing the living room of his quiet suburban home. As his muttering turns into yet another rant, his face becomes flush, the volume of his complaints increasing with his frustration.

“What was going through Kaká’s mind? It looked like he didn’t even want to be there!”

“How could Júlio César miss an easy ball like that? If he had been playing for Inter, absolutely he would have gotten to it!”

José’s son, Ricardo, may appear a bit calmer, but the frustration is nevertheless evident. “I threw my [Brazil] jersey onto the top shelf of my closet, and I’m not bringing it out again till 2014,” he affirms, once again adorned in his favorite CR Flamengo jersey while watching the Final between Spain and Holland.

He continues: “Whoever they [the CBF – Brazilian football’s governing body] hire, I think they should order him to lose both the Copa America (to be held in Argentina next year) and the Confederations Cup – that way, we don’t fool ourselves into believing that the World Cup title is a given, like we did the past two times. We need to go into 2014 very down-to-earth.”

José’s and Ricardo’s frustrations with the Seleção’s unexpected collapse against Holland in the quarterfinals of South Africa 2010 have echoed throughout the country, and though the World Cup has now ended, Brazilians cannot seem to let it go. From the beaches of Rio to the jungles of the Amazon, from the plains of the Pampas to the deserts of the Sertão, one question reverberates: “How can things have ended up like this?”

“Jogo Bonito” and the Dunga Era

Things have indeed come full circle. In 2006, amid nearly non-stop media coverage, then-Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira (who would manage home side South Africa at this most recent edition) and his highly-offensive Seleção departed for their ill-fated attempt at winning an unprecedented sixth World Cup title in Germany. The failure of Parreira and his “magic quartet” of Ronaldo, Robinho, Ronaldinho, and Kaká wounded the Brazilian psyche. After all, how could such a talented side fail so dramatically?

Two villains were immediately identified: left-back Roberto Carlos, whose lack of attention at a critical moment against France (he was busy pulling up his socks) led directly to Thierry Henry’s game-winner; and coach Carlos Alberto Parreira himself, who was accused of turning the training sessions into a media circus and failing to control his players off the pitch, after reports emerged of Brazilian players being spotted in night clubs in the pre-dawn hours during the tournament. A widely discredited Seleção returned home to face the music – in a manner of speaking.

The fact is that few of the players in the 2006 side actually did return home to Brazil at all, preferring to go straight from Germany back to their European clubs, denying the Brazilian public a chance to confront them and demand explanations for their failure. The Brazilian public had to content itself with villain number two, Coach Parreira, who was immediately relieved of his duties by CBF President Ricardo Texeira. The national team of mighty Brazil was in disarray, and nobody seemed willing to take on the challenge of rebuilding it.

Enter Dunga. Captain of the Brazil squad that won the title for the fourth time in 1994, Dunga’s appointment was not without controversy, with many pundits claiming he lacked the experience necessary to manage the Seleção. Indeed, Dunga hadn’t ever coached any team before, working as a commentator for Brazilian TV during the World Cup in 2006. Supporters of the gruff Gaucho pointed out that Germany’s Jürgen Klinsmann had also never managed any team before taking on die Mannschaft, leading the host nation to a third-place finish during the World Cup and playing attractive, attacking football along the way. Dunga immediately announced the end of the previous policy of emphasizing the star power of the Seleção, and a return to a collective, “family” mentality – echoing a sentiment utilized by another famous Gaucho coach of the Brazilian squad, Luis Felipe “Big Phil” Scolari in 2002.

A Rough Start

From the start it became evident that the “Dunga Era” was not going to be a love fest; alleging fatigue from long seasons with their club teams, stars Kaká and Ronaldinho requested that Dunga not call them up for national team duty during the 2007 Copa America, held in Venezuela. Dunga consented, and instead took an experimental squad to Venezuela where, despite a slow start in which the Seleção lost to Mexico 2-nil in the Group Stage, Brazil took the title, massacring Chile 6-1 in the quarterfinals, defeating a surprisingly strong Uruguay (a sign of things to come) in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw in the semifinals, and blanking pre-tournament favorites Argentina 3-0 in the final. Believing he had now proven his point with regards to his star players, Dunga benched both Ronaldinho and Kaká during the Seleção’s final warm-up against the United States in Chicago, which the Brazilians won 4-2. However, critics at home refused to buy into Dunga’s apparent success, and warned that his autocratic approach could well backfire against him.

At first it seemed the critics would prove correct, as Brazil struggled both at home, drawing nil-nil on three different occasions against Argentina, Bolivia, and Colombia, respectively, and away, drawing with Colombia nil-nil in the CONMEBOL qualifiers opening match, 1-1 away to Peru, and losing 2-0 to Paraguay in Asunción. Soon choruses of “Adeus, Dunga” (“Goodbye, Dunga”) rained down from the stands.

The Rise to Prominence

Following Brazil’s second consecutive nil-nil home draw against lowly Bolivia, the Seleção faced a tricky away match against a surging Venezuela. Long seen as the perennial punching bag of South American football, under President Hugo Chavez the Venezuelan National Team had made massive progress in the first decade of the new millennium and, following a strong showing during the Copa America tournament they hosted, now dreamed of an unprecedented spot at South Africa 2010. To do so, they would have to defeat Brazil at home, something that in the past had been inconceivable, yet following an upset win against the Seleção in a friendly played in the United States during the summer of 2008 now seemed entirely possible.

Tensions leading up to the match nearly reached the boiling point as hostile Venezuelan fans attempted to disrupt the Brazilians’ training sessions and made noise outside the hotel in an attempt to deprive the Brazilians of sleep. On the pitch, Brazil taught the vinotintos a harsh lesson on the reality of the game, inflicting a 4-nil thrashing. This result had two important impacts: It relieved some of the pressure on Dunga, whose job was rumored to be hanging in the balance going into the match; and it demonstrated the unity among the players and the coach, who celebrated each Brazilian goal by rushing to hug Dunga on the sidelines.

The hiccough against Colombia at home the following round did little to upset the newfound pace in the Brazilian squad, which went on to record historic away wins against Uruguay (4-0) in Montevideo and Diego Maradona’s Argentina (3-1) in Rosario. The capstone of Dunga’s success was undoubtedly the Confederations Cup title, won in South Africa in 2009. In the final Brazil ruthlessly fought back from a two-goal halftime deficit to deny the United States their first-ever FIFA title, 3-2, showing an offensive ability few had believed possible from the stalwart Dunga, who long professed to prefer defensively sound tactics to the “Jogo Bonito” identified with the Brazilian game.

Flaws in the System

Consolidation of Dunga’s status as the mastermind behind a resurgent Brazil came with the numbers following qualification, in which Brazil finished top with a table-leading thirty-three goals scored, as well as the fewest goals conceded at eleven. However, things were not as solid as they seemed. Dunga, long believing the press to have played a major role in the Seleção’s disastrous showing in 2006, as well as maintaining bitter resentment toward the media following their casting of him as the scapegoat for the failure of the 1990 squad, denied the press access to the players, and, apart from carefully arranged press conferences, was reluctant to provide images or information for public consumption.

The press - the powerful television network Rede Globo, in particular - one of the CBF’s biggest sponsors, rose in revolt against Dunga’s harsh stance and began raising questions about his decisions, including his reluctance to call up youthful prodigies Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso of Santos, his reliance on Kaká as a playmaker without a natural substitute on the bench, his refusal to call up an apparently in-form Ronaldinho without offering any explanation, and his continued loyalty to defensive midfielder Felipe Melo, who was coming off a horrendous season at Juventus. 

Doubts surrounding the offensive ability of the Seleção became full-blown warning bells as Kaká, following his transfer from AC Milan to Real Madrid, suffered numerous injuries that kept him off the pitch for weeks at a time. Dunga, trusting the advice of the Brazilian National Team doctors, ignored the warning signs, believing Kaká would once again find his form in time for South Africa.

The Beginning of the End

The two friendlies played by Brazil in Africa prior to the World Cup, against Zimbabwe and Tanzania, respectively, should have shown Dunga that all was, indeed, not well with his trusted playmaker. Still the recalcitrant Dunga refused to seek alternatives for the Brazilian attack, not even as the Seleção struggled in their opening match against North Korea, which the Brazilian coach attributed to “opening round jitters.”

Brazil’s 3-1 win over Ivory Coast was overshadowed by Kaká’s sending off after receiving (unjustly) a second yellow. “Brazil Win – But Do Not Convince” screamed the headlines in local papers following the match. A dull nil-nil draw against Portugal was enough to see the Brazilians through as Group G winners, but the warning bells were sounding more loudly than ever, particularly as Dunga’s long-standing dislike for the press erupted into full-scale war, with Dunga denying media access to any training sessions apart from those mandated by FIFA, and verbally sparring with reporters on several occasions, often resorting to profanity, which did little to earn him sympathy at home. Still there was a glimmer of false hope after the Seleção demolished Chile 3-0 in the Round of Sixteen. Even the press proclaimed that “the Seleção are apparently finding their footing.”

Twenty Bad Minutes: The Circle Complete

The first ten minutes of Brazil’s quarterfinal match against Holland seemed to confirm that sentiment, as Brazil repeatedly found holes in the Dutch back line, having one goal disallowed for offsides before Felipe Melo slotted a perfectly placed through-ball for Robinho to open up the scoring. Brazil continued to dominate the first half, though without the offensive flair demonstrated in the first ten minutes; Dunga, apparently, was reluctant to risk leaving his side open to Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben on a counter-attack.

The events of the second half are now legend. Following an own-goal resulting from a horrible attempt at a clearance by goalkeeper Júlio César that Felipe Melo deflected into his own net, Wesley Sneijder was left unmarked on a corner kick, heading in Holland’s second goal of the match and leaving Dunga’s side with a most unfamiliar task: Playing catch-up.

It was a task for which this Seleção was ill-equipped to handle. Things went from bad to worse when Felipe Melo, long the focus of the Brazilian media’s criticism of Dunga’s team, lost his temper and stamped on Arjen Robben, receiving a straight red. Brazil, now in total disarray, were unable to organize any offensive threat, and Holland emerged from the match deserving winners. The Dunga Era was in shambles.

Facing the Music.

Unlike his predecessor’s squad, however, Dunga’s Seleção did not display apathy in the result. To a man, they boarded a chartered flight home to Brazil, ready for whatever reception they might receive.

They soon found out that the Brazilian public was not at all pleased with their failure in South Africa. Whereas the Argentine, Paraguayan, and Chilean sides were all welcomed home with parades, flags, and fireworks, the Seleção received verbal abuse, curses, and, in one case, oranges (the symbol of Holland) hurled at them as they emerged from the airport. Painted as the ultimate scapegoat for the defeat, defensive midfielder Felipe Melo required an escort to leave the airport in Rio de Janeiro.

Only Dunga, upon landing at home in Porto Alegre, received a warm welcome, as the Gaucho people applauded him. A tired smile on his face, the defeated Brazilian coach waved. Later, he would discover through a communiqué published on the CBF website that he and his entire technical staff had been sacked by President Ricardo Texeira.

The Dunga Era was dead.

The Phoenix Rises

In a press statement, Dunga thanked his players, the CBF, and the Brazilian people for the support he and his team had received over the four years since he’d taken up the reins of the Seleção. He also had a message for his successor, in which he promised that the team spirit present in this national team is still there, and should make his task an easier one than what he himself had faced.

Speculation has already emerged as to who will take over the Brazilian team for the 2014 World Cup, to be played on home soil, a list that includes Corinthians coach Mano Menezes, São Paulo’s Ricardo Gomes, Fluminense’s Muricy Ramalho, and former AC Milan coach Leonardo. Yet perhaps none of these names carries as much weight, or can count on as much popular support, as that of former Portugal, Chelsea, and Brazil coach Luis Felipe “Big Phil” Scolari.

Set to take over at São Paulo-based Palmeiras following the World Cup, a club he guided to the Copa Libertadores title in 1999, popular pressure for the charismatic Gaucho to take over the Seleção has placed Palmeiras’ plans for Scolari in serious doubt. Palmeiras President Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo has already admitted that Scolari has not yet put ink to paper with Palmeiras, adding fuel to the speculation that “Big Phil” may be negotiating with Ricardo Texeira. A decision is not expected to take long, as the Seleção are scheduled to play a friendly against the United States in New Jersey on August 10, meaning foreign-based players must be called up no later than July 25.

Whether Scolari or any of the other candidates does agree to take over the Seleção, the task of rebuilding a shattered squad in terms of confidence in time for the World Cup in 2014 seems daunting. As host nation, Brazil will not participate in CONMEBOL qualification, leaving only the Copa America next year in Argentina and the Confederations Cup in 2013 as the only warm-ups for the senior squad – if Brazil make the final of both competitions, that will mean a total of ten competitive matches.

Dunga’s lasting legacy may be a strong sense of unity among his players, but also a devastating lack of credibility with the Brazilian public and damaged relations with the press. His mistakes, especially in placing all his offensive hopes on Kaká’s and Elano’s remaining healthy and his insistence on bringing Felipe Melo to the Seleção, will always be remembered far more than the titles of the Copa America and the Confederations Cup, despite their merits.

It seems likely that, no matter who takes over the national team in this country of 193 million, there will be unfathomable pressure to return to the “Jogo Bonito” of the past, abandoning once and for all Dunga’s more pragmatic approach. Already people like José and his son Ricardo are anxiously watching, waiting, and hoping.

Brazilian attention returns to the domestic game following the Seleção’s exit from the World Cup as Flamengo goalkeeper Bruno becomes a prime suspect in his ex-girlfriend’s disappearance.

The United States and Brazil have a lot in common. Both are huge nations in terms of geographical size; both employ federal systems of governing; both are countries that opened their doors to immigrants, earning the title “melting pot of cultures”; both have passed through tumultuous periods in their histories.

And now, both have seen sports idols fall from grace in the worst manner possible during World Cups.

OJ Simpson – Fallen Idol

Few Americans could forget the images, broadcast live, of the low-speed police pursuit of American football star OJ Simpson in the white SUV driven by his friend Al Cowlings. What many may not have realized at the time was that the pursuit – and subsequent arrest and trial – occurred during the World Cup, held in the United States in 1994 (the pursuit actually occurring on the very day of the opening match in Chicago). By the same token, many foreign audiences, tuned in for the World Cup, probably had no idea who OJ Simpson was or what he was accused of doing.

The trial, OJ’s acquittal, the civil trial that followed (in which he was found liable for the wrongful death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman), and his vow to find “the real killer” (apparently by searching all the golf courses in the United States) have become symbolic among Americans of the failings of the justice system. That OJ was later arrested and convicted for kidnapping and robbery seems a mere footnote to the story.

The Bruno Case

As Brazilians watched events unfold in South Africa during this year’s World Cup, another story has slowly been edging its way into the headlines: That of Bruno Fernandes, goalkeeper at Rio de Janeiro’s largest club, and Brazil’s most popular, CR Flamengo. On June 5, Eliza Samudio, the goalkeeper’s ex-girlfriend and supposed mother of his illegitimate son, disappeared and has not been seen since.

Friends and family have claimed that the girl informed them she was going to Bruno’s weekend cabin in the neighboring state of Minas Gerais (where Bruno is from) to “talk to him.” Anonymous tips to the local police delegation claim that Bruno and two companions beat the girl to death and hid the body in the woods nearby. Police investigator Alessandra Wilke has initiated an investigation into the girl’s disappearance, including a detailed forensic investigation of the car of Bruno’s friend, Luiz Henrique Gonçalvez, or “Macarrão” as he’s known, for traces of blood.

Bruno Jr and the Abortive Effort

Eliza’s father, Luiz Carlos Samudio, also claims that the girl was lured to the cabin after the player promised her he would acknowledge paternity of her son, Bruno, which he has thus far refused to do. Following the girl’s disappearance, a search for the four-month old child found him with an as-of-yet unidentified woman in the town near the cabin. Dayane Fernandes, Bruno’s wife, claiming that Eliza “abandoned the child”, was taken in for questioning and later released. The child was later returned to Eliza’s father.

Bruno, in a public statement, claims that Eliza left the child with Macarrão in order to resolve “personal issues”, and that he is “upset” by the situation and hopes she is found soon, “alive and well.”

Added to the confusion of the case are the claims that, while Eliza was pregnant, she denounced Bruno for trying to force her to have an abortion, which is illegal in Brazil. Traces of substances to cause abortions were discovered in urine samples given by Eliza in October of last year and are now being analyzed in a separate criminal investigation by forensic specialists of the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police to determine their source. Experts have claimed that the substances could be present as the result of smoking and drinking, but that detailed analysis would be able to determine how they were ingested. Results of the tests should be available on Monday, July 5.

The Ring Closes In

Despite Bruno’s claims that he hasn’t seen the girl “in a couple months”, investigators consider him a “prime suspect” in what has become a murder investigation, and believe it is just a question of time until the body of Eliza is recovered. As recently as July 2, Fire and Rescue teams were dispatched to the cabin’s grounds after anonymous sources claimed a body was seen in a cistern.

Bruno’s club, Flamengo, having already dealt with unwanted bad publicity following well-publicized cases involving strikers Adriano, currently with AS Roma of Italy’s Série A, and Vágner Love, have suspended the goalkeeper from the first team, allowing him to train with the youth team to maintain his form.

Whether or not the player’s involvement in the disappearance will ever be proved, the damage to his future has undoubtedly been done. Once seen as a rising star in Brazilian football and a potential national team player, a series of scandals - of which Eliza’s disappearance is the latest - have plagued the player in recent years, including a well-publicized case in Brazil involving a party at the same weekend cabin in which friends of the player allegedly beat prostitutes hired by the Flamengo keeper as well as an incident during Flamengo’s unsuccessful Libertadores Cup run in 2010 in which the keeper, wearing the captain’s armband, insulted Flamengo supporters following the Rio club’s 4-3 loss in the Maracanã.

It seems almost impossible to believe that eight short months ago Bruno and his Flamengo teammates seemed to be on top of the world after their championship campaign in Brazil’s Série A, ending a drought of seventeen years. Brazilian authorities are nevertheless determined that, unlike the American investigation of OJ Simpson that became the butt of jokes worldwide, they will ensure that no detail will be left to chance, no matter who might be involved. Popular opinion has turned against Bruno as well, particularly among the Flamengo supporters who chanted Bruno’s name just last year.

How the mighty have fallen.