Art of Ginga

 

The story all begins in one of the slum in Brazil in the year of 1940. It was a cloudy night. Dark clouds drifting over the hills and thick clouds blotted out the stars. The wind was icy and withering. The sky was low and black. The weather was just like the feeling of Jim and Merry.

Mary  : Babe, I think I’m pregnant again.

          Jim     : Seriously?!?! Oh god, what a joke! You know our life was hard        enough and now one more?

          Mary  : What can I say? I told you to be careful and what have you done? I know it is very difficult for our life but think it in the positive way, it is a gift from our father god, how many families in this world wanted a child but they can’t get, we must appreciate it. Besides from that, although we had 5 children but I believe that this will be the last one and this little fellow will bring us luck. Stop blaming and try to fix the problem, the problem wouldn’t disappeared itself, you silly fellow!

          Jim     : Alright. In this case, I think I need to work harder to maintain our daily income and the quality of our life. Hopefully this child will bring us luck and stop the turmoil in this world.

After some discussion and some war in deep thought, Jim and Mary had decided to keep this child just because they think that it is a gift from father god and they shouldn’t abandon the child easily. The world of football will be going to have its biggest revolution in the upcoming 20 years and the ranking of Brazil will shoot up like a rocket just because of their decisions.

          Time flies as money flow, after 10 months of waiting, “Godfather” had arrived. As other kids in the slum, he doesn’t have the chance to go to school. The only thing that can be done is playing around and helping out his father, Jim in the grapefruit field. The heat settled in on them, rolling in like a heavy blanket and pressing them deep into their chairs while their clothing glued to their skin every single day. Although is hot but it is also a natural training to built up strong physical and mental. Wake up at 4 every morning and work until 12 in the afternoon in the grapefruit field had been one of his daily routines. His desire of going to school had been increasing tremendously day by day. But what can he do, every child in the slum live the same way so as their siblings and neighbour. The only way to run out of this situation is participate in politic, be one of the member in the government or be a superstar like footballer.

One of the requirement to join the government is base on the education background which means that if you want to participate in it, you must at least finish primary school. Certainly, this it is a mission impossible to him due to his background and the only way to change this situation is to be a superstar in his favourite sports ------ football. What to do if you want to play football but if you doesn’t have the money to buy a football? Use cola tin. What to do if you doesn’t have a proper location to train or to play football? Just play wherever you want, roadside, house, beach and even palm oil field. Dirty environment, cramped environment, create the most entertainment football style- Ginga.

          Although he had bared in his mind to be a super football player but the condition is really bad. Lack of boots, football, field, goal pole the only thing that exist is sand, tin, grapefruit and tree trunk. Without the protection of the shoe, he wore shocks and put on unwanted cardboard or clothes in his leg playing around the sand day by day night by night just to fulfil his dream. Basically his time can divide into two part, work and football. Everything is under control until the final of world cup 1950.

          That time he was 10 years old, watching the final of world cup 1950 with his family and neighbour in the store of the slum. The final is between Brazil and Germany. The atmosphere is miracle. A very competitive and decisive match. A single goal can change the destiny of the team. 10pm sharp the match had begun. A team full with disciplinary while another team made out of samba style just like a match between a soldier and a warrior. At that moment he doesn’t really understand about winning and losing, all he know is Brazil team will definitely win until 80^th minutes…  Both team played a very good game in 80 minutes, counter attack, play from the side, pass from the goal keeper, everything is perfect until that moment appear. 79^th minutes Germany player foul Brazil player in the penalty box and Brazil team got a penalty immediately, it was the best chance to lead forward because the score of both team remain zero and once they manage to score the penalty then basically world cup belongs to them. Silent, a death air of silent even those audience in front of the tv also forget to breath. Whistle out and the player in charge rush. 10 yards, 8 yards, 5 yards, 1 yard and the leg had reached the ball. The momentum had almost reach to its top. Ball up but save by the keeper. An unexpected long throw by the keeper and the ball had reached to the leg of the striker gracefully. Its one-on-on between the striker of Germany the keeper of Brazil. Goal score as expected and Germany leads the game till the end. Champion of world cup 1950 goes to Germany. Every Brazilian cried, so goes to him. At that moment he finally knew the feeling of pain, disappointed and embarrassed. That day onwards, the idea of helping Brazil to win the world cup had added to his target and life goal.

          After a humiliated defeat, Brazil national team had decided to build up a u18 national team which is used to enforce the level of football and to find football genius all around Brazil. At the age of 16 he has the honour to join the youth football team in Brazil because of his astonishing performance although basically the team is full up with members 17 to 18. What an honour it is but he know that this is only the first step and his final target is to lead Brazil to the top of the world and change the situation in Brazil. During the national tam, he gets to learn proper football technique and practice the proper exercise and his talent had been bursting out more and more. He score more and more goals during competition, 3-0, 4-0 and even 7-0. All these goals all scored by him and he is getting more and more important in the u18 national team. A wiseman once said, the reason why a loser will always be a loser is because loser will jealous those who success and this situation had happened to him because he had become more and more important in the team.

          This situation become more and more obvious after the match with other club when he score four and get one assist. Even the major Brazil national team is considering to take him into the major team instead of u18. Other player started to leave him alone, doesn’t pass to him, doesn’t eat with him and wherever he go everyone else run away from him just because he was too talented. He don’t why is this happening because all he want is just football and no those drama. Luckily at that most difficult time he met his mentor, a guy who change his entire life.

          His mentor was a Malaysian who called Aliban. He is one of the coach of national team and he is also the one who find out the potential of him. Besides from that, Aliban also noticed that the environment and atmosphere in u18 gone wrong wire and he had decided to bring him to the major team without any notice and discussion because he deeply know that a talented person need space and stage to show out their talent and he also deeply trust that he will finish the work perfectly. Once the right decision has done, then everything will go smoothly and sweetly and same goes to the decision of Aliban.  

          At the beginning he felt very uncomfortable in the major team because he is too weak and skinny due to lack of nutrition. Besides from that he can’t cope up with the beat of the major team because he had used to played with Jinga and not passing here and there. He felt very disappointed and frustrated, he even questioned himself whether it is the perfect decision to join it. At this moment Aliban played an important role. He helped him came out of this awful situation and helped him to train and cope up. The most important things is Aliban told him not to give up to Ginga although everyone even the main coach of national team told him to do so because he is the first on to play with it and no one in the world had done so. Aliban know that Ginga is only the way to beat Germany if they faced them in the future and this prediction will be shown up in the next world cup.

          After two years of hard time, training day night, he finally got the chances to play for Brazil national team for the first time and he is the youngest player to play in the world cup. That year he was only 18. Before entering into top 32 there will be some group matches to accumulate points to promote further. He won some chances to play, he even get to play as starting 11 during group matches because he is really, really hardworking and talented. The matches before stepping in into semi-final.  Everything go smooth because Brazil is really a strong team at that moment, until they faced Korean national team in semi-final. Korean team wasn’t a strong team but they play dirtily, pushing, knocking and even kicking had been done by them in semi-final. Everyone were slightly injured included him although he is fast and agile. In the end Brazil team still manage to win the game and step into final and face their old friend, Germany.

          Germany was the biggest boss of Brazil. They beat Brazil down in 1940 world cup final and 1944 world cup semi-final but this time Brazil have their wonder kid and Aliban’s prediction will show the value and energy of him. Before the match start, the atmosphere of Brazil team is extremely down because they were scared of Germany team, they have no confidence to win them, they were phobia towards Germany team. The weather of that day were extremely hot. The sun show its fear to every creature unselfishly and the feeling of him is just like putting water into hot oil because Brazil team play like a kiddo, letting Germany team to score 3 in just 40 minutes and they don’t have a single chance to shoot.

          It was helpless. Even he himself think so. He doesn’t  understand why the main coach sub him up in the second half and doesn’t let him playing Ginga. What’s the point to keep passing and doesn’t shoot? What’s the point to keep listen to a stupid fellow and why not do some change to help the situation. All these mindset came through across his mind and he also think about the vision that settled by him when he was 10. Its time to shine.

          It seems like a century but actually its just a few second and he had decided not to follow the instruction of the coach. He cut off his teammate’s ball and started his show. One man show. He pass by one by one, one and one defender and score the first goal. Although the main coach decided to change him down when the moment he cut his teammate’s ball but after he score the first goal, main coach had realized that this is his generation, this is the generation of Ginga.

          “ Luiz pass the ball to him, faster!!!!!”

          “ Stop passing here and there just pass the ball to him!!!!!”

Said the coach.

The environment between Brazil player is getting warmer and warmer just like the sun is coming out in the winter. After few passes the ball went back to his leg, is time to let Ginga to shine once again. Control the ball in the air, volley the defenders, its just another level of football and he score two more goals. The scores comes to 3-3 and its 85minutes which is almost end of a match. At the moment, Germany set more than 3 people to defence and face him. Maybe it will work in the first half but definitely not now. A powerful header smash into the right top corner of the goal post and the end whistle sound out. Brazil 4-3 Germany. They had finally leave up the first world cup in the history and audience was happy in flurry. Aliban had successfully save him and his country from disaster and his name is------Pele.

          After the world cup, Ginga had been one of the most common style of playing all around the world including those country who criticized it at the first time. Ginga and Pele will forever be stick together and until now, the modern football is still using Ginga as one of their style. Art of Ginga had been one of the basic of football know matter it is physically or tactically and the story of art of Ginga will forever be remember.