Brazil curses the white curse

How many years does it take to get free from a curse? The Confederacao Brasileira de Futebol (CBF) feels that 69 years are enough time to heal the wounds a hoodoo jersey has made to the average Brazilian football soul. So, they decided something that might be unthinkable in the past: To order a white jersey for the “selecao”, which is to be used as a 3rd choice at the Copa America, held these days in home soil.

White is not only the color of mourning to Catholic Christians, the major denomination in the vast South American country, but also a cursed color for football.

From the beginning of its existence back in 1914, the Brazilian national team used to wear white jerseys with blue shorts as a first choice kit and vice versa (blue jersey, white shorts) as a second kit. That’s the simple way it was, the jersey marketing was a late discovery at football. Brazilians appeared in white and blue in all three first World Cups held before the WWII (1930,1934 and 1938) and kept the same appearance in the fourth one, who was held in their country in 1950.

The “Maracanazo”, Brazil’s bitter 1-2 defeat from Uruguay in huge Maracana stadium at the last match of the tournament, is a chapter on every global history of the game. There were many to blame for this result, which was then considered as a national disaster: The goalkeeper, the central defenders, the traditional weak mentality, the lack of self-confidence, the ill-prepared team, the white jersey… Yes, the white jersey!

Brazilians put the blame on the color and decided to switch to another choice, more lucky one, for the next competition. This might seem hilarious, but was so serious, that a national contest has been held and the first three choices (light blue, green and yellow) have been on a nationwide poll, held by the biggest newspaper in the country! As you may know, yellow won.

The rest is history. Brazil appeared with the yellow jersey and light blue shorts in next FIFA World Cup, held in 1954 in Switzerland. Brazil won five World Cup titles (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002) wearing it and has evolved to the best national football team ever to appear. This gold-like jersey seems like a brand to the so-called “jogo bonito”, the beautiful game, the game everybody wants to see.

There has been no sign of return to the white jersey over the years. Kit manufacturers have never tried to experiment with the Brazilian jersey. The second choice (which remained the same, blue jersey and white shorts) was also typical.

But, what about the third one? A 3rd choice kit, typically a marketing kit helping the manufacturer company sell more, has appeared at national team’s football world these recent years. The first attempt by Nike, Brazil’s official kit manufacturer since 2002, was a dark green jersey for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which has held also in Brazil. However, the national team never used it at an official match.

This year the CBF dared to curse the curse. Due to another home competition, the 2019 Copa America, Nike was given permission to make a white jersey. There was a good excuse for this: Brazil celebrated their first Copa America win back in 1919, wearing the white jerseys, so the kit has historic. But symbolic too: There’s nothing wrong about the color, Brazilians have to accept this at last and admit it!

The “selecao” wore this white-blue-white kit in their opening Copa America match, when they crashed Bolivia by 3-0. For their next games till the semi-final (against Venezuela, Peru and the quarter final vs. Paraguay) they turned to “safe” yellow. Even when you risk, you have to be prudent…