Brazilians are passionate about soccer, and it is undeniable that soccer plays a huge part in their culture. Recently, this passion made its way to Florida. The Florida Citrus (FC) Series Soccer Week brought four of the biggest teams in Brazil and one from the United States together in a series of games streamed throughout the world. The games mainly took place in Orlando City’s home stadium, Inter CO stadium. In celebration of ten years of the FC Series, four games were played between these teams from Jan. 15 to Jan. 25.
The tournament ended with ties in all games except the finals. In the finals, Atletico Mineiro faced Orlando City in a game that was decided by penalties. Orlando City won 6-5 and took home the Inter and CO Cup.
As these teams made their way to Florida, so did their famously enthusiastic fans. Some fans are what Brazilians call “roxos” which directly translates to purple, but means “hardcore fans.” Upper School English teacher Ms. Franklin, who lived in Brazil, remembers the enthusiasm of roxos everywhere. “I lived in an apartment by the beach, and it was quite far from the stadiums,” she said, “but I remember on days where there would be big games, and the city would just stop. All you could hear were just the screams and cheers coming out of the stadiums and apartments. I also remember the cheering from either side of the stadium. It was fun. I miss it.”
For the FC tournament, passionate fans followed their favorite teams, bringing jerseys, chants, flags, and anthems with them. This reflects just how entrenched soccer is in everyday life for many Brazilians. All over the country, people have their “times de coracao” or their “heart teams” that they support throughout their lives. In Brazil, people play soccer however they can, anywhere they can, from the favelas with goals made out of two flip flops to big stadiums like Maracana, MRV and Morumbi.
Brazilian Upper School RECS Teacher Mr. Silva said, “I played soccer throughout my life until high school. It brings me together with my family, especially my dad.”
This love of soccer can also connect people from different cultures. Over the course of the tournament, U.S. soccer players and fans had the opportunity to interact with Brazilians, showing that soccer can bring people together from all over the world.
