Corinthians vs Palmeiras
Elias Jabbour
If you wait for a great text with a lot of persuasive arguments with pros and cons, forget it. I`ll try in this space to launch some views on the most traditional soccer player of São Paulo City. Yes, I`m living in Rio but I was born in São Paulo and I`m a fanatic Corinthians fan. This is the first positive argument in favor of visiting this soccer game: you`ll be in front of a great historical event where the two most traditional Brazilian soccer clubs play a very very emotionant game!
Remarkable is the history of them. Corinthians emerged from a proletarian class in 1910. At that time soccer was a sport only played by rich people. Corinthians was vanguarda with black players. In a couple of years became the first one in terms of followers. Palmeiras was born with another name: Palestra Itália. During the Second World War it changed its name to Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras. It was founded in 1914 by Corinthians’ dissenters and quickly turned into the Italians soccer club. In my view this game is the face of São Paulo City: A mix between Italian immigrants becoming early proletarians in the first days of São Paulo industry and the black people whose origin lies in Africa. This is a great pro: is not a simple game. Threat is a historical game.
The second pro is very simple. That’s the most historical game of the Brazilian passion: soccer. Soccer is the most popular sport in Brazil. Carried by the English teams — and absorbed in first place, by the elites and then by the whole people — in journey by Brazil in the first years of the past century. Brazil is the “country of soccer”. When you go to Brazil don’t forget to put in your favorite event to watch a great soccer game. In São Paulo, the classical Corinthians vs Palmeiras.
On the cons. My first words in this text indicate a clear direction against the “persuasives arguments”. I`ll continue in a low profile style. In a side historical argument on the basys to “pros”. Now the circumstance-led argument. Brazil is a very unstable country with a dairy case of violent social confrontation in soccer arena between police and fans or between fans against themselves. Is it possible you are in the middle of a “battle”? I don´t know. But Brazil is a country where the people put your bad feelings in some events. Soccer is a way to put out a mix of bad feelings and social disappointments. Is not a most safe place to visit, in true.
The second contrary advice is concentrated in a question of “show quality”. The best Brazilian soccer players leave the country to play in Europe. The quality of Brazilian soccer falls rapidly. If you love a great soccer game, avoid watching a game of Brazilian Championship. That´s normal the people conclude in Brazil when watching a game of Champions League and comment: “this is another sport”. In this case, if you find a a find good soccer game, particularly in São Paulo, stay in a hotel
