O REI DO GOAL @ BARCELONA AND PSV

After Socrates, and before Ronaldo, there really was only one show in town when considering enigmatic Brazilian superstars.

Romário de Souza Faria was born on January 29 1966 in Rio.  Joining Vasco da Gama as a youngster, Romario’s talent was obvious from an early age.  With a low centre of gravity and exquisite control, comparisons to a young Diego Maradona were always likely.  But while Maradona honed his skills as a creator and destroyer, Romario was all about goals.  Considering the toil of midfield as for those lesser mortals with limited ability, Romario declared the penalty box his.  Ask him to track a marauding fullback on progressive endeavours, and the Brazilian was as effective as a jellyfish halting a wrecking ball.  Put a football anywhere within shooting range of an opponent’s goal and you had a rampant leviathan, a rutting stag.

Romario’s greatest legacy is the part he played in Brazil’s world cup triumph in 1994.  But for the top scorer and one of the players of the tournament, it very nearly didn’t happen.

A dispute with national coach Carlos Alberto Parreira in 1992 led to a selection ban which stretched as far as the final qualifier for USA 94, an almost two year exile.  Under intense media pressure to include the striker for a match against Uruguay, Parreira finally relented and selected Romario, who welcomed his return with both goals in a 2-0 win.  Brazil had qualified and Romario was back in the fold.

One of the few players in world football to have (allegedly) scored more than 1,000 professional level goals, Romario was a star in South America, and especially at PSV and Barca during a distinguished, but often controversial, career. 

This video, soundtracked by fellow Brazilian artist Gilberto Gil and featuring Romario at Eindhoven and Barcelona, is more fun than a box full of monkeys.  Genius.

Click the image to watch.

Comments

[Zylber]

Gilber Gil - our former Culture Minister
Romário - Brazilian Congressman since 2010
Can you belive it?