A child named like a Greek philosopher stands motionless at the scene in which his father is destroying the most precious of his treasures: his books. Knowing the secrets behind those books and understanding the thinking of men became the engine of a young man who found in football the perfect setting to mix sport and ideas; joy and social commitment. This is the story of Socrates, the footballer who scored a country on and off the court.
Socrates, the democrat of football (Part I)
Corinthian Democracy.
At the end of the 1970s, Brazil was experiencing a moment of centralism in power. They were mired in a military dictatorship where a few took the decisions of the country. However, the dictatorship was aware that they could not perpetuate themselves in power, so they agreed to a slow and gradual exit from power. All this made that there began to be a margin for popular demonstrations in Brazil, people could go out into the streets and ask for the return of democracy. The objective was the "Direct Now", to be able to elect the President after more than two decades. It was there where football played a very important role.
Corinthians were practically on the verge of relegation, the team and the fans were absolutely demoralized. At the end of 1981 he ended up taking on the sports management of the Adilson Monteiro team, a sociologist who knew little about soccer, but much about man and society. He told the players: "You have to decide what you are going to be from now on" Three of the players who listened attentively to these words at that glorious moment were Socrates and two of his companions, Casagrande and Wladimir. Who would say that the meeting of these three unique players and a very special sports manager would change the history of football in Brazil.
The club began to hold collective meetings so that everything was decided together, this was the birth of Corinthian Democracy. The first objective of this initiative was internal, it was the exercise of freedom with responsibility on the part of a football team. It was a time when everyone wanted to vote and participate, but the dictatorship prevented it. But within Corinthians everything was different; from the utilero to the president of the club they had to decide on what they wanted to do. From things like hiring a new coach to the slightest vote, everyone participated in the club's political life.
As crazy as it seemed, this was a success as the team started to win. The result was that Corinthians was crowned two consecutive champions of the Tournament, in 1982 and 1983. This team gathered talent, skill and desire to win with a dream of a more free and egalitarian society. Socrates said: "How am I going to miss the opportunity to talk to the Brazilians from one thing that we all understand, which is football".
The team began to assume provocative attitudes. In the stadium always stood out the famous banner with the phrase "Win or lose, but always with democracy". Just reading the word "democracy" in the newspapers was encouraging for Brazilians. This initiative raised the level of political awareness of people, showed people how important it was to intervene in the political process through voting.
"For me the ideal would be a perfect socialism, where all men have the same rights and the same duties, a conception of the world without power" - Socrates
The "Direct Now" movement meant that the Brazilian people wanted to elect the president of the Republic immediately. Socrates played with a yellow anklet, which was the color of that campaign, was directly committed to this cause and could be seen assiduously in this type of demonstrations and social gatherings. The motto of this movement was "Everyone has to participate, everyone has to say. The will of the majority has to be heard".
It was then when the Brazilian people began to say: "Those players are right. We must continue with this movement because Brazil needs it. " The truth is that many people felt identified with Sócrates, a soccer player and holder of the Brazilian National Team, going out to the streets to ask for the vote with flags and banners. This was a very different image to what the Brazilian people were used to seeing. He reached the fans of all the teams through the Brazilian National Team and for his undeniable charisma, his character and his warm personality.
"Many times I think if we can one day direct this enthusiasm that we spend in football towards something positive for humanity, because after all football and the earth have something in common: both are a ball and behind a ball we see children and adults, white and black, tall and short, skinny or fat, with the same philosophy, all of them fantasize about their own lives ". - Socrates
People did not see a player of Corinthians in Socrates, they saw a representative of all the Brazilian people, someone who reflected their sufferings and dreams of a better future for all. Socrates and all his companions knew where they were going to end, they were undoubtedly coming to power. Finally Brazil regained democracy in 1985 thanks to Socrates, Corinthian Democracy and a fighting people that yearned for change. The reality is that today many Brazilians know what democracy is thanks to that example of Corinthians. That is the great contribution of Socrates to Brazilian society, because his conquest ended up being that of a whole country and all of its future generations.
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