Throughout Latin America, soccer
transformed into one of the highest forms of cultural expression. In his book Soccer Around the World: A Cultural Guide to
the World’s Favorite Sport, Charles Parrish notes how the soccer that
Europe had introduced to the Americas, particularly Brazil, transformed:
As more and more Brazilians took up
the sport, the British amateur ideology was replaced with expressions that
eventually reflected the host culture. English terminology such as
“goalkeeper,” “striker,” and “football” gave way to hybridized or adaptive
terminology such as goleiro, atacantes, and
futebol. The flow of play also
changed as Brazilians replaced the structured and methodical strategies with
their own pace and now familiar rhythm. (28)
Latin Americans brought their own style to the game, placing
a greater emphasis on a player’s technical trickery and “claiming the invention
of the bicycle-kick and bending free kicks” (Goldblatt 192). The game took on
regional and national identities. Local clubs served as manifestations of a
certain neighborhood’s identity, and the club’s “placement within the league
dictated the place the region held within the national context” (Blakeslee 8).
On the world stage, the soccer represented by each Latin American country
directly represented a national identity. Fans physically attending World Cup
matches, wearing their nation’s colors, shared a national interpretation of the
game. Blakeslee notes that “Maradona’s infamous “hand of god,” either
symbolized blatant poor sportsmanship or brilliant play depending on whether
one was an English or Argentine fan. Sharing this perspective created a common
experience that united people” (8).
National teams with unique styles of play
sought to unite Latin American societies suffering from class and racial
fragmentation. Skilled players of color began to embody and represent their
country’s national soccer identity on a global scale.
Pelé, arguably the
greatest soccer player of all time, came to embody the Brazilian style of the
game. As a black Brazilian player, Pelé’s superstardom expanded beyond the South
American continent. His fame and impact on the global soccer world was so great
that in 1967, the two sides of the Nigerian civil war called for a forty-eight-hour
cease-fire so that Pelé and his team could travel to Lagos, the capital city,
and play an exhibition game.
Of course, this close relationship between soccer and national identity also increased hostility between nations and ruling governments on and off the field. Military leaders seeking to gain control over their country would use soccer to manipulate their subjects, using the national team’s win as propaganda to unite and pacify a hostile political environment. Soccer, throughout Latin America, has offered repressive governments an outlet through which fans can express their social frustrations and class resentment.
What is
now famously known as the “Soccer War” occurred in 1969 between El Salvador and
Honduras, two nations that had been struggling through economic and
environmental conflict for over thirty years. Frustrations escalated to
violence after the Honduran government enforced a land distribution law that
left thousands of Salvadoran immigrants, occupying Honduran land legally or
illegally, homeless. The countries met in the first of a three-game series that
would decide which nation would play in the 1970 World Cup, and after the end of
the third match, won by El Salvador, war broke out between the two military
regimes. When a ceasefire was issued nearly one week later, 6,000 people had
been killed, 12,000 were wounded, and 50,000 individuals lost their fields,
homes, and villages (Bar-On 48).
The
impact of the television on Latin American soccer has strengthened the emotional
connection of the fans to the game and democratized the game’s audience.
Goldblatt writes, “Football, a central strand of urban life in Latin America
for seventy years, has become utterly pervasive. The television audience, and
to some extent the crowd at the stadium, has become more cross-class, and,
though still a definite minority, it has become more feminine” (776).
Television has transformed the private lives of star players into soap-operas,
building dramatic narratives between players before rivalry games. The television, while
solidifying and expanding Latin America's soccer identity among Latin American fans, has also made Latin American athletes and
the Latin American style of play more globally accessible. Today, the top
European clubs are able to recruit top-class Latin American players through a
global network of scouting, agents, and film. These players transfer to
European clubs, expanding the presence of Latin American soccer throughout the
globe. When Barcelona played Manchester City in England this past February of 2015, there were nine Latin Americans on the field--almost half of the total players needed to play the game. Many Latin American stars (like the ones below) play for European club teams and their Latin American national team.
Lionel Messi (Argentina) 
Neymar da Silva Santos (Brazil) 
Alexis Sanchez (Chile)
.jpg)
Recent
scholarship has begun to explore the soccer played by Latin Americans
throughout the United States as a manifestation of an immigrant identity and
social network. In their essay “Soccer and Latino Cultural Space: Metropolitan
Washington Fúbol Leagues,” Marie Prince and Courtney Whiteworth argue that
immigrant-run soccer leagues “link immigrants (mostly men) with their
communities of origin. Leagues create a cultural space that is familiar,
entertaining, practical, inexpensive, transnational, and ephemeral, where
immigrants gather to reaffirm their sense of identity and belonging” (168). The
soccer field represents the “Thirdspace” of immigrant life—the tension between
the “lived-in space” and a “perceived or remembered space of the country of
origin” (Prince and Whiteworth 169). Because of the game's success throughout Latin America, immigrants in the United States who value soccer connect the game to their national identity.
Lionel Messi. Digital image. The Guardian. N.p., 11 July 2014. Web. 1 Oct. 2015.
Works Cited
Alexis Sanchez. Digital image. 101 Great Goals. N.p., 30 December 2014. Web. 1 Oct. 2015.
Bar-On, Tamir. "The Soccer War." The World
through Soccer: The Cultural Impact of a Global
Sport.
Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 48-60. Print.
Cemento De El Salvador. Digital image. Military History
Now. N.p., 8 May 2012. Web. 1 Oct.
2015.
ClassicEngland. “Maradona ‘Hand of God’ Goal 1986 World
Cup.” Online video clip. YouTube.
YouTube, 27 April 2012. Web. 1
October 2015.
Goldblatt, David. The Ball Is Round: A Global History of
Soccer. New York City: Penguin, 2008.
Print.
Lionel Messi. Digital image. The Guardian. N.p., 11 July 2014. Web. 1 Oct. 2015.
Neymar. Digital image. Forbes. N.p., 6 January 2015. Web. 1 Oct. 2015.
Parrish, Charles, and John Nauright. Soccer Around the
World: A Cultural Guide to the World's
Favorite Sport. Santa
Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2014. Print.
Pele. Digital image. Wikipedia. 2 Oct. 2015. Web. 3 Oct. 2015.
Prince, Marie and Courtney Whitworth. "Soccer and
Latino Cultural Space: Metropolitan
Washington Fútbol Leagues." Hispanic
Spaces, Latino Places. Austin: University of Texas
Press, 2004. 167-86. Print.
