I remember the 1994 World Cup vividly, despite being only 7 years old at the time. I remember all of the teams and their fancy colors, but only one stood out to me. That yellow clad, spirited jersey that would always define Brazil. As a nation, soccer is important to Brazil. The nation of a million critics as its known, the economy thrives when the Brazilian national squad succeeds. The carnivale like atmosphere that surrounds its people is always more festive when Brazilians celebrate victory on the field. And as the popularity of Brazil’s soccer rose throughout the 90s, coming up with such marquee names as Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and others, seeing the prestigous Nike swoosh stitched on those same yellow jerseys would be a very good thing….right?

Well, something has changed in the years since. The Brazilian brand of soccer has always been described as magestic. I’m sure that many have heard or read about how a true Brazilian squad creates art on the pitch and plays as if they were in a trance dancing to the samba, not playing some rough and tug sport. But ever since the rise in popularity of that “brand” aspect of Brazil, thriving off of the concept that you could take these magical players and market them to Europe and around the world, the samba has been a little less joyful to watch.

When I say that “Nike owns the Samba” I don’t mean that Nike is the main or only culprit for the gripes I’m about to bestow here. But its the idea of the rags to riches story of many of the Brazilian players, well funded by Nike and other global enterprises, that has caused Brazil to lose some of its luster. The way that the Brazilian fans talk about their players puts those players on a mythological pedastal. Pele, Ronaldo, Leonardo, Zico…all are heroes to a true Brazilian in some way or the other. Yet, why was it that after the disappointing end to the 2006 World Cup that the so called “best player in the world” Ronaldinho was seen partying along with teammate Adriano? The bottom line is money. These players are very good and more than capable of leading their nation, but between their club teams, jersey sales, appearances, and everything else that they profit from, there has been a loss of appeal for the good old days of just going out and representing your country in the Brazilian game.

The gripping thing is that names like Ronaldinho or Robinho are still heroic in some senses. Soccer fans worldwide still grow up around the notion that they want to be as skilled as those kinds of players. But for Brazil, its been a long time between those 1994 Umbro jerseys and the Nike ones currently in use, amongst every other brand that can sponsor the Brazilian squad. And in that time, there has been players slacking off for their national squad or flat out refusing to participate unless its on a big stage. Sure, coaching preferences and the Brazilian federation of soccer players into that. But, I still believe it comes to the money aspect.

Don’t get me wrong. Economics are a substantial aspect of sports. You need to sell a product and soccer is a product. But as a fan of Brazil myself, I dream of the player that represents his country and plays for the passion of the game. But with all of these other enterprises owning a part of the samba, the desire and magic in the players hearts isn’t always there, despite their unreal capabilities. You see bursts of those capabilities(Ronaldinho, pre-World Cup, Ronaldo during the 2002 World Cup), but then you have to hear the jaded stories of top players losing their form (Adriano demoted back to a Brazilian club after having poor form and battling alcoholism in Italy).  I believe that despite the fame and fortune from the merchandise and video game deals, the top flight Brazilian players need to put the soul back in their samba. Afterall, it was that whole notion of Brazil, magic, and a different style of soccer that the world loves to watch that created the oppurtunities for the many Brazilian footballers worldwide.