4. Zaire players crack under Presidential pressure, 1974

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Ulisses Wehby de Carvalho

Este é o quarto artigo da série “10 histórias sobre futebol e política“.

by Matthew Weiner for CNN

It’s remembered [Lembra-se] as [como] one of the World Cup’s [da Copa do Mundo] funniest moments [lances mais engraçados], but the truth [a verdade] is much darker [mais obscura]. Already 3-0 down [Já perdendo por 3 a 0] and facing [enfrentando, encarando] a Brazilian free-kick [tiro-livre, falta], Zaire’s right-back [lateral direito] Ilunga Mwepu seemingly [aparentemente] forgot the rules [as regras] of the game [do futebol], charged [saiu correndo, partiu] at the ball [em direção à bola] and hoofed it away [deu um bico (na bola)] before the whistle had even been blown [antes de o juiz apitar].

The Leopards [Os Leopardos (apelido da seleção do Zaire], the first sub-Saharan African nation [país da África Sub-Sahariana] to reach [a chegar a] the finals [a uma Copa do Mundo; a fase final (da Copa excetuando-se as eliminatórias)], had already been humiliated 9-0 by Yugoslavia before losing 2-0 to Scotland, and were told [foram informados] by President Mobutu’s henchmen [capangas] that if they lost [se perdessem] to Brazil by more than [por mais de] three goals they wouldn’t be allowed [não poderiam, não teriam permissão] to return home.

“Do you think I’d deliberately make myself look like an idiot [faria papel de idiota de propósito]? You have to remember we were playing [jogávamos] for our lives [por nossas vidas],” he said in the book “Death or Glory, the Dark History of the World Cup” by Jon Spurling.

Mwepu’s act of “madness [loucura],” it turns out [no final das contas], was in fact [na verdade] a very sane attempt [uma tentativa muito sana] to waste time [de fazer cera].

Previous:

1. Mussolini manipulates the “man in black,” 1934
2. Austrian star humiliates Nazis, 1938
3. Algerians play for independence, 1958

Next:

5. The German nation divided, 1974

Still to come:

6. Argentine junta swaps grain for glory, 1978
7. Iran’s football revolution, 1998
8. Germany enjoys “Partyotism,” 2006
9. The Koreas refuse to play nicely, 2008
10. Football diplomacy between old enemies, 2008-09