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Este é o terceiro artigo da série “10 histórias sobre futebol e política“.
3. Algerians play for independence, 1958
by Matthew Weiner for CNN
Halfway through [No meio da] Algeria’s [da Argélia] War [Guerra] of Independence, the French national team [seleção francesa] called up [convocou] a handful [alguns; um punhado] of Algerians [argelinos] playing in the French soccer league [campeonato francês, na França, liga francesa de futebol] for the World Cup [Copa do Mundo] in Sweden [Suécia].
Given the chance [Mesmo com a oportunidade de obter] of glory, fame and fortune, the players [os jogadores, os atletas] chose [escolheram, optaram por, preferiram] national identity instead [chose instead = preferiram]. Rather than [Em vez de] attend [participar de] a pre-tournament friendly [amistoso em preparação para um torneio] against Switzerland [Suiça], they decided to flee [sair, fugir, abandonar] France, gather [se reunir, se encontrar] at the headquarters [no quartel-general, no QG] of the Front Liberation National [Frente de Liberação Nacional] in Tunisia and launch [criaram, formaram, lançaram (lit.)] an “illegal” national team [seleção], risking arrest [correndo o risco de serem presos] for desertion [por deserção] in the process.
Rachid Maflouki had won [havia vencido] the French championship [campeonato] with [jogando pelo] Saint Etienne before getting the call [antes de ser convocado] from Les Bleus [apelido (em francês) da seleção francesa], but decided there were more important matters [assuntos, questões] at stake [em jogo] than [do que] his personal success.
Cf. Falsas Gêmeas: PERSONAL x PERSONNEL
“I didn’t hesitate [Não pensei duas vezes],” he told Ian Hawkey, author of “Feet of the Chameleon.”
Cf. Pronúncia: CH
“Okay [Tudo bem], I would have [teria de] to give up [abandonar, deixar] my club [meu time]. And yes [E claro], I was thinking about the World Cup, but what did that count for [o que era (uma Copa)] in comparison with [comparada a] my country‘s independence?”
Previous:
1. Mussolini manipulates the “man in black,” 1934
2. Austrian star humiliates Nazis, 1938
Next:
4. Zaire players crack under Presidential pressure, 1974
Still to come:
5. The German nation divided, 1974
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
