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A abertura da Copa do Mundo de Clubes deu alegria à minha mulher, muito mais entusiasmada e sonora diante da televisão do que eu. Meio torcedora do Palmeiras, meio do Bayern de Munique, ela assistiu a dez gols dos times dela num domingo só — todos dos alemães. É um contraste que faz pensar sobre o papel que a competição ocupará no debate esportivo.
O Bayern meteu dez no Auckland City, da Nova Zelândia, porque ali há a disputa entre um dos principais times profissionais da era contemporânea contra uma equipe que, simbolicamente, pertence ao início do século passado. A começar pelo que há de mais básico, em termos financeiros: enquanto os alemães faturam cerca de R$ 6 bilhões por temporada, com “bê” de bola, os neozelandeses ficam por volta de R$ 2 milhões por ano, com “eme” de muito pouco.
O Auckland é formado por atletas semiprofissionais. Na verdade, eles são supostamente amadores — um jogador é pintor, outro é barbeiro. Existe desconfiança de que quase todos sejam remunerados pra jogar bola, retratada inclusive em reportagem do site neozelandês Stuff, o mesmo que encontrou o balanço financeiro do clube, origem dos tais R$ 2 milhões. Mas o ponto é: mesmo que sejam profissionais mascarados, é um time que parece estar em 1925.
Qual é a graça, então, de um torneio que contrapõe adversários de tamanha desigualdade financeira e esportiva? É aqui que a coisa fica divertida. Podemos assumir que o Bayern e outra meia dúzia de europeus está em 2025, ano corrente, com o que há de mais moderno em termos de técnica e tática, preparação física e psicológica, os melhores jogadores. E já pudemos concluir que o Auckland está no outro extremo, em 1925, na era amadora. E nós?
Embates entre brasileiros e europeus no Mundial de Clubes que a Fifa organiza anualmente são insuficientes, sabemos. É um jogo só, sem incentivo financeiro algum, num momento pouco propício do calendário. Aquele papo de que os europeus não dão bola para o torneio não é de todo infundado, embora os times daqui tenham perdido todas já faz mais de uma década. A partir de agora, a Copa vai proporcionar a chance, de quatro em quatro anos, do tira-teima.
A dinâmica do futebol de clubes é muito diferente do de seleções. O dinheiro de cada equipe fala muito mais alto do que demografia, tamanho da economia dos países, entre outros fatores. Por mais que o Brasil tenha ficado para trás da Europa no futebol de clubes, com seus torneios, o fato de ser o maior exportador de atletas do mundo ainda o coloca entre os favoritos da Copa de seleções. Os nossos jogadores trabalham no exterior e não dependem do mercado doméstico.
Com clubes, o faturamento é determinante, porque permite que se contrate os melhores talentos, mas persiste a dúvida. Este é o pior Porto dos últimos anos, terceiro lugar em Portugal. Empatou com o Palmeiras, sem gols. Como se sairão outros europeus diante de Botafogo, Flamengo e Fluminense? A resposta para a pergunta virá ao longo dos próximos dias e nos dará, pela primeira vez, a percepção mais clara sobre em que época vivemos. Se estamos em 2025, 2005 ou 1985, a competição com o formato de Copa vai finalmente acertar os ponteiros.
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