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ARGENTINA VS BRAZILaquimilwaukee.com online exclusiveARGUABLY FUTBOL'S GREATEST RIVALRY SOMETIMES TURNS INTO A MARKETING BATTLE Back in 2004, the Brazilian national soccer team beat Argentina's team 3-1 in a World Cup qualifying match. Needless to say, that was a huge blow for Argentinean fans.Argentineans are known throughout South America for producing great soccer players. But they also have some sharp marketing minds. Some of those work for Tulipán, a condom company (who knew!) Still feeling the sting of defeat, they came up with the following poster which was put up on walls throughout Buenos Aires. "We're already thinking of revenge," says the text.  Brazilians, not to be outdone, quickly replied with this ad:  On June 18, the two teams will face off in a World Cup Qualifying match. To hear a broadcast of the classic matchup, tune in to Milwaukee's newest Spanish radio station: ESPN DEPORTES 1510 AM on June 18. WHAT FOLLOWS IS THE PRINT VERSION OF ARGENTINA VS BRAZIL STORY THAT APPEARED IN THE MAGAZINE: Argentina is No. 1. Brazil is No. 2. That's how FIFA, the international body governing soccer on earth, ranks the respective South American soccer teams. Indeed, in all of sports, Argentina vs. Brazil is one of the greatest ongoing rivalries. Not only have both countries produced the world's two greatest soccer players, Maradona and Pelé, but they've won seven of the 18 World Cups (Brazil has five, Argentina has two). When they play, a goal scored by one team over the other can lift that entire nation's spirits in a single moment of sheer, overwhelming joy. And a win is like injecting the entire populace with a heavy dose of happiness that lasts weeks, if not months. A loss, however, can have the opposite effect and sink the country into inconsolable grief and disappointment. On June 18, Argentina and Brazil will face off in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in a World Cup qualifying match. Both teams are shoe-ins for next World Cup in South Africa in 2010. But that doesn't matter. National soccer pride is on the line. And that's serious business in Argentina and Brazil. The last time both teams met was in July of 2007 in the final of the Copa América tournament, which crowns South America's best team. Brazil had barely squeaked through the tournament, playing mostly mediocre soccer. Argentina, on the other hand, had played an inspired, precision fútbol that helped them run over strong teams like Mexico. In the final, however, Brazil played like a young Shaquile O'Neil buzzing on a six-pack of Red Bull and quashed the deer-in-the-headlights-looking Argentina team, 3-0. Argentina mourned. Brazil danced. The rivalry goes back many years. In 1946, a championship match between the two resulted in an on-the-field brawl in which a Brazilian broke the leg (and ruined the career) of Argentine captain José Salomón. Argentina got its revenge in the 1978 World Cup, when (many believe) Argentina fixed a match with Perú to keep Brazil from advancing in the tournament. Argentina went on to win that World Cup. Then, in a highly anticipated confrontation in the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Brazil's players struck Argentina's goal post three times and exhibited vastly superior skill and energy. But in the final minutes of a scoreless game, Maradona zoomed past four defenders and then passed the ball to a sprinting Caniggia, who scored to everyone's shock, leading countless Brazilians in the stands and around the world to cry helplessly. |
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