Confederations Cup 2013: Protest, outrage and the 'Pele Dilemma'

Brazil’s victory against Japan, in their opening game of the Confederations Cup, was copiously foreshadowed by a contemptible uproar by fans just outside the stadium premises as vehicles were set on fire by an angry mob accusing Brazil’s Football federation of defrauding the people and using their money to build the lavish World Cup stadiums, when, on the contrary, the funding was supposed to be done by the private firms.

Needless to say, the police was called up immediately to ease out the tension and to silence the agitated protesters, who turned up in large numbers expressing their displeasure at the current state of affairs in the nation.

Many of the activists were wounded during the hassle with the government forces and some of them were even arrested. Smoke from burning tyres fanned out all across the stadium and covered the air. All of this tension apparently manifested inside the stadium simultaneously, as FIFA President Sepp Blatter took the podium, his entire speech was subdued by whistles and booing from the host crowd present inside the Maracana stadium. The fans certainly were successful in expressing their anger and disgust.

In the meantime, after the game concluded in the Maracana stadium, another war was being fought between the king of football Pele and the current Brazilian National team. The ‘Black Pearl’ of football publicly voiced his opinion regarding the team, that the Selecao didn’t have what it takes to compete for the Confederations Cup, with the likes of Italy and Spain also in contention for the ultimate prize .