What is Joga Bonito and how it became a major marketing phenomenon in 2000s soccer

Perhaps these two words have come up in conversations. Perhaps they have been said by people in the world of sports. They are not the simplest words, and it is difficult to guess the meaning on your own. What it is, why it is and why brands call their collections this way, we tell you below.

Tell me, how does it translate?

Sport is permeated with rules, regulations and norms on the one hand, and rituals, omens and philosophies on the other. It is the latter that we are talking about.

Joga Bonito means “Play beautifully” in Portuguese. In fact, these words became one of the soccer philosophies in the first place. Naturally, you have to play according to the rules of fair-play, but nothing forbids you to play beautifully.

Fair play is a set of ethical and moral laws based on an inner conviction of nobility and fairness in sport. The Fair Play movement is led globally by the International Council for Sport Science and Physical Education, founded in 1958. The origin of the term is not related to sport, but rather to ethical medieval concepts dating back to the rules of jousting. The phrase fair play is first used by Shakespeare in his chronicle King John.

Obviously, the ideas of “beautiful soccer” were formed long before the end of the twentieth century. But they were fully developed before the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

At that time, “beautiful” was associated, first of all, with Brazilian footballers and the national team, in which Ronaldo and Ronaldinho played. It was impossible to imagine anyone else who could subdue the ball with the same grace and technique.

That style of play, qualities and skills that showed Ronaldinho, bought even those who were far from the ideas of athleticism and sports in general. He was one of those who fit perfectly into the concept of a beautiful game.

Why did this become a phenomenon?

The cultural phenomenon took place because it had all the necessary components: a creative concept, a competent marketing strategy, a budget, and the most popular game of all time. By the way, Nike was not limited to Brazilians alone.

While watching the videos, people found something of their own. Some were interested in watching the technical tricks and feints, others were mesmerized by the beauty of movements, and others simply saw their idols, on which they tried to be equal in everything.

The fact that the clips brought the “gods” down from heaven to earth: standard and without excessive preparation for the game in the Brazilian locker room or Henri’s fun on an ordinary backyard box and, of course, the opportunity, even through the screen, to visit a training session of Manchester United. Minimum of pathos, maximum realism.

Fabio Aleixo

Brazilian journalist in Moscow

Joga Bonito – I think it’s more of a philosophy. To be honest, there’s not much talk about it in Brazil at the moment. I think this phenomenon was popular before, in Pele’s time. When the Brazilian national team lost to Italy in the World Cup in Spain, in ’82, it was said that it was the last Brazilian team to show such a Joga Bonito. Now, maybe it’s some kind of “brand” to keep foreigners interested. But in Brazil, the term hasn’t been used for a long time. Commentators and journalists say that the Brazilian national team should always show good and beautiful soccer, but we know that this is very rarely the case. Today’s Brazilian national team does not show such soccer anymore.

The 1958 World Cup was a landmark for the ideology of Joga Bonito. Pele, Garrincha, Didi, Wawa and Mario Zagallo – the golden generation of Joga Bonito – played for the Brazilian national team in Sweden. Coach Vicente Feola used the idea of playing for fun, a philosophy that later revolutionized soccer.

The Brazilians were not only filigree in possession of the ball, but they also fought their opponents single-handedly. Unlike other teams, passes of the ball were made only for the sake of the pass itself to the player who had the best position on the field. There was no desire to keep the ball throughout the game, as the main thing was always to create chances and score goals.

Joga Bonito was not a strategy but a state of mind. Each player used his technical skills combined with creativity not just to score a goal, but to do it beautifully. The philosophy of this style of play has been passed down in the Brazilian national soccer team from generation to generation. Between 1958 and 1970, the yellow-green team managed to become world champions three times and popularized the ideals of “beautiful soccer” with great success.