#1950WorldCup

[curiositydidnotkillthecat2]

Something about unlucky athletes

One of the unluckiest goalkeepers in football history was the Brazilian Moacir Barbosa. He was the man in goal during the historic 1950 Maracanã final, when the Seleção suffered a shocking 2-1 defeat against Uruguay. Barbosa would forever, and unfairly, be remembered as the goalkeeper of the Maracanazo—the one who conceded Ghiggia’s decisive goal and became the scapegoat of an entire nation for the loss that cost Brazil the dream of winning the World Cup on home soil. He was the first Black goalkeeper for Brazil’s national team and one of the most successful players in Vasco da Gama’s history. However, his talent and achievements were overshadowed by that single event, and Barbosa became known to everyone as "the goalkeeper who made Brazil cry." Mothers would even point him out to their children on the streets of Rio, as though he were a warning.

In 1993, Barbosa went to the Maracanã to watch the national team train for the 1994 World Cup, but he was recognized by one of the coach’s assistants and asked to leave the stadium. It was feared that his presence might bring bad luck. Thus, the goalkeeper of the Maracanazo became a victim of his nation’s hatred and prejudice, spending the rest of his life in social isolation. For Brazilians, it was as if he had never existed, condemned to eternal oblivion.