Will World Cup redeem people's faith in football?
June 13, 2014  00:51

In Brazil, they use the expression "futbol arte" to describe the type of soccer which made the country's world champion team of 1970 so easy on the eye. But no longer -- football has changed, and Brazil has changed too.

 

When it won the World Cup in 1994, the national team's style of play was dubbed "futebol d fora" -- a tougher, more pragmatic approach. And, after a year of violent protests, rubber bullets and tear gas, the romantic ideal of Brazil often portrayed in glossy travel magazines seems hard to imagine.

 

Thursday marks the start of an opportunity for Brazil to redefine itself after a difficult 12 months preparing for arguably the world's largest and most popular event.

 

Read more of James Masters's article on CNN

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