Long-time adversaries, with the first duel dating back to 1921, Atlético-MG and Cruzeiro went beyond their football rivalry and staged one of the most regrettable episodes in the history of football in Brazil.
The decision of the Campeonato Mineiro, at the Mineirão stadium, in Belo Horizonte, ended in a widespread fight between the two biggest clubs in Minas Gerais.
Of the 46 athletes listed for the match, half (23, 12 from Cruzeiro and 11 from Atlético) ended up expelled by the referee.
It is a record in Brazilian football, surpassing Portuguesa x Botafogo, in the 1954 Rio-SP Tournament, when 22 players, all starters from each team, received a red card, after a general lack of control at Pacaembu.
If you haven’t seen the scenes from the Minas Gerais classic, watch it. Not to appreciate, but to be shocked, scandalized by the unrestricted dose of irrationality of the majority of players on both teams. It was a free fight in the open field, with pushing, grabbing, punching and flying.
In stoppage time of the second half, in an attack by Cruzeiro, which was leading 1-0, Atlético goalkeeper Éverson partially saved a shot before grabbing the ball for good. In this escape from the round, Christian, from the blue team, shared with the black team’s goalkeeper.
Éverson didn’t like it and attacked the attacker, “straddling” him, preventing him from getting up. In a matter of seconds, what was seen was a pitched battle between Galo and Raposa starters and reserves, staff in the middle of it.
I found it particularly incredible that the Cruzeiro goalkeeper, Cássio (ex-Corinthians), who was at the other end of the field, 100 meters away, appeared like a bolt of lightning, in a matter of seconds, in the Atletico area. It was the envy of Usain Bolt, and it wasn’t to calm tempers.
A terrible example (I lack a more incisive adjective, as terrible is not enough) of Cássio, of the Atletico Hulk (who are nationally known figures, with a World Cup on their CV), of almost everyone there. They showed how much prehistory reigns in certain situations.
I somehow related what happened to the date, March 8, International Women’s Day. There was no one involved there. It was just a bunch of troglodytes.
Thousands of them turned their shoulders to football, on a Sunday of state decisions, and gathered in various capitals in acts that demanded “enough” with men’s violence. And precisely on that day they show how irascible they can be.
It may be that the majority of Atleticians and Cruzeiro fans who broke their hearts at Mineirão are docile with their wives, girlfriends, and daughters. But it’s hard to believe with this vile and mindless behavior.
On TV, the narrator (Paulo Andrade, unless I’m mistaken), certainly amazed by what he saw and needed to describe, stated that “the next day they will be ashamed” of what they did. Oh yes, without a doubt.
And the excuses will come, already given by Hulk after the game. Who even had the nerve to hold referee Matheus Candançan, a mere spectator of the physical collision, responsible for the event.
Everyone can and should repent. However, it is easy to ask for forgiveness, when the right thing to do is to speak in reflection, something like “it is unacceptable to lose control in this way” and “I am really guilty and I accept receiving the most severe sentence that exists”.
It won’t happen. The same courage they have to start a fight against their professional colleagues disappears when it comes to taking the beating. They turn into cowards.
May the sports court in Minas that will judge them not show the same cowardice. The punishment needs to be, within the limits of what the disciplinary code stipulates, the maximum: 10 to 12 matches of suspension, depending on the level of performance in the fight – which is not that much, it should be more.
This is the only way to learn. Maybe not even like that.
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