I villainized Andreas Pereira once. It was in the 2021 Libertadores final, when the then Flamengo midfielder lost a ball in defense that resulted in Deyverson’s goal, Palmeiras’ winner. The title of the column was “Andreas lost his step, the ball, the game and the title”.
Andreas, for Flamengo, played the role of a football villain. And my sights on him focused on the misfortune of the slip-up that ruined everything for the red-and-blacks.
Time passes, the world turns around, and another slip-up appeared in the life of Andreas, who, ironically, now wears the blue and green Palmeiras shirt.
The slip-up this time, which occurred in a recent Campeonato Paulista match against Corinthians, in a classic of one of the biggest rivalries between clubs and fans in Brazil, was not his, but that of Dutch star Memphis Depay.
When taking a penalty, he skated, fell and his imperfect shot went over the baseline. A pathetic move. Final at Itaquerão: Corinthians 0 x 1 Palmeiras.
And what does Andreas have to do with it? As soon as the penalty was awarded, he positioned himself on the penalty spot and rubbed his boot on and around it for a few seconds. No one from the referee saw it, the match continued, and Memphis, after he made a mistake, complained about a possible irregularity on the pitch, supposedly caused by Andreas, which had caused his skid.
Corinthians fans en masse, and journalists in large part, “turned the heat” on Palmeiras’ number 8. Marcelo Bechler, fellow columnist for this Sheetcalled it cheating.
I disagree. What Andreas did is called catimba, something as common and old in football as the game ball being spherical, the grass being green and the referee blowing a whistle. It is an integral element of sport and a trick that makes it peculiar, attractive, vivid. It is essential.
In a tense duel, as a classic usually is, the tricks to try to destabilize the opponents are valid. Games are also won emotionally, psychologically, not just tactically, technically or physically.
Let football be football, have a dose of tension, of provocation. It’s no longer enough for the annoying and boring VAR (video referee) to constantly clutter up, they want to make football a gentleman’s game, cricket, an aristocratic event.
A verbal affront is valid, as long as it is not racist, xenophobic, homophobic or anything else that qualifies as a crime. It is worth, no matter how inelegant it is and subject to being carded, to spit in the round before a penalty is taken by the rival; kick the corner flag in the opponent’s field when celebrating a goal; circle the referee, put pressure on him; drive the ball with your head, as Kerlon, Cruzeiro’s “foquinha” did, 20 years ago.
Don’t like any of this? I recommend watching tennis or, going further, chess.
Is it trickery what Andreas did? AND. If the referee had seen it (not even the VAR saw it, or would have, in derogation from its role, been alerted), it would have been subject to a yellow card. Unsportsmanlike conduct – as the rule states – is thus warned. If it already has yellow, red: for the “shower”.
Regardless of the team you support, you may not like an unsportsmanlike attitude. But cheating is not. It’s catimba, it’s trickery. Which are not prohibited. And that have historically been part of the symbolism and culture of football.
Remember Memphis’ provocation in last year’s Paulista final, when he jumped the ball? I vibrated. It was a mockery, a symbolic humiliation for two seconds. Only football offers these delights, framed in this anti-sporting attitude. Palmeirenses disliked it, that’s part of it. That push and shove, the game continues.
Going up on the ball, Memphis thought it was OK. Not the slip. That he could have prevented himself.
Before taking the penalty, the player goes to the penalty spot to fix the ball. Shirt 10 was. The referee was not asked to point out a hole, unevenness, whatever it was, on the field. Then he makes a mistake and becomes a mess. If it had been a goal, no one would be commenting on Andreas’ foot sweep.
Villainizing Andreas is clearly an exaggeration. Let’s be reasonable to allow football, which is often boring, to have a free ride.
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