The player, who played for Juventus, Palmeiras, Portuguesa and Fiorentina, in the fifties, gave an interview to Jovem Pan
Going through the files Young Pan I found an interview in which Julinho Botelho (1929-2003), a right winger who played in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, was pessimistic about Brazil’s participation in the World Cup in Argentina in 1978. The former player complained that the clubs no longer invested in training athletes and said that the floodplain fields were disappearing in São Paulo.
Julinho was one of the biggest names in national sport in the 1950s. The skilled right winger played for Juventus, Palmeiras, Portuguesa and Fiorentina, from Italy. In the 1954 World Cup, he defended the colors of the Brazilian team that was eliminated by the powerful Hungary, in Bern, 4-2, in the quarter-finals. The athlete scored one of the goals for the team led by Zezé Moreira.
In 1958, the winger he was playing for Fiorentina. When he was approached by CBD (currently CBF) to compete in the World Cup in Sweden, he declined the possibility of defending the national colors. Julinho, known for his correction, thought the possibility of taking the place of someone who was playing in Brazilian football was unfair. At the end of May, he returned to the country to defend Palmeiras. At the time, the press discussed exhaustively: who was better, Julinho or Garrincha?
In 1959, after the team’s first world title, the winger was called up for a friendly against England, at Maracanã, and would play in Garrincha’s place. The fans were not satisfied with Mané’s absence and booed Julinho, who had a blast in the game, scored one of the goals in the 2-0 victory and left the biggest stadium in the world applauded.
In 1978, Julinho had hung up his boots, but worked with Portuguesa’s youth teams. In an interview with Wanderley Nogueira, he demonstrated pessimism regarding Brazilian football and bet that Argentina would be in the final of that year’s World Cup. The home team not only qualified for the final, they were champions. Regarding Brazil, coached by Cláudio Coutinho and which came in third place, the former player was pessimistic.
Another very rare recording available at Memória da Pan.
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Jovem Pan.
