The game of soccer, or as I like to call it, fútbol is one of magic. It’s full of flair, emotion and pure passion. Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano paints this whimsical game beautifully in his collection of short vignettes, Soccer in the Sun and Shadow. Through Galeano’s writing, my understanding of fútbol’s meaning and value in Latin American has certainly changed, expanded and deepened. Galeano reveals a pure evil side of the game that was very much unknown to me before reading his work. Galeano’s writing portrays a vivid picture of how fútbol is way more than a game in Latin America. It is a way of life, a means of escape and a beacon of hope and inspiration. As a fútbol player myself, I have come to appreciate the game at a young age, but the way in which I appreciated it was pretty one-dimensional. Galeano’s writing has added another dimension to my way of thinking about the game.
Galeano explicitly talks about the sense of belonging and unity the game can bring to all types of diverse communities. He highlights this in a vignette titled “The Fan” where Galeano highlights how different supporters of different
…show more content…
Galeano recognizes the true pain and suffering that accompanies the joy of playing or watching fútbol: “During the ‘94 Cup a handful of fanatics burned down the home of Joseph Bell, the defeated Cameroonian goalkeeper, and shorty after the Colombian player Andrés Escobar was gunned down in Médellion. Escobar had the bad luck of scoring an own goal, an unforgivable act of treason” (Page 230). Galeano constantly reminds us that fútbol is not always a fairy tale of victory and glory; it can also be a source of anger, frustration and violence. Galeano captures the paradoxical nature of fútbol, where the game can bring people together or tear them