Still remembered as the best defender Brazil ever had, Domingos da Guia remains a symbol of majestic defending and sovereignty at the back. His nickname – “The Divine Master” – speaks volumes about the admiration people had for one of the first black superstars in soccer. In his book on Brazilian football history, the Dutch author August Willems writes the following about Domingos: Domingos’ football was a lesson in football. Only the greatest could do what Domingos could do. To this day, a tale is told about an incident in a 1931 game between Brazil and Uruguay, the reigning world champions. The Uruguayan striker Dorado, famous for his lightning rushes, dashes towards Domingos, glides past him ánd past the goalie, and tumbles into the goal net amidst a cloud of dust and sand. The Uruguayan players shout ‘Goal!’, hug each other, and want to grab the ball from the net….But the ball isn’t in the goal. As the dust settles, the figure of Domingos emerges, standing cold and calmly, with his foot on the ball, on the edge of the penalty area. Three, four Uruguayans rush toward him, but Domingos moves quickly and evades them all, before giving a sublime pass to a teammate. To this day, when a defender calmly dribbles his way out of the area, he’s said to have performed a domingada – a feat which the crowds love, and coaches hate.
Posted on: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 13:24:44 +0000
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