World Cup Dummy: The Myth of Jogo Bonito Edition
Howler’s World Cup podcast on the semifinals, national soccer identities, and FIFA’s policy on head injuries.
Listen to Dummy with David Goldblatt, Danny Karbassiyoon, and George Quraishi by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:
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Throughout the World Cup, Slate’s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen will have a special treat: a podcast extra from our soccer-obsessed friends at Howler magazine.
On today’s episode of Dummy, David Goldblatt, Danny Karbassiyoon, and George Quraishi sift through the aftermath of the semifinals and probe the effect of the 7–1 loss on Brazilian soccer. They also talk about national soccer identities like jogo bonito, “total football,” and Catenaccio, and discuss whether they’re still relevant. This tournament has seen a few dangerous head collisions and possible concussions, including Javier Mascherano’s scary injury, and epic performance in the semifinals. The roundtable discusses FIFA’s response to head injuries. They then talk with Matt Negrin, freelance journalist and founder of the website Away and Home, about his experience covering the only indigenous professional team in Brazil. Finally, they hear a submission from their call for World Cup poems.
Here are links to some of the topics mentioned on the show:
- David Goldblatt on the myths of Brazilian soccer.
- Tactical analysis of Brazil vs. Germany.
- The NFL’s concussion protocol.
- Taylor Twellman’s experience with head injuries.
- Concussions at the World Cup, including FIFA’s rules.
- Mascherano’s performance, his decisive tackle, and its unfortunate toll. Ouch.
- Matt Negrin’s site Away and Home and Twitter page.
- Matt’s story on the first indigenous professional soccer team in Brazil.
- Valerie Hamra, author of the World Cup poem, on Twitter.
- The most popular three words describing each World Cup squad, according to a Cambridge University Press study.Wright Thompson’s “Scenes of Defeat on the Streets of Brazil.”
- All four American national anthems from the World Cup by Alex Abnos.
Podcast production and edit by Matthew Nelson and Ryan Catanese.
You can email the Howler crew at hello@howlermagazine.com.