The triumph in the World Cup: the celebration of words

The full moon, full of the popular art

Jesús Castañón Rodríguez

The last 30th of June, 2002, the World Cup came to an end, a football trade show where the linguistic terms contend for their particular matches as well. For the Latin-American Community, it has been the happiest day of the 21st century, a new celebration based on words thanks to the Brazil's win, a happy song to transform the moon made of leather into a vibrant tambourine, after showing its crescent and waning phases.

The quarters of the moon

During the eighth of final, the moon made of leather's movement of emotions generated gaudy headlines in Mexico like for example "Senegol de Oro" ("Senegoal made of gold"), to refer to the "gold" goal scored by Senegal against Sweden, and in Spain, with "La media luna ríe, el sol llora" ("The half moon smiles, the sun cries") to describe the final result of the Turkey-Japan match.

For the Latin-American teams, the moon made of leather showed its waning side to Paraguay and Mexico in its "conflicts" with Germany and the United States. It allowed journalese to show the white and red defeat like a goal-keepers' grief between "el galán latino Chilavert y el rubio platino Kahn" ("the Latin and handsome fellow Chilavert and the platinum blonde Kahn"); to greet the tricolor fall by means of an expressive "Bye, se acabó el sueño" ("Bye, the dream ended"); to make the Paraguayan "caer como héroes" ("fall to the ground like heroes") or to show an amateur or fan quarrel near to the Angel of the Independence statue, distressed by the adverse result, like a "tri-fulca", that means a quarrel.

The crescent side was showed to Brazil thanks to an unexpected left-footed shot by Rivaldo, who scored a goal against Belgique. And also the Spain-Ireland match was particularly intense, where the Latin passion's sweat prevailed over a team which analyzed their movements in real time assisted by means of special programs based on information technology. It stimulated the Gallego & Rey's imagination of the pictorial humor to transform the outlines caused by the sweat in the Chief National Coaching Director José Antonio Camacho's shirt into an outline of the map of Spain which ran with sweat. It created the "Romance de Iker Casillas" ("The Iker Casillas's Ballad") so that all the jugglers could sing the epic poetry based on stopping three penalties. It generated a special dimension which altered reality in the headlines. "Las manos de Dios" ("The God's hands"), "Ikermán" ("Ikerman"), "San Iker hizo el milagro" ("Saint Iker carried out the miracle"), "Los tres milagros de Iker" ("The Iker's three miracles"). Or it showed a multiple reality: "España en dos puños" ("Spain in two fits"), to throw into relief the goalkeeper's performance, or the expressive image "pies de geisha" ("geisha feet") to define the Irish mistakes as if they intimidated their forwards' feet.

In quarter-final, the waning moon was Spain with its match against South Korea. The mistakes of a referee transformed grief, sorrow into defeat in angry, in indignant headlines "Atraco" ("Holdup"), "Manos arriba" ("Hands up") and "España cae en los penaltis" ("Spain is defeated due to the penalties") and also in a feeling of pride to "perder con la cabeza alta" ("to lose with pride and honor") at the moment of having coffee with "churros" (~fritters) for breakfast. It was lived through like a great displeasure Matías Prats foresaw the previous day in the Antena 3 Television network, when the special program about the championship was ended hoping the breakfast wasn't transformed into "tila con churros" ("lime flower tea with "churros" (~fritters"))

The crescent moon illuminated Brazil again, country which got rid of the "Trio de Janeiro" ("Trio de Janeiro"), a prediction by means of which the English press referred to the three goals England wanted to score. Finally, the "R empire" kept for itself the mass media's waves and their vibrations which were in the song of the goals filled with emotion and pride the Brazilians' breasts who sang the national anthem and danced along the streets and beaches…

The full moon

The full moon would be completed by Brazil, after the Ronaldo's cannon shot in the semifinals with Turkey and his two goals before Germany in the final. The "R" epic poetry gave rise to highly favorable headlines like "El mejor fútbol del mundo en todos los continentes" ("The best football in the world in all the continents") or "El día más feliz del siglo" ("The happiest day of the century"), but also some puns with the Germanic goalkeeper's name: "Kahntada y final feliz" ("Kahntada" (cantata) and happy end") or "Spiderman" together with the success of the movie "Spiderman" and also because he was the winner of the Lev Yashin prize because of being the best goalkeeper of the championship, nicknamed "La araña negra" ("The black spider").

With an European style based on discipline, order and progress, the Scolari's "combinado"(team) got new quotas. Firstly, the fact of being penta-championships after 7 consecutive wins, 18 goals in favor and 4 against. Secondly, to play the final during three consecutive times (1994, 1998 and 2002). Thirdly, it has got Ronaldo to make equal the number of goals scored by the legendary Pelé in the history of the championship. And fourthly, to include the "R empire" in the ideal selection team, chosen by the FIFA during this final phase: Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho Gaucho and Rivaldo.

The popular art

When the final ended, the night fell in the rising sun country, Japan, while the uncontrollable happiness expressed a special pride. The moon made of leather was a Brazilian tambourine which had influence so that the flags could go up towards the sky, the beats could be stronger and more intense, the breasts could be hit with the hands, the lamentation, Ronaldo's tears could be transformed into the people's tears of emotion and happiness vibrating with the triumph, according to the president of the country's statement. The moon made of leather of the 21st century had yellow and green color, shone like the sun and gave a special warmth to the people who allied words with music to break out as expressions of popular art.

In the Yokohama stadium, firstly, it had the atmosphere of prayer. The goalkeeper's arms, Marcos, in the previous prayer, begging for the Redeemer's help and the Ronaldo's arms in the wind celebrating the goals gave rise to the offering within a circle of coaches, assistant, players…. And secondly, it threw the necessary fantasy to transform a lectern into a podium where Cafú took the Cup. And thirdly, it made the "combinado" (team) go out of the changing room surrounded by songs and musical instruments.

In the streets, beaches and avenues of Japan and Brazil, the influence of the rays of happiness, which illuminated the yellow full moon, "opened", "uncorked" the alliance of the words and the music. In Japan, the fans walked for three hours from the stadium to the concentration's hotel and vice versa to the rhythm of the music intercalating the slogans "¡Todo el mundo lo intenta pero sólo Brasil es el penta!" ("Everybody tries to do it, but only Brazil in "penta"!") and "¡Pen-ta-campe-o-nes!" ("Penta-champions!"). in Brazil, the popular expression of the win surrounded the positive energy of the people: din of fireworks, proliferation of flags in streets and balconies, adornments with bunches of balls hanging on the palm trees, streamers, graffiti, the footballers' caricatures, the flag with 600 meters of length which covered the sambódromo (the area or place for the processions, parades of the samba schools) of Rio de Janeiro, the performance of the national anthem to the rhythm of pagode, the constant sound of samba melodies or axé music in Salvador de Bahía, crowds of people with a hair cut like Ronaldo along the avenues of Rio de Janeiro and Sâo Paulo, planes which wrote in the sky of Brasilia "Penta"…

The linguistic and literary commentary

The linguistic and literary commentary of the second phase of the championship has given us several interesting examples. Among others, the article "Ante julio" by Fernando Lázaro Carreter who attacks at the "cojitrancos" of the language or journalists who use communication inserting rude words and they also spread confusions like "entreno" instead of "entrenamiento" (coaching), "incontinencia" instead of "contingencia" (contingency), "enaltación" instead of "exaltación" (hotheadedness or overexcitement), "ponerse los pelos de gallina" instead of "ponerse la carne de gallina" (to have goose-flesh or goose-bumps).

The literary commentary based on the creation furnishes the "Romance de Iker Casillas" ("The Iker Casillas's Ballad) by Luis Ignacio Parada or the gloss of the current affairs in 21 tenths by Ricardo Bada in the Colombian HJCK radio broadcasting, as well as the literary vision of the Argentinian worry by Horacio Vázquez- Rial or the "greguerías" (image in prose which presents or shows a personal and surprising vision of some aspect of the reality) by the Colombian Óscar Domínguez: "La chilena es un golpe de estado al balón" ("The chilena (shot at the goal or clearance with the feet in the air which lies in kicking the ball backwards with the body in the air and in horizontal position) is a coup d' état to the ball") and "El fútbol es el esperanto de las patadas" ("Football is the universal language of the kicks"). Besides, the World Cup has generated in Marbella (Spain) the contest "Historias de fútbol, días de mundial", organized by Premiosliterarios.com, and promises a book about the conquest of the penta-championship in the charge of the coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Palomero and árbitro de área

From the 31st of May to the 30th of June, the final phase of the World Cup has succeeded in becoming truth the Latin-American dream: the triumph of the humanism over technology and the combined labor.

As far as the sports aspect is concerned, it has got America to keep its supremacy during the finals against Europe and has left the following ranking: Brazil (1st), Spain (5th), Mexico (11th), Paraguay (16th), Argentina (18th), Costa Rica (19th), Portugal (21st), Ecuador (24th) and Uruguay (26th). And for the global history of the whole championship, with 69 countries which are participants, the Latin-American participation is in the 21st century as follows: Brazil (1st), Argentina (4th), Spain (7th), Uruguay (11th), Mexico (13th), Chile (20th), Paraguay (22nd), Portugal (28th), Peru (34th), Colombia (36th), Costa Rica (39th), Cuba (50th), Ecuador (52nd), Honduras (53rd), Bolivia (56th) and El Salvador (59th).

As far as the journalistic aspect is concerned, in Latin America the sports story got great quotas based on audience in Spain and Brazil: the Antena 3 Television Spanish network caught the attention of 92% of the television sets tuned to the hour of the Spain-South Korea match, while the Rede O Globo Brazilian network got the 91% with the Brazil-Turkey match. In the digital journalism, the Spanish language has extended its social broadcasting, dissemination with its presence in the FIFA's official web-page (which spread and popularized the championship in several languages: German, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, French, English and Japanese) and has become the web-site of sports more visited in the history of the high competition.

Finally, for the language it has showed a great linguistic and literary fantasy creating headlines, using puns, with the epic sonority of the "R"... And it has also created two new words which has to do with the game and a proposal of the French Michel Platini for the world of the referees: palomero (unjured footballer who goes on playing in the field so as not to disappoint his team being inferior, once the proper player substitutions were finished) and árbitro de área (assistant of a referee who is behind the goal to observe what happens in the little area). Also, it may occur the fact of referring to the matches of direct immediate heat with the tennis voice "muerte súbita" ("sudden death") and "mata-mata" ("kill-kill").

The moon in 2006

The Latin-American dream has become truth in a new continent. It will sleep till the year 2006 under the full moon colored with yellow and green between words and artistic displays, being expecting for reappearing in the new edition of the World Cup which will be held in Germany.

Traducción: María Elena Martín Pérez