2022-06-23, 04:53 PM - Word count:
So, you're contemplating trying out for the expansion gig and you so happen to wish for the league's almighty return to Brazil, yes? Now, that's a damn hard job for anyone out there, Brazil ain't for amateurs you see. Still, thankfully, yours truly happens to be a native of the country, so instead of going with the usual picks of Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo (which is spelled São Paulo, not Sao Paulo, San Pablo and especially not San Paolo), why not try out one of these four locations instead? You'll find it far more fun.
Suggestion #1 - MANAUS
Manaus, the Paris of the Tropics, the Mother of Gods, the Amazon's Metropolis - home of the Zona Franca, smack dab in the middle of the Amazon, to the side of the Rio Negro. Sure, it pours a lot (trust me, a lot), the weather is regularly hot and humid and it's basically a mosquito haven but here's the deal - Manaus has a massive stadium called the Arena da Amazônia, seating a whopping 44.000 and no real team in the top tier per se. Hell, you might even beat their current side, Manaus FC to it.
But do it quick, Manaus is in the third tier of the country and signs seem to indicate they'll be on the top tier of the nation sooner than later.
Name recommendation: Mãe dos Deuses FC (after the city's nickname) or Princesa do Rio Negro FC (after the nearby river), though given the team would be near the Amazon, the sky's the limit... between me and you, the Mapinguari would be a pretty clever call. Just don't use Manaus FC, that team already exists.
Suggestion #2 - BRASÍLIA
From one extreme to the other, Brasília is Brazil's capital, right in the center of the nation, which means they attend to the Cerrado traditions of being very dry and not really the type of place that sees weather variations that often. As the capital, it's the place with all the important centers of power such as the Senate and a myriad of presidential stuff. It's also a bizarre mix of really rich people living in the center of the city while the suburbs are essentially desertic boroughs that host aspiring musicians and people in need. That's not a joke, Brasília is a center of Brazilian music as well, though more of the rock type. It's also where noteworthy F1 champion Nelson Piquet used to live before his career picked up.
In terms of venues, you'd be looking at the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, a giant stadium that can host around 69.000 people. It was named after the tragic legendary football star Mané Garrincha who... well, he's actually from Magé, which is nowhere near Brasília but still, it's the thought that counts.
Name recommendation: Honestly, you can name it after any musical genre and you'd be fine. Just don't do Brasília FC, there's a team using that name already and they're not fond of people using it for other things.
Suggestion #3 - PORTO ALEGRE
I always found it kinda odd that people don't take Porto Alegre under consideration when it's probably one of the more relevant cities in the nation but hey, perfect chance to fix that. Following Cisplatine's independence (the country we now call Uruguay), Porto Alegre became the nation's southern-most capital, officially serving as the seat of government for the state of Rio Grande do Sul, although that place was one of a couple that tried to go for independence during the nation's Imperial days. Now, not to sugarcoat things but while it's a pretty important city, it's also an expensive one to live in with a myriad of problems that may throw people off. Still, it is one of the nation's green cities (as in it has loads of trees) and a couple of big names in the sport (think Ronaldinho Gaúcho) were born there, so it shouldn't be a bad call.
They also happen to have two pretty cool stadia in the Beira-Rio and the Arena do Grêmio, two large places that... also happen to host the city's two big football clubs in Internacional and Grêmio respectively. Suppose that could be a bit of a problem.
Name recommendation: Well, nobody's using Porto Alegre FC but you can also go for Porto Alegre Gaúchos or even Porto Alegre Farrapos (though that wouldn't be too accurate, it'd still relay to the Revolução Farroupilha, when the state tried to go independent).
Suggestion #4 - VITÓRIA
So, that's probably a bit of an out-there name but hear me out. Rio and São Paulo belong to a subsection of the nation called the Southeast. That subsection has four states inside of it: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais (with its capital, Belo Horizonte, which might be a good shout too) and Espírito Santo, which has Vitória as its capital. Now Vitória's not a bad place at all, it's a pretty solid city that apparently serves as a pretty good place to retire at. Hell, the weather would probably be good if it wasn't for the pollution. But the key thing is that they don't have a major football team. Period.
Now there are teams that play there, don't get me wrong, but the state never really housed a top-tier team ever since the days of the junta (when every state was literally mandated to have a team in the top tier, Brazilian footy is a wild ride) and to some, it's always been a pipe dream to finally get the state on the top tier again somehow. Still, the place's pretty good for beach soccer, so you know where you can practice if you're big on Area no Kishi, I guess.
Name recommendation: Eh, try anything. Seriously, anything would stick over there.
Suggestion #4 - FERNANDO DE NORONHA
Now, truth be told, anyone trying for this wouldn't actively play in Fernando de Noronha, for that's actually an archipelago of twenty-one islets, rather distant from the continent and not all that populated by human beings. In fact, it's more of a death zone due to the numerous of predators living there. Hell, it turned cats into predators. Domestic cats, in fact. Imagine that. That said, it's one of the most beautiful looking places in the entirety of the country, especially when it comes to pictures.
That said, you could probably play out of the two places that have frequent trips to Fernando de Noronha instead - Recife and Natal both have large stadia from the days of the 2014 World Cup (the Arena Pernambuco and the Arena das Dunas, respectively) and both have large clubs... but those clubs haven't been doing pretty hot lately.
Name recommendation: ...Predadores de Fernando de Noronha? I mean, come on.
So there you go... four good suggestions, any of them would be grand. Hopefully, my work will help anyone willing to give Brazil another shot.
Suggestion #1 - MANAUS
Manaus, the Paris of the Tropics, the Mother of Gods, the Amazon's Metropolis - home of the Zona Franca, smack dab in the middle of the Amazon, to the side of the Rio Negro. Sure, it pours a lot (trust me, a lot), the weather is regularly hot and humid and it's basically a mosquito haven but here's the deal - Manaus has a massive stadium called the Arena da Amazônia, seating a whopping 44.000 and no real team in the top tier per se. Hell, you might even beat their current side, Manaus FC to it.
But do it quick, Manaus is in the third tier of the country and signs seem to indicate they'll be on the top tier of the nation sooner than later.
Name recommendation: Mãe dos Deuses FC (after the city's nickname) or Princesa do Rio Negro FC (after the nearby river), though given the team would be near the Amazon, the sky's the limit... between me and you, the Mapinguari would be a pretty clever call. Just don't use Manaus FC, that team already exists.
Suggestion #2 - BRASÍLIA
From one extreme to the other, Brasília is Brazil's capital, right in the center of the nation, which means they attend to the Cerrado traditions of being very dry and not really the type of place that sees weather variations that often. As the capital, it's the place with all the important centers of power such as the Senate and a myriad of presidential stuff. It's also a bizarre mix of really rich people living in the center of the city while the suburbs are essentially desertic boroughs that host aspiring musicians and people in need. That's not a joke, Brasília is a center of Brazilian music as well, though more of the rock type. It's also where noteworthy F1 champion Nelson Piquet used to live before his career picked up.
In terms of venues, you'd be looking at the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, a giant stadium that can host around 69.000 people. It was named after the tragic legendary football star Mané Garrincha who... well, he's actually from Magé, which is nowhere near Brasília but still, it's the thought that counts.
Name recommendation: Honestly, you can name it after any musical genre and you'd be fine. Just don't do Brasília FC, there's a team using that name already and they're not fond of people using it for other things.
Suggestion #3 - PORTO ALEGRE
I always found it kinda odd that people don't take Porto Alegre under consideration when it's probably one of the more relevant cities in the nation but hey, perfect chance to fix that. Following Cisplatine's independence (the country we now call Uruguay), Porto Alegre became the nation's southern-most capital, officially serving as the seat of government for the state of Rio Grande do Sul, although that place was one of a couple that tried to go for independence during the nation's Imperial days. Now, not to sugarcoat things but while it's a pretty important city, it's also an expensive one to live in with a myriad of problems that may throw people off. Still, it is one of the nation's green cities (as in it has loads of trees) and a couple of big names in the sport (think Ronaldinho Gaúcho) were born there, so it shouldn't be a bad call.
They also happen to have two pretty cool stadia in the Beira-Rio and the Arena do Grêmio, two large places that... also happen to host the city's two big football clubs in Internacional and Grêmio respectively. Suppose that could be a bit of a problem.
Name recommendation: Well, nobody's using Porto Alegre FC but you can also go for Porto Alegre Gaúchos or even Porto Alegre Farrapos (though that wouldn't be too accurate, it'd still relay to the Revolução Farroupilha, when the state tried to go independent).
Suggestion #4 - VITÓRIA
So, that's probably a bit of an out-there name but hear me out. Rio and São Paulo belong to a subsection of the nation called the Southeast. That subsection has four states inside of it: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais (with its capital, Belo Horizonte, which might be a good shout too) and Espírito Santo, which has Vitória as its capital. Now Vitória's not a bad place at all, it's a pretty solid city that apparently serves as a pretty good place to retire at. Hell, the weather would probably be good if it wasn't for the pollution. But the key thing is that they don't have a major football team. Period.
Now there are teams that play there, don't get me wrong, but the state never really housed a top-tier team ever since the days of the junta (when every state was literally mandated to have a team in the top tier, Brazilian footy is a wild ride) and to some, it's always been a pipe dream to finally get the state on the top tier again somehow. Still, the place's pretty good for beach soccer, so you know where you can practice if you're big on Area no Kishi, I guess.
Name recommendation: Eh, try anything. Seriously, anything would stick over there.
Suggestion #4 - FERNANDO DE NORONHA
Now, truth be told, anyone trying for this wouldn't actively play in Fernando de Noronha, for that's actually an archipelago of twenty-one islets, rather distant from the continent and not all that populated by human beings. In fact, it's more of a death zone due to the numerous of predators living there. Hell, it turned cats into predators. Domestic cats, in fact. Imagine that. That said, it's one of the most beautiful looking places in the entirety of the country, especially when it comes to pictures.
That said, you could probably play out of the two places that have frequent trips to Fernando de Noronha instead - Recife and Natal both have large stadia from the days of the 2014 World Cup (the Arena Pernambuco and the Arena das Dunas, respectively) and both have large clubs... but those clubs haven't been doing pretty hot lately.
Name recommendation: ...Predadores de Fernando de Noronha? I mean, come on.
So there you go... four good suggestions, any of them would be grand. Hopefully, my work will help anyone willing to give Brazil another shot.
