It was the longest silence ever heard in the country, to the sound of the rhythmic beating of thousands of hearts. In 1950, we built the Maracanã stadium with the certainty of winning the World Cup. However, we suffered a painful defeat: Uruguay won the decisive match 2-1. A draw would have been enough for us to be champions. It wasn’t to be. From then on, however, Brazilian football overcame the trauma and went on to rack up its great triumphs.