BIG PANEL
- Pelezinho
On a plane trip—nobody knows exactly what year it was—star footballer Pelé met cartoonist Maurício de Sousa. That's when they came up with the idea of creating a children's comic book version of Pelé. In October 1976, the character Pelezinho made his comic strip debut in the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. The whole gang was inspired by Pelé's childhood friends, such as Cana Braba, Teófilo, Frangão, and Neusinha. Pelezinho got his own comic book in August 1977, after the King of Football had already ended his career.
At the time, the character had no nose and a pink contour around his mouth, just like other black characters in Turma da Mônica (Monica's Gang). As time went by and debates raged about blackface, Pelezinho was given a new look. This was in 1990, during the celebrations for Pelé's 50th birthday. In 2014, Maurício de Sousa Produções released an official statement explaining the changes to the character. Pelezinho magazine stopped being published in 1982. After that, there were only special editions and almanacs. Maurício de Sousa would later release comic books featuring Ronaldinho Gaúcho and Neymar. Projects with Maradona and Ronaldo Fenômeno (Ronaldo 'The Phenomenon') never got off the ground.
2 .Zé Carioca
Manual do Zé Carioca, 1974
paper
Editora Abril
Private collection
Published by Editora Abril on the occasion of the 1974 World Cup, Manual do Zé Carioca (The Handbook of Zé Carioca) was the first football almanac for an entire generation of children. Three years prior, the seventh volume in a collection that started with Manual do Escoteiro-Mirim (The Boy Scout Handbook) showcased the Brazilian parrot created by Walt Disney in 1942. Throughout 192 pages, it explains the history of football and its rules, presents the greatest stars in history, the pioneering female players, and the main Brazilian clubs, along with a small dictionary of football slang. The comedic element was provided by the team Brejeiros da Tijuca, led by Zé Carioca himself.
3 .Stickers and Albums
The first football stickers in Brazil, called 'As Balas Sportman' (The Sportman Candies), were launched in 1921 by the confectionery A Americana. This same factory also created the famous collection 'Balas Futebol' (Futebol Candies), which was distributed between 1936 and 1958. A special sticker album featuring the players from the thirteen national teams was released on the occasion of the 1950 World Cup. Here's a curious fact: it came out after the tournament was already over, with Brazil's unexpected defeat to Uruguay.
The famous Italian publisher Panini got into the football sticker business in 1961, and its first World Cup album was released on the occasion of the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. This is the only Panini issue that includes a sticker of Pelé as a member of the Brazilian national team. Panini arrived in Brazil in 1989 through a partnership with Editora Abril, and the 1990 World Cup album was their first publication in the country.
While the first Women's World Cup was officially held in 1991, the first album in this category didn't hit the newsstands until 2011.
4 . Mini-craques
The miniature football players were created by a British company in 1994. However, they only became coveted items in Brazil during the 1998 World Cup when Coca-Cola launched the mini-star series with 25 dolls of 'standard' players and one special trio, featured Dunga, Ronaldo 'The Phenomenon,' and Romário. Of these, only 11 were selected by coach Zagallo to represent Brazil in the competition held in France.
5 .World Cup Mascots
Willie the lion was the first World Cup mascot, presented in England in 1966. Since then, the mascots have turned into a commercial success, leading to licensing deals for plush toys, comics, TV programs, product packaging, and a wide range of toys. In 2002, Japan and South Korea hosted the World Cup, and three mascots were selected: Ato, Kaz, and Nik, aliens who represented the good energies of the universe and were known as Spheriks.
In 2014, when Brazil was the host country for the World Cup, the chosen mascot was the caatinga armadillo Fuleco, who, according to FIFA, brought together football and ecology. His name was selected through a vote that involved 1.7 million participants.
GERALDO DECOURT
Pants and coat buttons, watch crystals, coconut shells—there were no limits when it came to assembling a tabletop football team (or button football, for those in the know). Did you know that tabletop football was created in Brazil? Geraldo Cardoso Décourt, a painter and actor from the city of Campinas, worked at the factory of the US company Celotex, which manufactured a kind of chipboard often used in the ceilings of houses.
In his spare time, Geraldo would invite his friends to play a slightly different kind of football: on a table, coat buttons had to propel a small felt-lined ball towards the goal. Each team was allowed no more than three touches per turn. It was such a huge success that they came up with the idea of making the game official. In 1930 Décourt published the booklet Regras Oficiais do Football Celotex (Official Rules of Celotex Football). At the time, he chose the name Futebol Celotex after the name of the material used for making the table.
The game grew so big that the clothing buttons were no longer enough to form teams for all those who wanted to play. Then came the brands with teams made of plastic, acrylic, and other materials. Over the years, some rules have been adjusted and now the game is played in a variety of ways in different parts of the country and abroad. But Décourt's significance is always recognized. The Day of the Button Football Player is celebrated on his birthday, February 14th.
In Europe, in 1947, the Englishman Peter Adolph created Subbuteo, a game described by some as an evolution of button football.
DESCRIPTIVE SUBITLES
CHICO BUARQUE
Ludopédio Board Game, 1977
papel and plastic
Grow
Private collection
Did you know that singer-songwriter Chico Buarque is passionate about football?
A die-hard fan of Fluminense, the artist launched a football board game in 1970, during the time he was in exile in Italy. The game was named Ludopédio, a term derived from the Latin words ludus, meaning game, and pedes, meaning feet. It was introduced as a way of replacing the Anglicism 'futebol' (football). However, the idea didn't pan out.
The game consists of two different phases. In the first phase, the player must take on the role of a cartola (team manager), handling the books, in order to build a competitive team. In the second phase, when acting as a coach, the idea is to come up with the best strategies to lead the team to the league title.
Escrete, 1982
papel and plastic
Grow
Private collection
In the run-up to the 1982 World Cup in Spain, the toy company Grow teamed up with Chico Buarque to relaunch Ludopédio, with simpler rules. The new version was named Escrete, a term derived from the English word scratch, which means a team made up of the best players. The first two phases of Ludopédio remained unchanged. In Escrete, however, after taking on the roles of manager and coach, the contestant also gets to play the part of a footballer.
OLD GAMES AREA
Grangol, 1975
plastic
Private collection
A very successful Argentinian game with ten players spread across the pitch and one goalkeeper. Behind the goal, ten keys control the movement of the stars on the pitch and propel the ball kick.
CLASSIC OLD GAMES AREA
Pregobol, s.d.
wood and metal
Private collection
Pregobol, dedobol, or pinogol—no matter what you call it, this is one of the most classic toys to be found in many people's childhoods. On a wooden pitch, the 22 players are represented by nails, while the ball can be a coin, a marble, or a crumpled piece of paper.
The player must score with three flicks and, if they don't, the other player takes their turn. The ball shouldn't hit the opponent's nails either. The pitch is easy to make and guarantees many hours of fun.
GAMES AREA WITH FOOTBALL KNOWLEDGE
Futebol S.A., 2005
papel and plastic
Private collection
The crowd is all that matters in a football match!
Even more so in this game! The dice will decide the fate of a play or a shot on goal. This way, each time the player wins a match, they can boost the number of fans in the stands and the revenue from ticket sales.
With the revenue, they can buy more and better players, increasing their chances of winning the championship.
MAGAZINES AND SUPER TRUNFO
Super Trunfo – Seleções do Mundo (National Teams of the World), 2022
paper
Grow
Private collection
The card game Super Trunfo started being produced in Brazil in the late 1970s, modelled after Top Trumps, which was created in the United Kingdom around the same time. A big hit among adults and children alike, the decks contain information about cars, countries, and animals. Football has not been left out. There were versions where athletes and clubs competed against each other based on their performance. Each round, one person chooses an attribute that must be weighed against all the other participants' cards. Whoever scores highest wins the round and all their opponents' cards and, by the end of the game, whoever has all the cards in the deck wins.
CURIOSIDADES NAS PLACAS
1
(front) Totó, pebolim, or fla-flu?
(back) All three names are correct!
Totó, pebolim, or fla-flu are all names that Brazilians use to refer to the game of foosball, which was originally invented in Europe. Some people believe it originated in Spain in 1936, while others claim it began in Germany in 1930. Regardless of its exact origin, the game has become a big hit both in Brazil and Europe. In recent years, it has even been adapted into a human version! How about you? Have you ever played foosball?
2
(front) Two or three touches?
(back) Did you know that tabletop football, also known as button football, is played according to seven different sets of rules? Four of these are Brazilian, and the remaining three are international. Among the international variations, Subbuteo, a highly popular game in Europe made its way to Brazil and became known as Pelebol.
In this game, players must flick the miniatures to move the ball. The objective is to score in no more than three touches, after which it's your opponent's turn. Matches typically last for 15 minutes.
3
(front) What is futebol de dedo (finger football)?
(back) Futebol de dedo, dedobol, pregobol, pinogol, or futebol de prego... Whew! There are many names for the same game of finger football. In this game, a few nails are fixed to a wooden pitch, and the players must flick the ball three times to score a goal.
The team's players can be either nails or plastic pins, depending on the structure you've built. However, the objective remains the same: to score as many goals as possible!
4
(front) Everything is a ball and everything is a button!
(back) Imagination is what really matters when it comes to playing, whether it's with paper balls, tin cans, socks, or different types of buttons.
In this area you'll find the installation "Counting Buttons," which includes over 1,700 pieces and a hidden surprise featuring the Football Museum's logo! Can you find it?