FOOT ON THE BALL

Over a hundred years ago—imagine that!—many people criticized football, which was just getting started in Brazil. It was said that there was no future for a sport played with one’s feet, despite the name of the game itself. Feet, which generally begin to do their tricks in pelada games [a Brazilian slang term for low-importance football matches], ended up taking a beautiful display of Brazilian creativity and passion from dirt fields to stadiums all over the world.

BAROQUE ANGELS

There are 29 of them, but there could be fifty or a hundred, so many were the creators of the football-art practiced in Brazil. Gods or heroes, idols of several generations, who can also be seen as angels in a cathedral where the invention, poetics, and magic of the game are worshiped. True works of baroque art.

FOOTBALL DANCE

Football is the choreography of the unpredictable. On the pitch, on the field, or in the streets: surprise, beauty, and skill rule the game. Now, you’re in charge of the operations room of a major TV station and, by pressing the buttons, you can choose incredible moves, brilliant goals, and bizarre plays. A show of images of the football dance.

RADIO

Which goal do you want to listen back to? One narrated by Ary Barroso in the 1940s, or by Osmar Santos four decades later? This is a tribute to radio, the medium that took football to the farthest corners of the country, and to the broadcasters who, with creative catchphrases and unforgettable goal calls, won the hearts of Brazilian fans.

EXALTATION

ORIGINS

In this room, a story is told that begins with Charles Miller—when football arrived in Brazil in the late 19th century—and goes up to the mid-1930s, passing through the struggle for the acceptance of Black athletes in clubs up to the professionalization of the sport. The great star of this period was Arthur Friedenreich, the son of a Brazilian mother and a father of German descent. Over four hundred images from all corners of the country show the context of the period, from the coffee barons to the humble people who took football for themselves… and reinvented it!

ROOTS OF BRAZIL

The Football Museum is a place where you can Brazilianize yourself. Hence the Roots Room: football is as significant to the history of Brazil in the 20th century as all other forms of expression in the visual arts, music, thought, and poetry—Leônidas da Silva’s bicycle kick, Tarsila’s painting, Drummond’s poem. In the 1930s, we came to have a common language; the Golden Age of Radio united Brazil in voice, song, and echo of the supporters.

RITE OF PASSAGE

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.

CUPS

Brazil is the only country to take part in all the Men’s and Women’s World Cups, and also the only one to win the cup five times in men’s football: a five-time champion! Learn about the details of these championships and what was happening politically, socially, economically, and culturally in Brazil and around the world at the time each one took place. Photos and videos portray leaders, beauty contestants, artists, dictators, anonymous fans, and football geniuses—all characters of the same story.

WOMEN IN FOOTBALL

Despite being banned by law between 1941 and 1979, Brazilian women never stopped playing football. Brave, fearless, and determined, they faced prejudice and risked imprisonment to pursue their love of the game. We tell the story of women’s resistance over these four decades until the first official Women’s World Cup in 1991. Many of the images in this installation are recent discoveries, never before shown to the public. Find out more about the Women’s World Cup tournaments from the structures presented here.

PELÉ

The greatest player of all time. The top scorer in the history of football. The only player to win the World Cup three times. The winner of the Athlete of the Century trophy. The youngest ever to score in a World Cup final. The star who stopped armed conflicts and got a referee sent off the pitch. The man who dedicated his most important goal to poor children and who ended his career by calling for “love, love, love.” That’s Pelé.

ALMANAC OF THE BALL

Take note of the line-up: in goal, Numbers; in defense, Histories, Dates, Nicknames, and Superstitions; in the midfield, Tactics, Toys, and Records; Rules, Humor, and Memorabilia round out the attack. Here's a selection of quick, interesting, and funny facts to turn you into a ‘Football Encyclopedia.’ Also, enjoy the interactive tables and feel free to touch objects with your hands with no risk of the referee calling foul.

BODY CHECK

GOODBYE