Lebanon football fans embrace Brazil Samba to lift economic blues

The FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar has given the Lebanese a chance to escape the multitude of crises that have plagued their lives over the past three years.

Five times World Cup winners Brazil - alongside maybe European rivals Germany - is probably the best-supported team in this tiny Mediterranean country with wins seeing euphoric highs in Lebanon and rare losses, crashing lows.

The streets of Lebanon - a country renowned for its party scene, even in times of crisis like today - saw huge celebrations after Brazil's victories against Serbia and Switzerland.

The Seleção Canarinho - the Brazil team's nickname - take on Cameroon this Friday before the knockout stages and the match is being hugely anticipated in Lebanon, where thousands have family ties to South America.

A very rough estimate of Brazilians of Lebanese origin is between six and eight million, although this is nearly impossible to verify. 

Lebanese and Syrian immigration to Brazil and across Latin America began in the late 19th century, under what was then the Ottoman Empire, due to political and economic instability.

"Brazil is home to the biggest Lebanese diaspora in the world. In the absence of a [Lebanese] national team, it’s normal for many Lebanese people to support Brazil," Ameen, who has relatives in Columbia, told The New Arab.

Many Lebanese who worked in South America returned, but retained links to Brazil - as seen with the popularity of green tea drink, mate, on the coast - and Ameen believes the huge support for the Brazilian team could have been passed down through the generations, too.

"I used to see my dad supporting Brazil, so I grew up supporting them and still do," said Hussein, who is currently cheering on the team from Canada, where he studies.

Ali said this father-son symbiosis with following football teams is reminiscent of the militant support sectarian, political factions in Lebanon have garnered and kept them in power for decades.

"People often support football teams like they support political parties without really knowing why," he said.

Ali said that the Lebanese tendency to support other teams - while barely paying attention to Lebanon's national side - highlights widespread disillusionment with the negligence and corruption of the country's ruling class.

The meddling of foreign powers in Lebanon’s political affairs has also divided the population, although it is safe to say Brazil has had little role in this regard.

this is not Brasília, #Brazil's capital
its #tripoli Lebanon, Celebrating the win over #Serbia in #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/W9DcIqZmNh

— MARIO 🇬🇧🇦🇪🇱🇧 (@mariotradleb) November 24, 2022

hours later and #Brazil fans still celebrating in #Beirut #Lebanon #FIFAWorldCup #WorldCup2022 #FIFAWorldCupQatar2022 pic.twitter.com/hA1sifi38x

— Maha Yahya (@mahamyahya) November 28, 2022

Others believe the popularity of the Brazil team is simply down to their success, players, and exciting style of football, which has brought them unprecedented support from across the world.

When The New Arab asked Lebanese Brazil supporters about their love for the team some recalled childhood days watching players such as Pelé, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho, while current stars, such as Neymar, Silva and Casemiro, seem to have caught the hearts of millions of younger fans.

هل يوجد ظاهرة ك #رونالدو البرازيلي في #البرازيل #المانيا او غيرها في عالم كرة القدم حاليا!؟؟
الفوتبول كان احلى من هلق بكثير!!!#FIFAWorldCupQatar2022 pic.twitter.com/yvy0zXDCmr

— حسين العوض (@HusseinAlAwad3) November 29, 2022

Lebanon's absence from the Qatar World Cup is another reason why so many Lebanese opt for other teams such as Brazil.

"The Lebanese people generally see there is no strong [Lebanese] national team to compete at the tournament, so they focus their energy on supporting the strongest team which is Brazil," said Ali.

"Despite there being other very strong teams, people who grew up in the 70s and 80s supporting Brazil and Germany continued to do so."

An issue is that unlike previous tournaments, state-run TV is not broadcasting games, forcing Lebanese to dip into their depleted savings - most of which remain frozen by banks - to watch games at bars and cafes.

That's if they can manage to keep the lights on, as an acute energy crisis has completely crippled the state-electricity provider, leaving millions to rely on dirty and expensive private generators, or solar panels.

While nearly all post-game celebrations have passed off with a carnival-like atmosphere, there have been incidents of violence.

After Germany's shock 2-1 defeat to Japan, one supporter allegedly shot a Brazil fan in the leg close to the northern city of Tripoli. It is still unclear if this was related to football, as some media outlets have suggested, with social media suggesting it stemmed from a personal dispute.

In a south Beirut suburb earlier this week, a pitbull dog was killed after attacking a man and a woman in a crowd celebrating Brazil's 1-0 win over Switzerland.

Social media users said the owner "lost control" of the dog, which severely injured a man’s leg before it was shot dead. The man was taken to hospital.

The owner’s dog reportedly left the scene, but again there were confirmed reports the incident was football related.

أطلق شخص كلبه من نوع “بيتبول” الشرس ليهاجم المحتفلين بالبرازيل في منطقة الصفير وبحسب ناشطين على مواقع التواصل الإجتماعي قام الكلب بعض فتاة وشاب وبعد أن فقد صاحبه السيطرة عليه، و كاد الكلب يتسبّب بقطع رِجل الشاب فعاجلهُ شخص بطلقة نارية وتم نقل الشاب إلى المستشفى لتلقّي العلاج. pic.twitter.com/7wtFPsY3Ni

— Fouad Khreiss (@fouadkhreiss) November 28, 2022

The rivalry between Germany and Brazil - probably the two biggest teams in world football - has been immense for years, particularly after the Germans' 7-1 drubbing of their rivals in 2014. 

The banter between fans has also been a welcomed distraction from Lebanon's dire political and economic affairs.

Journalist Fouad Khreiss joked: "Only in Lebanon, you go into a shop to buy a Brazil flag, but the shop owner tells you they're finished, buy a German one."

بس بلبنان بتفوت عالمحل ، لتشتري علم البرازيل 🇧🇷

بقلّك خالصين خود علم ألمانيا 🇩🇪

— Fouad Khreiss (@fouadkhreiss) November 27, 2022

One Germany supporter on Twitter chose either France – the 2018 winners - or Portugal as his favourite picks after Germany, as long as it wasn't Brazil.

#لمين_كأس_العالم تاخدو فرنسا او البرتغال من بعد ألمانيا بس مش البرازيل

— 🇱🇧sky_rain🇩🇪 (@skyrain17285445) November 30, 2022

Director Nasser Fakih said Germany fans were obsessed with Brazil more than Brazil’s fans in hopes they would lose.

بتحِس جمهور المانيا ناطرين مباراة البرازيل اكتر من البرازيليين بس ليشمتوا فينا اذا خسرنا 😊 🇧🇷 #Qatar2022

— Nasser Fakih (@fakihn) November 24, 2022

Richard Kharrat however, seeking harmony, said the World Cup knockouts would not be the same without both Brazil and Germany in the tournament.

لا نكهة للمونديال دون تأهّل البرازيل 🇧🇷 و المانيا 🇩🇪#FIFAWorldCupQatar2022

— Dr Richard k kharrat (@RichardKharatMD) November 28, 2022

Other Brazil supporters said they had other reasons to cheer on the team.

"My ex supports Germany, so after we broke up, I started supporting Brazil," one architecture student told The New Arab.