So sorry we're so good...

[dtaai-maai]

I haven't come across this attitude before and find it quite astonishing.

In Italian football, there's an unspoken tradition that you don't humiliate your opponent. Teams go 3-0 or 4-0 up and then play the ball around without any intention of scoring. They call it "melina". Failure to "show respect" results in fights between players, managers and fans. The referee sometimes blows for full time before 90 minutes are up.

The amount of booing towards Spain with every goal they scored against Tahiti in the Confederations Cup got me thinking: is there a similar mentality in Brazilian football? I wasn't sure if it the viewing public were playing a game to put the Spanish off against the underdog or there was genuine disgust at their pursuit of double figures.

......................

Fascinating question. I think the whole concept of humiliation is so strong in Latin cultures. Much of what you write applies to Argentina - where teams, if they go three or four goals down, will close ranks to avoid greater humiliation.

In Brazil, I think this applies more in individual than collective terms. The fight starter is often an individual trick - a spot of ball juggling, or lifting the ball over the head of an opponent. Players have been booked for such activities - one was even booked a couple of years back for a dribble which the referee ruled as too expansive and thus humiliating.

[arcadianagain]

Much as I think Mourinho is a p**ck he has spoken out against the crowd shouting "ole" when his teams tip tap the ball at the end of a match they are winning comfortably.