«Football in Portugal is part of the identity: he is a doctor, father and FC Porto fan»
The Independent wrote that he had the spark of genius. Richard Zimler was born in 1956 in the suburbs of New York, has a degree from Duke University and an MA from Stanford. Journalist, writer and university professor, he settled in Porto in 1990 and became one of the most prominent novelists in Portugal.
Multi-award winning, published in 23 languages and bestseller in 13 countries. In the midst of all this, he takes the time to look carefully at the Portugal he fell in love with, having highlighted on social networks a news from the More football about the opening of Willows to receive as players who fled Afghanistan.
This division makes room for a contact that, a day later, this conversation around football. Richard Zimler confessed that he played a sport in the United States and that he often went to see Beckenbauer’s Cosmos at the stadium, but he also admitted that he became disenchanted with the commercialism of Portuguese football.
Does your connection to football come from when you played football in the United States?
Exactly. I was born in 1956 and football began to be practiced as a sport in schools soon after, in the early 60’s. In Physical Education classes we played all sports: basketball, baseball, American football and also football, our football. We learned how to play rules, how to play, game strategy, in short.
But it was just that, a sport practiced in Physical Education classes…
We have to understand that it was a new modality. In the United States, as in almost all countries, the media broadcast like professional leagues: basketball, football and baseball. They are sport with a huge tradition, dating back many decades. At the time, there wasn’t much information about football in Europe or South America. That’s why disability started with children, at school. Adults or young adults did not play football.
When does this happen?
It happens progressively. In the 70s, when I was at Liceu, I played for the school team and at that time it was already a popular sport.
So you always continued to play football?
Always always. But I must say that a big boost to the popularization of football was the creation of the Professional League in the early 70s, with the presence of great players at the end of international careers, such as Franz Beckenbauer, Pelé, Cruijff. Interestingly, the New York Cosmos played near my house, so my friends and I often went to see the games. It was a great opportunity to see the great players, at some age, of course, in our stadiums. This gave the sport great popularity in the United States.
Cosmos were mythical in the 70s…
Exactly, but not only from the New York Cosmos, also from the Los Angeles Aztecs, for example. This had a huge impact because for the first time news about European football appeared in the newspapers. This had a great influence on us.
And what was left of these memories?
I remember that our high school football coach took us to New York for the 1970 World Cup final at Madison Square Guarden. Brazil against Italy, it was a selection of Pelé, Jairzinho, a fantastic team. It was the first time that young Americans had fallen in love with football.
Can you say that Richard Zimler was a good player?
I was a good player, but I wasn’t as good as the children of Italian, Irish or German immigrants. The best players were the children of emigrants, because they played football since they were children. I remember that in one of the high schools that played against us there were two German twins who were very good, which is normal, because they had been playing since they were four years old.
Football was in their blood …
They were spectacular. I ate playing when I was eight or nine years old and I didn’t play every day. He was a much better basketball player. Much better. But I loved playing football. I knew I didn’t have that much talent, but I played with great pride in the Liceu team.
What kind of player was it?
He was a good athlete. He wasn’t a good football player, but he was an excellent athlete. I made up for my lack of talent with my physical techniques. Let’s just say he wasn’t that kind of player who could work miracles.
It is curious that football, which started in the 60s in schools, has stayed with us forever, because even today it is seen in American films, which is played a lot by children…
It might even be the most popular sport among American girls. But a young man who is an excellent athlete, when he gets to college, will choose basketball, football or baseball. Because these are sports that can provide you with a wonderful life. A great basketball, football or baseball athlete can earn 40 million a year. In football, no. That’s why the great American athletes don’t follow football, following another modality.
But going back to the movies, even at the Dead Poets Club, which is held at an elite school, it is a part where the boys play football.
Yes Yes Yes. It is a popular sport in schools and among children. It just doesn’t get the media coverage of the big American professional leagues.
But it has the advantage of being probably the most democratic sport. All it takes is one ball.
It is true. American football, for example, is for people who are really physically strong, very muscular. Basketball needs a basket at a certain height. Not football. A 10- or 12-year-old girl in the United States, Afghanistan or Africa can play football in any village, as long as she has a ball. Make two beacons with stones and start playing with her friends. It is a sport that is accessible to everyone and invites everyone to participate.
Jumping now to 1990, when the importance that football has for the Portuguese arrived in Portugal immediately?
Yes, anyone’s logo will notice. Sometimes the first twenty minutes of television news are about football. It is a country where there may be an economic collapse, there may be a pandemic, but the first news is about Sporting, Benfica or FC Porto.
Was it a shock to you?
Yes, it was a shock. But the biggest shock for me was that football in Portugal was such a big deal. It was a huge disappointment. I realized that the owners of football in Portugal were, for the most part, very rude people. Not all, but a large part. I also realized that it was money that dominated the sport. For example, why are Benfica, FC Porto or Sporting always champions? Because they have more money. I was disappointed with the lack of democracy in Portuguese football. I do not like it.
I wasn’t used to this in the United States…
No, I was not. American sports has a court case that prevents this: the draft. Whoever finishes last season gets to pick the best player of the season to come. This tends to level the teams. It is very difficult for a team to always dominate an NBA. It can happen to dominate for five or six years, when you’re lucky enough to land a LeBron James or a Kevin Durant, but even if you dominate you won’t always be champion. Then there’s another one to replace her, because she’s got another fantastic player.
Did this cause you to never create a close relationship with Portuguese football?
That’s right. I recognize that Portugal has fantastic players. When I arrived there was Figo, now there is Cristiano Ronaldo, obviously, among many others. So I recognize that Portugal has wonderful players, good teams, good coaches, some more educated than others, that’s fine, but the fact that it’s a business, the fact that they are always like such teams in the Champions, ends up driving me away. I get little interest.
Sport must have a series of values that we want to see in society, right?
That’s exactly it. I want a sport that is more accessible, more democratic, in which a team from the Azores, Faro or Évora can get a great player and be in first place. What’s the problem with that? Bad is when money determines the quality of a team.
So, in this Portuguese football there are reasons to fall in love…?
I mean, I appreciate talent. I watch games on television and I see the great players. Nothing takes away the pleasure I had in seeing, for example, Hagi, who was a player I always liked. I would love to see Romania’s games just to see Hagi. But that’s a player, it’s not a team, it’s not a league. What makes me watch football are the players, not this or that team.
And live in Porto for 30 years, do you understand that football is for the people of the city a means of assertion in relation to Lisbon?
No doubt. Football in Portugal creates an almost religious identification. A FC Porto fan created an identification forever. He is a doctor, father and FC Porto supporter. Or you can be a travel agency employee, mother, sportsman and FC Porto fan. It is part of people’s individual identity.
But what I was asking is, do you agree that, for those who live in Porto, football is almost a means of national affirmation?
Yes I agree. As the second city in the country, Porto has a lot of rivalry with Lisbon. It’s a very emotional thing that makes people resentful. Lisbon is the capital and other cities, especially Porto, feel undervalued and mistreated in cultural and financial terms, in short. Therefore, for the people of Porto, FC Porto is an affirmation of the quality of the city, of Porto’s independence from Lisbon. It’s almost a cry of ‘we don’t need Lisbon to assess our resources because we’re good’.
Football as a social phenomenon is very curious, or not?
Yes, football is a fascinating topic. It is a huge phenomenon culturally, socially and economically. A student of mine at college wanted to do a thesis on the influence of football in the media: which highlights the coverage that is done in newspapers, sports newspapers, television, football. I thought it was a very interesting topic and very pertinent.
And do you think football influences the media or media influences football?
Both. Football has an influence on the media not only because it is a social, cultural and popular phenomenon, but because of its enormous economic power. Football generates millions and millions of euros. That’s why it will have a huge effect on politics and culture. I remember very well the dispute between Rui Rio and FC Porto. Rui Rio probably fell in popularity, because he challenged FC Porto and it is a risk to challenge football. Few politicians dare to do this.
In the meantime, and finally, were you touched by Salgueiros’ attitude of opening the doors of the women’s team to Afghan refugees?
I was very moved by Salgueiros’ attitude. Sport can play a very important role in society. For example, in the United States, I am a fan of San Antonio because it is a team that has always hired foreign players: I quickly remember the Argentine Manú Ginobili or the Frenchman Tony Parker. In addition, the San Antonio coach spoke of politics, he was very critical of Donald Trump. Obviously, a media person like him exposing Donald Trump’s lies was something I considered important. Salgueiros had an attitude that goes far beyond football: they offered refuge to an Afghan women’s football team. It was a very noble gesture and football can play this role, given the power it has.
«A café with …» Maisfutebol sits at the table with eminent figures of our society, names with no apparent connection to sport, except for passion. Music, literature, cinema or fashion entangled in the four lines of free and relaxed conversations.