======================== Brazil's Big Scandal
========================
Brazil recently established American-style congressional committees to hold
hearings into one of the great scandals of the day, the plight of the national soccer team, the "scratch du ouro," the golden team.
In recent World Cup qualifying matches, Brazil lost to Paraguay and Chile, and tied
with Colombia and Uruguay, all humiliating results. The team coach, Wanderley Luxemburgo, whose job Brazilians' compare with that of the presidency, was dismissed when a junior-varsity version of the team failed to win a medal at the Sydney Olympics.
The congressional committees will also investigate whether Nike, the
American sportswear company that sponsors the team, forced Romario (NYT error. He's Ronaldo), the superstar striker and the focus of the company's advertising campaign, into the lineup at the 1998 World Cup championship match, despite a debilitating illness.
Brazil lost the match to France 3-0. Nike strenuously denies the allegation, a cherished conspiracy theory among Brazilians.
Mr. Luxemburgo faces tough questioning about more recent lineup decisions,
too.
As The Times's Larry Rohter has reported, the former coach stands accused of selecting certain players for the national squad in exchange for fees from their agents.
Even a few appearances on the national team can dramatically appreciate the value of a player on the international market,
where transfer fees for top players run in the tens of millions of dollars.
The team's tailspin could be a blessing in disguise.
The scratch du ouro is arguably Brazil's ultimate national symbol.
If it can be held to account, as it may now be, then it may be possible to hold other institutions to account.
That, in turn, would be a major step forward in a society that has come to regard corruption as inevitable.
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