Goalkeeper of Brazil needed to buy gloves in China before debut
Meg, the talented Brazilian goalkeeper, had the honor of defending the national team’s goal in the first edition of the Women’s World Cup, held in 1991, in China.
Meg the talented Brazilian goalkeeper: Memories and impressions in China
A few months away from the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which took place from July 20th to August 20th, GLOBO will start a retrospective of the eight previous editions of the tournament, from the perspective of Brazilian players. Every Monday, until the opening week of the championship, a representative of the selection will share his experiences in the competitions. For starters, we hear from Meg, who came out of handball retirement in 1990 to participate in the first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup. She had the thankless task of facing the American bombing of Michelle Akers and Mia Hamm in the last game of the group stage.
At the first FIFA Women’s World Cup, held in China in November 1991, Meg, aged 68 at the time, has vivid memories of that historic event. The contour competition with the participation of 12 teams, and the Brazilian team was based in Guanghzou, where it played two of the three matches of Group B.
Striking Prints from China
Meg recalls the initial impact of being in such a populous country, with over 1 billion people at that time. She was impressed with the ongoing construction, the bicycles moving the streets and an intense work activity, even on Sundays. During the trips for training, Meg had the opportunity to see many people working in the fields, forming a dedicated mask. In addition, she remembers the facilities at the hotel where they stayed, describing it as a place of exceptional quality, with spacious rooms that allowed them to train, run and do physical exercises.
An Important Decision and the Olympic Dream
The decision to participate in the Worlds was not an easy one for Meg. At the age of 35, she had stopped playing football since 1988, when she chose to dedicate herself to the Brazilian handball team, which would compete in the World Cup in the category in 1989. In fact, Meg even asked for a waiver for the experimental women’s football tournament held by FIFA in 1988. In 1990, already away from the courts and fields, she acted only as a physical education teacher, she was convinced by Eurico Lira, creator of Radar, to join the Brazilian women’s soccer team. The motivation was clear: in addition to participating in the first World Cup, the inclusion of the category in the Olympic Games was on the horizon.
— My dream was to compete in the Olympics. In handball, I was unable to fulfill this dream, as there was only one vacancy for the Americas. This was my chance – says Meg, who finally saw her dream come true by participating in the debut of women’s football at the Atlanta-96 Olympic Games.
Physical challenges and the situation of women’s football in Brazil
The physical issue wasn’t just a challenge for Meg. At that time, women’s football in Brazil was practically at a standstill, after the end of the wait in 1979. Radar, which had been done in a controlled manner around the world during the 1980s, was not active. The players maintained some contact with the ball in lowland games, but the goalkeepers did not even have specific preparation for the position. After easily winning a place in the South American Championship, held in Maringá, the CBF decided to change the entire technical commission.
With most players out of shape and overweight — Meg was 3kg above ideal —, the Brazilian team, now under the command of Fernando Pires, went through a brief preparation at Granja Comary and at the Army School of Physical Education, in Urca. It was at that moment that the goalkeeper had for the first time a specific preparation for the position.
— We played games against youth teams from Rio, under-17, under-15. That’s when former goalkeeper Simão approached us and offered to train as goalkeepers. He ended up going with us to Worlds. Until then, our workouts were improvised – reports Meg.
Limited structure and improvisations
Not just training, but the entire structure provided to the players was improvised. The uniforms used were the same as the men’s team. In addition, the selection did not have a period of adequate adaptation in China. They arrived just before the start of the competition. It was there that Meg felt that the gloves provided by the CBF were not adequate.
— On the eve of the game against Japan, I went with a CBF director around town to buy gloves — reports Meg.
Challenges against strong teams
In the group considered one of the most difficult of the tournament, with the champion (USA) and third place (Sweden), Brazil did not have high expectations. I knew I was far behind the Americans, which I considered the best in the world, and the European teams, which already had stricter championships, such as the women’s Euro. In Brazil, women’s football is still