Sports & Recreation Soccer is brazils most played sport. People love futebol, the Portuguese word for soccer. There are many soccer stadiums all over the country. The worlds largest soccer stadium the maracana, located in Rio de Janeiro and seats 200,00 fans. Usually when a boy is born his first gift would be a soccer ball because their parents would want them to be soccer players when they grow up. Did you know that the greatest soccer player who ever lived is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, also known as Pele, he played for Brazil. He scored more than 1200 goals. Pele scored his 1,000th goal in 1969. The wonderful soccer player retired in 1974 but came back in 1975 after accepting a 7-million-dollar contract for three years with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. He said he came out of retirement, not the money, but to make soccer popular in the United States.
English: Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele), World...
English: In Maracana stadium, Rio de Janeiro. Ther...
English: Quinta da Boa Vista, Rio de Janeiro - Bra...Pele became a Brazilian hero and was also known as Perola Negra (Black Pearl).
An average-sized man, he was special because of speed, great balance, great vision, the ability to control the ball well, and the ability to shoot powerfully and accurately with either foot. In his career he played in 1,363 matches and scored 1,282 goals. His best season was 1958, when he scored 139 times. Also he published several best-selling autobiographies. He starred in several documentary and semi documentary films. He wrote many musical pieces, including the entire sound track for the film 'Pele' (1977). He was awarded the International Peace Award, and in 1980 he was named athlete of the century.
A sport only Brazilians play is capoeira. This sport uses martial arts and dancing.the caporeia comes from a fighting way that came from Anogla in the slave days there were ofen fights among the blacks. Both sides were punished if caught. Then the slaves would disguise their fighting by using music and song . over the years it became a very athletic sport where two players would do seires of cartwheels and whirling hand stands on the floor. Each one would try to double the others move using only legs, feet, heels the head. Hands are not allowed.
Car racing and beach sports are also very popular because of the weather. Brazil has some of the best volleyball teams, basket ball teams, surfing and canoeing are also impotant sports to Brazil.
Some recreational activities in Rio are going to sandy beaches along the Atlantic Ocean. The southern part of the city is used alot by people that live there and tourists. Tijuca National Park and the Serra da Carioca range are both outside of Rio. It has parts of the tropical rain forest that used to cover the entire area. Parks provide a lot of opportunities of recreational activities, including hiking, climbing, hang gliding, jogging, soccer, walking, and cycling. Maracana Stadium, which holds more than 100,000 seats for soccer games, is located just outside Quinta da Boa Vista Park. Tourists come each year to Carnivals. The festival is held in February or March. During the weeks of the Carnival, the city gets thousands of tourists. Events are street dancing, behind popular bands, marching bands using brass and drums, formal Carnival balls for every person, and many days of "Sambadrome"ÃÂ. A Sambadrome is a parade where the best schools compete in a marathon musical and dance competition along a certain street where thousands of people gather to watch the event.
I think Brazil has a lot of fun and popular activities because it is such a big country and has a lot of great and talented teams. I enjoyed listening to the soccer part of Brazil because I play soccer myself.
English: Paço de São Cristóvão, former imperia...
English: Main entrance to the Rio de Janeiro Zoo, ...
Entrance to Quinta da Boa Vista gardens and Zoolog...