Bruno just wants to play -- if he can get out of prison
Perhaps not even Quentin Tarantino could have come with a more gruesome and bizarre plot: a famous goalkeeper from Brazil´s best-supported team goes to court accused of ordering the killing of his mistress. But this is a real case that rocked Brazilian football during the 2010 World Cup.
Four years later, Brazilians have again been drawn to the tragic life of former Flamengo captain Bruno Fernandes, who signed with lower division club Montes Claros in a desperate attempt at a second chance. Never mind that the keeper has only served a single year out of a 22-year prison sentence imposed in 2013.
The reaction has naturally been mixed in Brazil, but Bruno´s plea won a powerful tribune when an exclusive interview to Brazilian football magazine Placar was published earlier this month.
In the piece, Bruno didn´t hold back and even spoke about a suicide attempt that only failed thanks to a tear in the sheet he was using as an improvised rope -- an incident that led to a religious conversion. Above all, however, Bruno spoke about his desire to go back to the game.
"Let me play. I really want to be able to restart my life," he told the magazine.
Much easier said than done. To even start thinking about a return to the pitch, Bruno will need a judicial effort that is very likely to fail to convince authorities and public opinion. He is currently held in a maximum-security prison in Contagem, near Belo Horizonte, the capital of landlocked state Minas Gerais and one of the World Cup cities.
To play for Montes Claros, he would have to be transferred to a local penitentiary and then pose a convincing argument to go around the present legislation, which would not offer him parole until 2020.
Bruno´s lawyers are pushing for a special authorization that would allow the player to leave prison to train and play under police escort, but no independent expert believes they will succeed, especially in such a controversial situation.
The gruesome case came to the fore in June 2010 when Minas Gerais police charged Bruno with the disappearance of model Eliza Samudio, who at the time was trying to prove in court that the player was the father of her baby son, also named Bruno.
Investigations pointed to a barbaric kidnapping and execution of Samudio, aggravated by the abandonment of the baby in a Contagem slum.
The case drew even more interest because Bruno was one of the stars of a Flamengo team who a few months earlier had broken a 17-year duck and lifted the Brazilian championship trophy. The goalkeeper was the captain and one of the most popular players, with many envisaging a possible Seleção call-up sooner than later.
Almost as shocking was the stone-faced expression with which Bruno faced the cameras when taken to court. It didn´t help a case already resonating strongly among Brazilians. In a country with a strong history of impunity skewed towards famous and rich people, the public saw in the arrest and sentencing of a famous footballer an exception to sad rules.
For example, former Brazilian international Edmundo was involved in the death of a woman in a traffic accident in 1995. He was sentenced to four years and six months in prison on a manslaughter charge, but he never saw any jail time and continued his playing career. The case was eventually dismissed by the president of Brazil´s Supreme Court in 2011 after the statute of limitations ran out.
Edmundo´s real punishment came in the form of "Edmundo is a killer" taunts by opposition fans. The same kind of reception will inevitably be extended to Bruno if he ever shows up on a football pitch again.
"I am aware that my return to football will not be easy," Bruno told Placar. "There will be a lot of judgment and pressure. But I will overcome that. If I have a chance to play again people will look at me with other eyes, because they will see who I really am."
It was quite puzzling to see Montes Claros, a club outside of the four-tier professional system and currently playing in the second division at the state level, offer Bruno a chance to return. The offer of a contract immediately smelled of a publicity stunt, but club president Joevile Mocelin vehemently argued that he is thinking with the heart oa fan and religious man.
"I have always been a fan of Bruno´s," Mocelin said during a media whirlwind. "He is a great player. The club wants to give him an opportunity to rehabilitate himself, because everybody deserves one. He is paying for what he´s done. Bruno is a criminal, but prison alone won´t rehabilitate him."
The president said he consulted the board, club sponsors and supporters before offering Bruno a five-year deal that could hardly be more austere in comparison to Bruno´s time at Flamengo -- it offers the player $700 U.S. a month. According to Mocelin, 59 percent of fans agreed with the signing.
"We never wanted to attract media attention. That needs to be clear," Mocelin said. "And I would never have gone through with the offer if any of our stakeholders disagreed."
Unfortunately, Brazilians in general seem to be strong-minded in what concerns reintegration of former convicts. In the same state of Minas Gerais where Bruno is currently held, only two out of 10 people with a criminal record manage to find a job, according to state government statistics, even with bonuses granted to companies hiring ex-convicts.
Rife urban violence in many Brazilian capitals has fanned the flames of intolerance. A few months ago in Rio de Janeiro, the actions of a neighborhood watch group who beat up a man accused of muggings and chained him by the neck to a lamppost were worryingly defended by sectors of the media.
Thus, Bruno´s path to redemption looks like a very long and winding road.
Brasil: Flamengo, Vasco, Fluminense, Botafogo (100% Carioca) Rio > Säo Paulo
MENGÃO TRI DA AMÈRICA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RlVt8zJhXQ