The Beautiful Game
"The Beautiful Game" (Portuguese: o jogo bonito) is a nickname for association football. It was popularised by Brazilian footballer Pelé, though the exact origin of the phrase is disputed. Stuart Hall, an English football commentator, used it as far back as 1958. Hall admired Peter Doherty when he went to see Manchester City play at Maine Road and used the term "The Beautiful Game" to describe Doherty's style of play.[1] During his career, the Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho was an exponent of the "Joga Bonito" ("Play Beautifully") style of play. Although made famous around the world, the phrase jogo bonito is not used in Brazil, whereas the term futebol-arte ("Art Football") means the same.
This article is about the term. For the sport itself, see Association football. For other uses, see The Beautiful Game (disambiguation).Etymology[edit]
The exact origins of the term are disputed. The origin has been attributed to Brazilian footballer Waldyr "Didi" Pereira,[2] and the presenter Stuart Hall claimed to have originated it in 1958.[2][3] The English author and football fanatic H. E. Bates used the term earlier, including in a 1952 newspaper piece extolling the virtues of the game entitled "Brains in the Feet".[4]
Earlier writers used the term in 1848 to describe the game of baaga'adowe, a forerunner of lacrosse as played by Ojibwe at Vauxhall Gardens in London,[5] and to tennis in 1890.[6]