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Stade Suisse, September 10, 2005. YB meets Thun in the Bern derby. A true zero number. When the referee ends the match, the home team is sent to the locker room with a whistle. Still, the match is special because seven Brazilians are playing on that Saturday evening. At YB these are Tiago Calvano, Francisco Neri and João Paulo, at Thun Tiago Bernardini, Leandro Vieira, Gelson and Adriano Pimenta.
Seven Brazilians in one match? Today, almost twenty years later, one can only dream of this in Switzerland. While there were 27 footballers from Sugarloaf that season who played for a Super League club, in 2024 there will in fact only be one player holding up the Brazilian flag. The samba kickers danced in this country.
But why are Brazilians no longer an import hit in Switzerland? Blick spoke with former Brazilians who had made their money in Switzerland and with advisors. Seven reasons for the Brazilian doldrums.
1
Brazilians are now making good money in their home country
There used to be little money in Brazilian football. That is why Europe was a place of longing for many players and a transfer there was the opportunity to reach the big honey pots. That was the case with Ratinho, for example. “Before I moved to St. Gallen in 1992, I was already a professional in Brazil’s top flight. Yet I earned ten times more in Switzerland than in my home country,” he says.
Nowadays things are different, explains the Swiss champion (1993 with Aarau) and the German champion (1998 with Kaiserslautern): “Things have changed in the meantime. Anyone who plays in Brazil’s top two leagues makes good money. That’s why, according to a study, Brazil now exports 50 percent fewer footballers than it did five to eight years ago. Nowadays, many players wonder: ‘Why would I move abroad if I can’t even make money there?’
2
The transfer costs are getting higher and higher
Dino Lamberti is very familiar with Brazilian footballers. As an advisor he brought Eduardo, Jairo and Raffael, among others, to Switzerland. This has now become significantly more difficult. “Nowadays, if a Brazilian is a regular player in the second highest Serie B, the transfer fee is between 1.5 and 3 million euros. There are not many Swiss clubs that can or want to pay such an amount.”
Another player agent, who does not want to be named, tells an example from the 1990s when he transferred a Brazilian to the Bundesliga. “At the time the transfer fee was 7 million euros, which was a lot of money. Today the same player would cost more than 25 million. Such transfer fees are now normal for Brazilians. There are no more bargains.”
3
The work visa thing
Now things get complicated. Long gone are the days when Swiss clubs could simply sign a Brazilian. Keyword non-EU/EFTA nationals. Consultant Dino Lamberti: “If you, as a professional football player in Switzerland, want to receive a work visa from the migration agency, you must have played in one of the two highest Brazilian leagues for at least two years.” Anyone who meets these requirements is – see point 2 – usually too expensive for Swiss clubs.
There are also rules that allow footballers from lower Brazilian leagues to obtain a visa here, but the requirements are high. According to the State Secretariat for Migration, it must be proven that the kicker also has “solid competition experience at professional level” in that competition.
4
Today the players know what to expect in Switzerland
Thanks to the internet and globalization, players can now – unlike in the past – get to know their new home before a possible move. This could also deter certain Brazilians, says Ratinho. “Then you know that it is cold here and that there is a different culture. At the same time, they also know what they have in Brazil. That they also make good money there. Why would they leave this comfort zone?”
The example of Antonio Dos Santos, who played for Swiss clubs for over ten years, including GC and Schaffhausen, shows what it was like in the past. “I was 18 at the time and didn’t know what to expect in Switzerland. When I arrived here in February there was snow, something I had never seen before in my life,” says Dos Santos, who now works as a logistics employee and coaches the second team and the U14 of FC Schaffhausen. And further: “The The first months were very difficult because I missed my family and my surroundings and did not understand a word of German. I thought several times about returning to Brazil.”
5
Switzerland is no longer a springboard
The Swiss competition was and still is a training competition and therefore also a springboard for foreigners. Young players like Giovane Elber once used local football to make the jump to Europe’s top competition. Nowadays that is no longer the case. The great Brazilian talents have long since moved directly to England, Italy or Germany and do not stop in Switzerland, partly because we can no longer pay the transfer fee.
And what about the middle-aged players (25 to 28 years old)? They are rather uninteresting for Swiss clubs because they cannot easily be resold later.
6
The risk among players from lower leagues
One thing is clear: there are plenty of players in the lower Brazilian leagues who would be a reinforcement for the Swiss clubs. But the effort required to discover them is great. Consultant Lamberti: “In 2017 I brought Carlinhos Junior, who played in the third highest division, to FC Lugano. He was a good backup.”
The problem with this, besides the challenge with the work visa: you can only find such a player if you are very familiar with Brazilian football. Maybe there are just fewer and fewer advisors and clubs concerned about it these days. Those who are willing to look for a needle in a haystack. Knowing that it might not work after all, but that the (financial) effort would be great.
7
The major support effort for the clubs
Anyone who signs a Brazilian has to take care of him afterwards. This costs money and is complex. Ratinho remembers what it was like for him. «At the beginning of my time in Switzerland I was on my own. This was also a challenge in everyday life. I still remember the first time I went to the supermarket and wanted to buy rice, but I accidentally picked up risotto, which I didn’t even know from my home country. It was a small thing, but if no one cares about you, it’s hard to find your way in a foreign country and culture.”
By the way, Ratinho today works exactly in this field. At Red Bull Salzburg he is responsible for the integration of football players from all over the world. «I work with players from 17 different countries. On and off the field. A banal example: If a player sees a plate with cervelat and potato salad on it and then says that he doesn’t eat that, I answer him: ‘Stop! Try it, you have to adapt. › This is also part of a successful integration. Unfortunately, many clubs have not yet understood that.”
An indirect consequence of this: the Brazilians are leaving the Super League. A fact that Ratinho deeply regrets: “I would love to sit in the stands in Switzerland again to be able to marvel at a new Giovane Elber on the field.”
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
