23005: Chamberlain: Brazil soccer wizards cast spell over Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Joseph Guyler Delva

    PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Brazil's national soccer team
played a special "Peace Game" against Haiti on Wednesday, bringing a
rapturous sporting moment to Brazil's peacekeeping efforts in the troubled
Caribbean country.
     The score was a predictable easy win for the world champions -- 6-0 --
but given the adoration for the Brazilian side among Haitians, it was
hardly a disappointment for many in the crowd packing the stadium, cheering
and waving Brazilian flags.
     The friendly game was organized as a gesture of sporting diplomacy as
Brazil leads an international effort to restore order in Haiti, the poorest
country in the Americas, following the ouster of ex-President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide in February.
     A United Nations force led by 1,200 Brazilian troops took over command
of peacekeeping operations from the United States in June and the Brazilian
soldiers have used Haitians' love of soccer to show goodwill.
     The Brazilian players were greeted with frenzied enthusiasm when they
flew into the capital for the match, and around 13,000 spectators packed
into the stadium in downtown Port-au-Prince.
     Brazilian President President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, himself a
keen soccer fan, also flew in for the match between the five-times World
Cup winners and the humble Haitian side.
     "The game between Brazil and Haiti will allow us to celebrate together
our passion for football. We hope this game can become a symbol of our
friendship and stimulate contacts between our countries," Lula said in a
statement on arrival.
     He and the players were to spend just a few hours in the country. Most
of the Brazilian peacekeeping troops were on duty protecting the visitors.
     Brazil's team on Wednesday included superstars Ronaldinho -- who
scored a hat trick -- Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos, and most of the squad
eventually made it onto the pitch through substitutions.
     The side was was never stretched against a Haiti side which has
already been knocked out of the 2006 World Cup qualifying competition after
being beaten by Jamaica over two legs.
     The game was played in a carnival atmosphere, with fans singing,
chanting and drumming. People lined the streets outside the stadium on the
day before to buy tickets.
     Many Haitian soccer fans seem to find it natural to support Brazil,
although it is hard to pin down exactly why.
     One fan, Alain Charles, 32, said there was a legend that the legendary
Pele was actually born in Haiti and became a naturalized Brazilian citizen.
"Many people of my generation believe this," he said.
     Aristide, a former Roman Catholic priest, was viewed as a champion of
democracy when he became Haiti's first freely elected president in 1991. He
was ousted in a coup seven months later and returned to office by a
U.S.-led invasion in 1994.
     During his second term, which began in 2001, Aristide was increasingly
accused of mismanagement and political thuggery. Unrest erupted into the
armed revolt that forced him out.
     Since his departure, Haiti, now run by an interim government charged
with organizing elections, has settled into uneasy calm. But many Aristide
supporters are still seething over his departure and the country is awash
with arms.
     Originally organizers of the match had planned to swap tickets for
guns in a bid to take some of Haiti's weapons out of circulation, but the
idea was scrapped.

     (Additional reporting by Cesar Bianconi in Port-au-Prince)