Salvadoran fans reacted strongly - it went beyond football
Charles Fabian took a while to capture the whole picture.
The young forward was just finishing dinner at Brazil's hotel in Salvador, when Bahia, the president of the local side, stormed into the room.
Paulo Maracaja yelled, "You can pack you bags because we are not staying here," as he grasped Charles by his arm.
It was June 1989. Charles, then 21, was a Bahia player and was about to start a home Copa America. He was unsure of what to do. He was unable to locate anyone from the Brazilian FA and he decided to follow the orders to leave.
Maracaja took matters into his own hands after he was told Charles would be among the three who were cut from the final 20 man squad. Maracaja was furious that his player had been dropped.
Dramatic consequences would result from the omission. The national consciousness will forever remember the events that followed as one of the most tragic moments in Brazilian sports history. It was a betrayal for a people who felt marginalised for a long time - and continue to feel that way today.
Brazil's opening match took place the next day in Salvador, a north-eastern metropolis.
Charles was a local legend, and it had been many years since a player from a region's team had been selected for the national team.
Although only 13,000 people attended the victory over Venezuela 3-1, it was less than half the capacity. However, the message was clearer. The Brazilian flag was set on fire, and supporters booed it. They also forced the coaches to leave the dugout with flares directed at them. The crowd exploded in anger.
Charles states that he had mixed emotions on the day. Charles says, "I was happy about the support I received, but I was also sad about what happened. Nobody wants to see their flag burn.
"The protest was valid, but it could have been done differently, according to my opinion."
This wasn't about football. Charles was eventually dragged into a debate about the Brazilian divide, which has been going on for decades. It is the Brazilian divide between two main population centers - the wealthy South-East and the poor North-East, which trail behind in every economic and social indicator.
This area of the country has millions who earn less than 20 per month. Millions are hungry. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate has soared to over 50%.
Many north-easterners are forced to move to the south-eastern cities Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo because of this hardship. However, life isn't always easy once you get there. Prejudice is one of the biggest obstacles.
Rivaldo, the Barcelona legend, complained for almost his entire career about not being treated the same as other Brazil stars Romario or Ronaldo by the media. Rivaldo claimed that there was one reason why he wasn't treated the same way as other Brazil stars, Romario and Ronaldo. He was originally from the north-east. In 2015, he retired officially. The general consensus was that his talent had never been appreciated.
O Globo newspaper's report about Charles Fabian (left in photo) exclusion from the Brazil squad 1989
Rio de Janeiro is a place where people from Brazil's north-east are stereotypically called "paraibas", which refers to anyone from Paraiba state. The same thing happens in Sao Paulo where they are called "baianos" (from Bahia).
Brazil is famous for one episode: the reaction of Edmundo, a former international, to being expelled in a match in 1997.
He stated: "We came to play in Paraiba [the actual game took place in Rio Grande do Norte in the north-eastern states] and you put a paraiba [the official was actually from Ceara in the north-eastern states] to referee it. It couldn't have worked out.
You can also find examples from Brazil's highest office. In a leaked audio recording, Jair Bolsonaro (born in Sao Paulo) was recorded calling the governors in the north-east states "paraiba governors".
People from the north-east often are considered inferior intellectually and socially in the south. It is not uncommon to hear their local accents ridiculed and laughed at.
Hulk, a former star of Zenit St Petersburg and Porto, was subject to that during a news conference for the national team before the 2014 World Cup.
A journalist asked the 35-year-old forward, referring to people living in the north-east, if "it's their accent which makes them funny." He was a passionate son from the region and couldn't believe what he heard.
Hulk, now back playing Brazilian football with Atletico Mineiro, said, "Unfortunately, it is still there, regardless of your work or profession."
"But the north-easterner, a fighter, is a winner and can overcome everything. Being from the north-east is a proud thing. I can carry our banner anywhere and defend our people. "I am grateful for the support and love I have received all my life."
Firmino was born in Maceio in northern Italy. He moved to Figueirense in Florianopolis at the age of 17
The nine-state region is the country's second largest, and has approximately 57,000,000 people. 27% of the nation's population. However, it has never hosted a Brazilian footballer in the World Cup.
In the last 15 years, only two players from the north-east clubs have been called up to the national team. They were Diego Souza, a forward at Sport Recife in 2017, and Douglas Santos, a left-back at Nautico in 2013.
Talented players often leave these clubs after receiving lucrative offers, and sometimes they make their senior debuts without being there for very long. Rivaldo and Roberto Firmino followed similar paths.
Local outfits are unable to compete with the financial powerhouses Flamengo, Palmeiras, and Gremio because they have smaller budgets. They lose their best players.
The best way to combat this is to sell their young talent directly to Europe. However, the situation has improved over recent years but that rarely happens. Most of them still travel to the south-east, then to other leagues. Franck Henouda, a French-Algerian agent believes that there's a reason.
Henouda was Shakhtar Donetsk’s emissary to Brazil for nearly two decades. He overseen the arrivals Fernandinho and Willian, Fred, Douglas Costa, and many other players. None of the 13 Brazilian footballers Henouda recruited for the Ukrainian team were from the north-east.
"If a club approaches me and tells me that they have a boy from the north and one from the south, I will advise them to sign the former. Henouda states that although he may be more costly, the risks are less.
Brazil is a continent country. I only noticed the differences in Brazil after I moved there in 2000. Rio Grande do Sul and Parana as well as Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais stoodout for me because they produced more European footballers.
"Players who come from these regions are more physically fit and have less hunger problems growing up. They eat colonial breakfasts in southern areas. It's completely different in the north.
"I was watching an Atletico Goianiense forward the other day - I like him very much, but he is short and has small bones because they didn’t develop properly in childhood due to a lack calcium. He is more vulnerable to injuries.
When you're closing a deal, it is important to pay attention not only to the details but also to the type of studs worn by the athlete. He will likely have worn rubber studs all his life. This will make it difficult for him to adjust to metal boots when he arrives in Europe. Some teams won't wait 10 million euros to get it.
Fortaleza fans cheer on their team - the surprise package for the season
It is rare to see anything outside of the Sao Paulo–Rio de Janeiro–Belo Horizonte–Porto Alegre axis receiving nationwide coverage in Brazil.
It is more difficult for north-eastern clubs to succeed in the top flight when they are dependent on TV revenue and commercial ventures.
The goal for the north-eastern side is to finish in the top 10 - this has been accomplished only three times in the last decade. But things are changing.
Fortaleza's revenues increased by 10 times between 2014 and 2019. They currently sit fourth on the table and are in the Brazilian Cup semi-finals for the first-time in 102 years.
Ceara has the lowest amount of debt in Brazil, while Bahia and Bahia have also made dramatic transformations.
They were at rock bottom and found themselves in the third tier in 2006. Fans were so outraged that Salvador saw 50,000 march against the board. The situation did not improve quickly, but 2013 season ticket holders were allowed to vote for the president of the club - something very rare in Brazilian football.
The 1959 and 1988 league titles trophies of the team were found in garbage bags. They are now a model club. They have repaid some of their debt and established a new transparency policy.
Vitor Ferraz, vice-president of Bahia, says that "I have no doubt" that the system was very strong and disadvantaged north-eastern footballers until the 1990s.
"When you look at a team that has won the Brazilian league like ours in 1988 and see the fact that they were given only occasional opportunities, you realize that they would have had more chances if they wore a different shirt. Charles' 1989 experience is a good example of this.
"We are now considered the most democratic team in the country. Although it has attracted some attention from national media, we know that the impact of a club from south would have been greater.
"We attribute this to the prejudice that still exists. However, I am certain that we are in a better place than we were 10-15 years ago.
"From now, the pitch will alter this reality."
