THE UNKNOWN LEGACY OF CARLOS PACE

                                  Carlos Pace after winning the 1975 Brazilian Grand Prix                                            Courtesy: FOM

With two races more to complete yet another F1 season, one thing is sure - the eventual winner will be decided in the finale showdown at Abu Dhabi. Lewis Hamilton leading with 24 points to his closest rival and team mate Nico Rosberg. Hamilton can win this weekend and can take a lead of 49 points (assuming Rosberg does not finish) and yet lose the title if he fails to finish and Rosberg wins the last race. How? Courtesy of double points awarded for the last race; no matter what happens in Brazil, technically it is not over! and if recent history is to go by, last races have decided the world champions in the past.

Abu Dhabi is sometime away and for now the attention shifts to Autodromo José Carlos Pace in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The circuit still famous for its traditional name 'Interlagos' named after its location in a region between two artificial lakes (Guarapiranga and Billings) - built in the early part of the 20^th century for water and power supplies to the city. Interlagos (translated 'between lakes') more known to world for its Formula One has been involved in the game since the 1970's. It is here in the vicinity we saw many household names emerge and one such driver happened to be 'Carlos Pace' - whose life was cut short with an air accident and lost his life at the age of 32.

BRAZILIANS IN FORMULA ONE

Till date, there have been 30 drivers from Brazil who have competed in F1. There were five drivers who tried their hand unsuccessfully in the 1950's. It was not until the 70's the world saw the emergence of Brazilian drivers in Formula One. It started with Emerson Fittipaldi - who by winning the 1972 and 1974 driver's world championship helped to popularise the sport across Brazil. A contemporary of Fittipaldi, Carlos Pace too had to relocate to Europe to secure a future in F1. After a series of decent performances, Pace made debut in F1 with Team Williams in a March chassis Cosworth powered engine in 1972 - the same year when Brazil hosted the first F1 Grand Prix. It is safe to say, along with the Fittipaldi brothers, Pace was one of the early pioneers from Brazil to have made a mark in Formula One.

SAO PAULO - HOME OF FORMULA ONE IN BRAZIL

Sao Paulo has been the theatre of many spectacles as far as F1 goes in Brazil. It is no surprise, out of the 30 drivers sixteen of them were born in this part of Brazil. If you exclude Nelson Piquet (born in Rio and only non-Sao Paulo Brazilian winner of the home event), there are no other names to talk about in detail. The Fittipaldi brothers, Ayrton Senna, Barrichello, Massa and Pace - all had their humble beginnings in Sao Paulo.

In the late 1970's, the F1 action shifted from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro. Jacarepaguá Circuit now known as the Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet hosted the Brazilian GP in the 80's coinciding with the rise of Nelson Piquet's stature as a triple world champion. Towards the end of the 80's, the attention again shifted towards Sao Paulo and it was not a coincidence that Brazil in Ayrton Senna was the next big star and he hailed from that part of the town. By this time, the circuit had been modified to meet the safety regulations and the name was also changed to ' Autodromo José Carlos Pace' in honour of Carlos Pace.

THE INCOMPLETE CAREER

Let us rewind back to the mid-70's, when Carlos Pace left Surtees team after having an altercation with John Surtees to race with Brabham midway through the 1974 season, a move which saw him perform more consistently. In the next year, he won his maiden Grand Prix in front of his home crowd much to the delight of thousands of fans who were gathered inside. It was Graham Hill's last appearance in Formula One and it was overshadowed by the 1-2 finish achieved by the local boys Pace and Emerson Fittipaldi. Pace would win two more podiums and finished sixth in the overall driver's standings to round-off his best season in F1. 1976 was a season to forget as far as Pace was concerned and all he could manage was 14th in the driver's standings.

The season 1977 started on a bright note with a second place in the inaugural race of the season at Argentina. A retirement in front of his home crowd and a 13th place in South African GP which is notoriously remembered for the deaths of Tom Pryce and the track side marshal Frederik Jansen van Vuuren.

The next race was at Long Beach and before that there was Race of Champions at Brands Hatch - a event which Pace didn't take part. He was back in Brazil on some business. On March 18th 1977, the private flight he was on along with his two friends collided with a hill near Sao Paulo during a storm and claimed their lives. Carlos Pace was 32 and another F1 driver casualty as a result of 'accident' - though this was outside racing.

Personally having followed (through books, documentaries, interviews) F1 personalities during the dangerous era, one can safely assume about drivers being shaken when they see their colleagues die and more so if it was on track. Racing was the only time when drivers were able to focus without too many doubts hanging on them. Formula One was indeed a lot different back in the 1970's and beyond; it was popular, had money, gave the thrills and all that could be lost in a matter of seconds, through no fault of drivers at times! It still retains the essence of old days - but is a lot safer!

The passing away of Carlos Pace was due to an accident though not on track. Nevertheless, it was an accident which cut short his life and thereby abruptly ending yet another talented driver in Formula One.

LEGACY

In 1985, in honour of Carlos Pace, the track Autodromo Interlagos was renamed to its current name Autodromo José Carlos Pace and since 1990, it has been a place which has decided world championships. Who can forget Kimi Raikkonen's amazing drive to beat Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in 2007? the very next year, do you recall the scenes of the heartbroken local boy Felipe Massa to lose the title in the dying seconds of the race to Lewis Hamilton?

Bust of Carlos Pace at the Autodromo José Carlos Pace - home of the Brazilian Grand Prix

The legacy of Carlos Pace is that he along with Emerson Fittipaldi inspired a racer in Senna - who enthralled everyone with this ruthlessness on track and humility off it. It is not a surprise to hear this from Senna when asked about Brazilian racing in 1989 - " In Brazil we have had Emerson (Fittipaldi), (José) Carlos Pace, and now it's me. After me there will be another one. This is unrefusable." And since Senna, we have had Barrichello and Felipe Massa, who happens to be the last Brazilian driver win at home.

On a parting note this is something to remember. Most of the F1 fans were thrilled to have seen 'Rush' which chronicles the life of James Hunt and focuses on his championship winning season and the duel he had with Nikki Lauda. Carlos Pace was racing in 1976 though he did not play a part or had any influence in the outcome of the season. While the actual season was in progress, Carlos Pace did play the stunt double for Al Pacino for driving scenes, who in his role of Bobby Deerfield happened to be a F1 driver. This was a fictional account of an American racer who falls in love with a Swiss woman. Carlos Pace was credited for his contribution for driving his Brabham BT45 for the movie and by the time the movie was released, Pace was no more.

Carlos Pace as the stunt double for Al Pacino 

The movie was dedicated to Carlos Pace. He might not have been a champion remembered by people globally - he surely remains one of the favourite sons of Sao Paulo to have raced in Formula One. And a testimony to that is - the name of the track still remains in his honour in spite of Senna and his heroics. 

A NIGHTMARE TO FORGET - 2014 BRAZIL WORLD CUP

Courtesy: News Agencies 

I think it is the continuous pain in those 90 minutes which is unbearable. The focus constantly on those eleven players is intense and painful for the spectators rooting a particular team in circumstances which Brazil were in yesterday. It can be a devastating experience for fans present in the stadium; for all those watching on television or even those who use their smart phones to check the scores. How can one erase what they just saw?

Football is a beautiful game, it definitely is. I saw a different side to this beautiful game when a team that prides itself to be at the forefront of football went through such a horrible defeat.

Like me, many others have experienced such a defeat growing up and can share their most heartbroken sports stories to this day. Few analysis on the match, scrutinising few of the players who performed poorly, to place our own strategies and debating about it - we move on or at least we make an effort.

Whether the angry fans resort to personal abuse or protests - an athlete on the field will have scars which he has to live with for the rest of his life. C'est la vie!

And there are players who missed taking part in the game - through injuries (Neymar Jr), penalty (Thiago Silva) who watched their team blown away in those six minutes conceding four goals. Such were the levels of shock that Miroslav Klose, who netted his 16^th goal (World Record) of the World Cup was mentioned briefly in the game.

The game shall be remembered for the grand Brazilian defeat than Germany's outstanding win.

For the younger fans, the passionate fans - the defeat could be a blow and even come as a shock. Many tears were shed and it will only take few years to realise, I shed those tears for what? One will probably look back in a different way and till that time, you too as a fan has to live with it.

A certain youngster in 1950 was passionate about football and saw his countrymen mourning to the loss against Uruguay at the finals held in Brazil. And that youngster went on to play a pivotal role in guiding the national team to three of the five titles they have won - a feat no team has matched so far. And the same athlete used those golden words while describing the sport in his autobiography - 'A Beautiful Game'. It turned the Brazilian football and to an extent the global football completely. Football without Brazil is like Formula One without Ferrari. Unimaginable!

Such is the beauty of sports that - it moves on, it provides opportunities to improve and the only thing that asks an athlete in return is his willingness to participate. I am not sure how many of the athletes will turn up in Brazilian colours come 2018 in Russia. They need not seek revenge or look for redemption - because none of it actually exists except in our perceptive thoughts. The defeat however crucifying it maybe is part of the game just like the win.

It is hard, awkward, baffling, embarrassing, rough, rocky, arduous, delicate and add any other adjectives you like - the history shall not be erased if even Brazil were to win the next three World Cups in a row.

Some will move on with time, some prefer to stay with the result for rest of their lives, some will always be finding ways to cope with the defeat and some - they just don't care.

That to me is 'Sports Imitating Life'.  

THE CASE OF A MISSING LETTER - INDIA AT THE 1950 FOOTBALL WORLD CUP

In the past month and a half, the media - especially the sports section have turned all their attention to the world's sporting showpiece - FIFA World Cup. Analysis, predictions, history and many other elements are being churned out, leaving no corners at all. Much such news highlighted India's inability to qualify at this global event. The causes are plenty - but what I do know is that India had an opportunity to play at the World Cup in Brazil back in 1950.

Preparations were on till about a month's time when the Secretary General of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), Dr. Ivo Schricker received a telegram from AIFF (All-India Football Federation)  stating its inability to participate in the World Cup and the same news to be informed to the Brazilian Organising Committee. There were no reasons given in that telegram. 

However, a letter addressed to FIFA was to follow explaining the reasons for India's late withdrawal. Was this letter written? If yes, where is this letter? For sure, this letter would debunk several theories surrounding the withdrawal. All one finds is a letter dated 15th June 1950 written to FIFA by AIFF "requesting two rulebooks for the federation use".

Playing barefoot, lack of funds, lack of interest, lack of training or was World Cup - a much smaller event involving 16 countries than compared with Summer Olympics which had 59 countries taking part at the 1948 London Olympics.

The 1948 Summer Olympics was the first truly international competition India took part post-independence. Indian football team or also known as 'All-India' from FIFA's official sanction back then showed its prowess playing barefoot. 

Since 1947, AIFF and FIFA have corresponded a lot of times leading up to the 1950 World Cup. I have written this article based on those correspondences interspersed with my opinions after having followed the history of this game for a while.

In early 1949, the organising committee and FIFA had selected 30 countries - out of which 16 teams would then be shortlisted leading up to the World Cup or Jules Rimet Trophy as it was called then. 'All-India' was part of this list and was one of the four countries from Asia.

AIFF in their preparations for the World Cup requested FIFA on 21st Dec 1949 about their qualifying matches in order to ascertain who among the Asian teams clubbed under Group 10 of qualifying matches would go through as a finalist for the main event. 

AIFF secretary Mr. Dutta Ray even talked about chartering a flight from Calcutta (now Kolkata) or Bombay (now Mumbai) to Brazil. AIFF had even plans to send the team 10 days in advance to Brazil and play few friendlies before the commencement of the tournament. AIFF also requested for approximate costs which would be incurred for accommodation purposes.

On the same day, Sir Stanley Rous (oblivious to the AIFF letter written on that day) the then Secretary of FIFA and member of the organising committee wrote a letter addressed to Mr. Dutta Ray, secretary of AIFF. The letter was detailed and it highlighted the organising committee's plans to have 16 teams grouped into four groups of four teams. 

Philippines and Burma had withdrawn and so India was to be the sole representative from Asia if they were willing to. 

Rous requested if India would like to be part of the World Cup and since India would have played no opponents as a result of withdrawal of aforementioned teams, the Indian team was requested to come and play few qualifying matches in Europe (Spain, Switzerland or Portugal) to "prove if the team was worthy to take a place in the last sixteen". 

Rous also added - "Your team was recently beaten by a touring Swedish club and wondered whether that opportunity to judge your strength had caused your committee to review its decision to take part in the World Cup, the last of the teams which will be drawn from strong Professional clubs". 

He concluded the letter by telling that he was not confident that England is good enough to go far in the tournament after their performance against Italy in the friendlies.

With six months to go for the World Cup, it was clear that India was the sole contender to represent Asia at the World Cup. Before that they had to reply to FIFA whether they would be interested in taking part and if they are indeed willing to participate, will they be sending a team to Europe to prove 'if they indeed belong to the league of the other world teams'.

AIFF wrote a strong letter to FIFA's Secretary General Dr. Ivo Schricker in which they highlighted - "Regarding the friendlies to be played in Europe, had India fulfilled her engagements with Burma or Philippines this question would not have come up at all." 

It also indicated that if Burma or Philippines were to withdraw, India would automatically get in. A clarification on the Swedish club 'Helsingborg' defeating India 11-0 was false. In fact, the Swedish team played three exhibition matches in Calcutta (Kolkata) against Mohan Bagan, East Bengal, and Bengal Football Association. Mohan Bagan drew the match while East Bengal and Bengal Football Association lost their matches by two goals and a solitary goal respectively. 

AIFF insisted India to be much stronger than what it was at the 1948 Olympics and would not cut a sorry figure at the World Cup. AIFF had also appointed the FA Coach George Ainsley from the UK to train the boys for 3-4 months duration leading up to the World Cup.

In its 23rd February 1950 letter to AIFF, FIFA confirmed India to be the finalist and they need not play their friendlies in Europe. 

The letter concluded with - "I want to mention a question which may be discussed by the Organising Committee in their next meeting: the question regarding whether the bare-foot playing will be allowed. I know that nothing is said about this question in the Laws of the Game - but the question will be eventually raised. It would be in my opinion advisable to let your players use in practice games light shoes, not heavy shoes." The last part was a private advice given by the Secretary-General to AIFF.

On the very next day, another letter was addressed to AIFF in which FIFA regrets the wrong press reports of the Swedish club matches played earlier. And it confirms again that AIFF does not need to play any of the so-called 'Test matches'.

On 19th March 1950, the organising committee met in Zurich and discussed various points related to the preparation of the World Cup. From the minutes of the meeting, it emerged that - "The Organising Committee considers that all players should play with shoes. 

However, it is known that in some countries there are players who play football without shoes, especially in India. A letter will be sent to the All India Football Federation drawing attention wrt Art. Game 4 of the Statutes, which provides that the shoes are part of the equipment of the player and perhaps an arbitrator (referee) may refer to this article and hence prohibiting play barefoot".

Until 27th April 1950, there was no response from AIFF on their stand regarding playing barefoot. FIFA and the organising committee published the list of finalists who would be taking part in that year's World Cup. India was part of the final list.

India was placed alongside Sweden, Paraguay, and Italy in Group C.

With just 30 days to go for the World Cup, FIFA received a wire message from AIFF which read - "Regret unable participate World Cup letter follows inform Brazil" - Soccer Calcutta.

And that letter is not to be seen and hence the mystery surrounds regarding this last minute pull-out.

What could be the reasons? Lack of funds, lack of preparation, lack of awareness surrounding World Cup football, amateur vs. professionalism, long-distance travel, apprehensions against the World's top sides, being stubborn to change its barefooted playing style or the politics over selection and power?

Let me look at it one by one.

Lack of funds - Though India was independent three years prior to the event, lack of funds was not a concern. Wealthy businessmen and other philanthropists were in plenty to fund the football team to Brazil. Moreover, the Brazilian Confederation had guaranteed air transport for up to 22 passengers. The cost of the stay for the teams would have been reimbursed from two days before the first match until two days after its last match.

At that time, while the plans for the inaugural Asian Games were being made in India, it is highly unlikely that Government would have stopped the football team from participating at the World Cup. And moreover, by mere presence, Indian football team would have been paid by the Organising Committee as a part of its participation fees.

Lack of preparation - George Ainsley, the English professional football player was roped in by AIFF to help prepare the Indian football team specifically keeping in mind of the World Cup. It was less than two years ago in 1948, where the Indian footballers put up a brave show against France at the Olympics. The better team lost that day but they returned home brimming with confidence. But how big was this football World Cup back then for these Indian footballers and to the AIFF? It seems Olympics was given more importance keeping in mind the success of Indian hockey team and its global appeal at that time. Lack of preparation would have been a mere excuse if even it came from the press release of AIFF.

Lack of awareness surrounding World Cup - Let me be brutally honest here. Sixty-five years ago, sports was merely an element which the 'selected few' played. India, post-independence had many problems and sports was not the priority. The success of the Indian national hockey team made headlines across the country. 

Rest, it was left to purists to go out and satisfy their thirst for more sporting knowledge and desire. Prior to the 1950 football World Cup, the previous edition was held in France - a good 12 years ago. At a time when most men and women of our country were busy in the freedom movement, passing the ball around with one's foot and to have men playing for a world cup based out of this sport was unimaginable to many. However, this has nothing to do with Indian football.

AIFF was formed in 1937 and a letter from AIFF was written to FIFA in April 1947 seeking permission to be part of FIFA. FIFA in return acknowledged and sent their statutes and waited for AIFF with the application. In May 1948, a letter was sent to AIFF confirming their membership with FIFA. In the subsequent letters written to FIFA, AIFF had shown more concern over 'rumours' of football being removed from the Olympic programme and if needed India would be happy to host the football leg of Olympics for the forthcoming edition.

It was evident, Olympics no-doubt was much bigger in scale than football World Cup around that time. In fact, later that year in 1949, Mr. Dutta Ray had visited FIFA in Switzerland and met the Secretary General of FIFA, Dr. Ivo Schricker. In his thank note, Ray acknowledged the warm welcome he received during his stay in Zurich and at the end of the note requests 'the arrangement plans' of India for the Brazil trip.

AIFF knew about the World Cup well in advance. Whether the Indian football team was well-informed on these communications with FIFA is not known. Even the ace-footballer 'Sailen Manna' (passed away in 2012) - who captained India at the 1948 Olympics revealed in an interview with Sports Illustrated India that - "We were less informed about the World Cup. And to us, the Olympics was everything".

The enthusiasm shown by AIFF in its letters to FIFA are anything to go by, it would be another excuse if 'lack of awareness' were deemed to be the main reason for India's last-minute withdrawal.

Amateur vs. Professionalism - At a time when India is still struggling to bring in professionalism in sports, it can be safely believed that the question of amateurism ideals of Olympics clashing with professionals would not have been an issue in 1950 for AIFF to worry. At that time, amateur vs. professional was a global issue in the sporting world and India being a newly formed country had other issues to deal with than worry on this 'debatable' matter.

Long distance Travel - At no point in time where Indian football team was asked to reach Brazil via waterways. It was well known to AIFF that the means of transport would be 'air-borne' and the Brazilian Confederation had offered teams air-fares. So we can safely rule out this reason.

Apprehensions against top sides at the World Cup -  Indian team was grouped alongside the reigning and two-time World champions Italy; Paraguay who had finished 11th at the 1930 World Cup playing in their second World Cup and Sweden, two-time participants at the World Cup and the Olympic gold winner at the 1948 Olympics. 

It must be noted that - the Italian team was affected by the 1949 Superga air disaster which took the lives of Torino AC football team killing 31 people which included 18 footballers. This was the background of the teams India were grouped with. 

Indian team were not favourites and if anything to go by, it was an opportunity to play alongside these top nations and get recognised after having performed well at the 1948 London Olympics. If India could go to the Olympics then why not to Brazil especially if the expenses (major) were taken care of?

Barefoot Theory - It is a well-documented fact that Indians preferred playing with their bare feet as compared with shoes. At least that was the case in the 1940's and early 1950's. Like mentioned earlier in this article, FIFA had given prior notice that Indian players were expected to play with shoes. 

If Indian hockey team played with shoes at the 1936 Olympics and at the 1948 Olympics then availability or knowledge of shoes was not an issue. AIFF - in their capacity could have procured shoes or at least requested for the duration of the World Cup. 

However, there is another fact which must be addressed. Indian team played with barefoot at the 1952 Helsinki Games and were thrashed by Yugoslavia 10-1. The champions of Asia were literally 'cold-feet'. This incident throws light at the fact that FIFA did not oppose India playing barefoot at the Olympics.

What would have happened if Indian team would have turned up in Brazil for the World Cup without shoes? Would the organisers have arranged shoes for the team or FIFA would have let Indians play barefoot as an exception or ban the Indian team from playing? Anyone of first two would have happened as I cannot fathom Indian team flown in and out without participating in the tournament.

While playing with shoes was not comfortable for Indian players, I am certain of the fact that the players were not shy about playing 'out of their comfort zone'.

Power Games and Selection Politics - Conduct a poll among the citizens of India on what prevents India from having a good sports governance, I would be surprised if power games and selection politics would not top the list by a huge margin. Such a delicate matter that, one cannot rule out this element - a crucial one as these struggles of power and favouritism towards selection have often been the reasons for many of the teams to withdraw from the tournament. While the administrators are entrusted to be the voice of world governing sports bodies, if therein lies a difference in opinion among the decision makers, the team often is the plagued one.

Conclusion: Without dwelling much into selection politics and power struggles, I would like to,  in my personal opinion have this point to be one of the many reasons I have cited above. The myth has grown in size due to this 'case of the missing letter containing official explanation' which the AIFF officially wrote or did not write to FIFA after sending that telegram on 24th May 1950. If there was an official explanation, it is nowhere to be seen. Is 'AIFF innocent until the world get to see the official explanation'? The innocence stems from the fact that - it is unimaginable for today's audience to fathom the size of 'World Cup' back then.

Till then at every edition of football World Cup, there will be a small section of this 'great Indian football story' along with many myths, 'if's' and 'buts' thrown in. The fact remains with the late withdrawal that - an opportunity was lost to be part of the World Cup. 

In an ideal scenario, India's participation at the World Cup would have inspired many a generation and probably football would have turned out to be India's mass sport. 

(Source: FIFA Archives)