Jorge de Amorim Campos
JORGINHO: UMA VIRADA RADICAL
A Colômbia vencia por 1X0 e com este resultado o Brasil estava
fora das Olimpíadas. A partida estava no segundo tempo e o time deles já começava ensaiar um olé
para cima da gente. Àquela altura os onze brasileiros em campo davam nítidos sinais de cansaço e esgotamento
físico. Precisávamos da vitória, mas como virar um jogo numa altitude daquelas? Jogar na Bolívia
a mais de 3.500 metros de altura não é nada fácil. Você puxa o ar, ele não vem.
Bebeto recebeu
a bola perto da grande área e pela característica do lance sabia que iria lançar na ponta. Já
estávamos acostumados a fazer aquela jogada no Flamengo: ele atraía a marcação e eu aparecia de
surpresa na lateral, recebendo o passe e cruzando nas costas dos zagueiros, pegando a defesa desprevenida. No Maracanã
a jogada ensaiada funcionara diversas vezes, mas será que iria acontecer o mesmo na Bolívia, com meu corpo beirando
o bagaço de tão cansado?
Respirei fundo, corri e orei. Senhor, preciso chegar naquela bola. Bebeto lançou.
A bola parecia um coelho veloz, querendo fugir pela linha de fundo. Senhor, só mais esse pique, implorei, enquanto
corria. Higuita deixou o gol, mas consegui chegar antes e mandei a bola para o fundo da rede. Era o gol de empate do Brasil!
Na garra, viramos o marcador, seguramos o resultado e garantimos o título do torneio e a vaga do Brasil para as Olimpíadas
de Seul.
De lá para cá, foram tantos jogos, tantas disputas, e tantas viagens, que até
perdi as contas. Dou graças a Deus por ter participado de times vencedores, como o Flamengo da era Zico e do Bayern
de Munique; além de ter disputado uma Olimpíada e duas Copas do Mundo. Agradeço a Deus por ter podido
atuar na Seleção Brasileira, pregando a Sua palavra por onde passei. Essa Palavra e esse Deus, conheci através
de verdadeiros milagres em nossa casa.
Nasci no Rio de Janeiro e praticamente não conheci meu pai, que faleceu quando
eu era muito novo. O que conheci de perto foram dificuldades e problemas, principalmente aqueles provocados por meu irmão
mais velho, Jaime, que era alcoólatra e sempre retornava transtornado, quebrando tudo o que encontrava pela frente.
Quando estava embriagado Jaime era portador de uma força descomunal e fazê-lo parar era um verdadeiro teste de
resistência física emocional. Quantas madrugadas tristes enfrentamos, por causa da bebida. Nossas forças
já haviam se esgotado, fazia tempo. Era como se o placar estivesse dez a zero para o adversário, aos quarenta
e cinco minutos do segundo tempo. Nada podíamos fazer e nem sabíamos se resistiríamos mais uma noite.
Mas Deus podia inverter esse placar.
A primeira intervenção do Senhor foi livrar Jaime da morte, depois de
um atropelamento horrível na Avenida Brasil. Nunca esquecerei o dia em que vi o papa-defuntos - aquele carro-geladeira
do Instituto Médico Legal - chegando para buscar o corpo de Jaime. Os funcionários da prefeitura ficaram surpresos
ao saber que ele ainda estava vivo, já que seus dois amigos haviam falecido na hora, no local do acidente. A segunda
veio com a libertação do Jaime do alcoolismo. Uma noite ele chegou para a família e disse: a partir de
hoje, não bebo mais. Jesus me libertou do vício. De fato, daquele dia em diante, Jaime nunca mais voltou a por
uma gota de álcool na boca, além de mudar completamente.
Sim, Deus atuara na vida do meu irmão. Como negar tal fato?
E atuou na minha
vida também. Naquela época eu treinava a semana inteira e no dia do jogo, minutos antes da partida iniciar,
sentia o corpo travar. Não conseguia sequer andar e, daquele jeito, como é que poderia correr atrás de
uma bola? Nada havia que me livrasse daquelas dores. No jogo da volta do Zico ao Flamengo, eu estava bem fisicamente e muito
disposto para jogar a partida festiva que reunia craques como Maradona, Falcão, Rummenige e Gentile, entre outros grandes
nomes do futebol mundial. A Copa do Mundo de 86 se aproximava e aquela era uma grande chance de mostrar serviço. Só
que mal peguei na bola, as dores voltaram, o corpo travou, e tive que sair de campo carregado numa maca, chorando bastante.
Naquela mesma noite decidi seguir a Jesus Cristo.
Ele transformou minha vida de forma radical: as dores sumiram,
para nunca mais voltar! Pude levar minha carreira adiante, com a certeza de que não estava acabado precocemente para
o futebol. Estava sim era iniciando uma longa jornada de conquistas e de vitórias, confiando em Jesus Cristo. Eu que
era um Bad Boy recordista de cartões vermelhos na defesa do Flamengo, encontrei uma paz de espírito tão
grande que refletiu no meu estilo de jogar. Como resultado ganhei da FIFA, alguns anos mais tarde o prêmio Fair
Play como o jogador mais leal do mundo por ter jogado quatro temporadas no futebol alemão sem tomar nem um só
cartão vermelho.
Se você quer que Deus promova uma virada radical em sua vida
Leia:
João 8:31 a 36 Jorge de Amorim
Campos
JORGINHO: A RADICAL TURNING POINT
Colombia was winning 1 x 0
against Brazil. If that score didn't change, Brazil would be eliminated of the Olympic Games. The game was in second half,
and the Colombian team was already rehearsing their cry of victory. By then, the eleven of us were completely exhausted. We
needed that victory very badly, but how could we turn things around in a situation like that? We were playing in Bolivia,
roughly at 12,000 feet above sea level! It is not easy to breathe at such height--you inhale but no air seems to come in.
PRIVATE
Bebeto had the ball. He was running toward the penalty area. He knew what he had to do. He would
throw the ball toward the opposite touch line. He and I used to do that at the time both of us were playing for Flamengo.
He would attract the defenders of the opposing team against himself and I would come to his rescue behind them. I would get
the ball and set it over behind the defenders. It was a win-win situation. There was no way the defenders could prevent that.
In the Maracan" stadium in Rio this kind of tactics always worked--but would it work now in Bolivia? My body ached terribly
and I was physically exhausted. What could happen--I wondered?
I took a deep breath and then I prayed. "Lord, I need to get
close to that ball." Bebeto threw me the ball. It looked more like a rabbit and it was just about to escape from me toward
the goal line. "Lord, please, give me just one more inch of strength", and I ran.
Higuita (the Colombian goal
keeper) left the goal area as he was coming against me. But I managed to kick the ball before he reached me. It went straight
to the net. Brazil scored and we were even! Wow! Somehow we managed to turn things over, we held onto the tied score and won
the championship. Brazil was classified for the Seul Olympics.
Since then I have gone through endless games and championships and
I have traveled all over the world. I thank God I had the opportunity to play for winning squads like Flamengo (at the time
Zico was their most famous soccer star), and for Munich Bayern. I also made it to the Olympic Games once and twice to the
World Cup Soccer.
I thank God that He allowed me to play for our national soccer team. I have preached God's word
everywhere I have been. I came to know God through remarkable miracles in our own home.
I was born in Rio de Janeiro
and I practically never knew my father--he died when I was a little kid. But I did come to know many difficulties and problems
in life, especially through my eldest brother. Jaime was an alcoholic and he was always drunk when he arrived home and he
would break things around him. When he was under the influence, he had a terrible strength and it was usually very difficult
to stop him--I would get tired both physically and emotionally every time. Oh, how many times we were up late in the night
because of him. We had no joy in our lives. It had been a long time since we felt like we had no strength left because of
that battle against the alcohol in him. It was as if the enemy was winning 10 x 0 and it was just about to end the second
half of the game. We could do nothing about that situation, and we didn't even know whether we would be able to stand
it one more time. But surely God was able to reverse that score.
God's first intervention was in rescuing my brother Jaime from
certain death after he was involved in a terrible accident in Rio. I will never forget the scene--the white wagon used by
the morgue arriving to take his body for medical examination. The doctors and nurses were surprised when they realized my
brother was still alive since his two friends who were with him had already died on the scene of the accident.
God's second
intervention came when the Lord set Jaime free from his alcohol addiction.
One night he came home to our family
and said: "From now on I am not going to drink alcohol anymore. Jesus has set me free from this terrible vice."
And that was true. Jaime has never put a single drop of alcohol in his mouth ever since. He changed completely. God had indeed
made wonders in my brother's life. How could we deny that?
God also worked in my life. At that time, I would practice all week
but on the day of the game, minutes before the games started, I felt like my body would stop. It was as if someone had pushed
the brakes of my body very hard. I couldn't even walk, let alone run after a soccer ball. Nothing seemed to relieve me
of those pains in my body.
When Zico returned to Flamengo, I felt very well physically. I was excited about playing that game.
Famous players would be participating--people like Maradona, Falcao, Rumennige, and Gentile among other big names of the world
of soccer. The 1986 world cup was getting closer, and that was the chance I had to show off my soccer skills. But it turned
out that I must have kicked the ball the wrong way and all the pain was back. I felt my body suddenly stop and I had to be
taken off the field on a stretcher. I cried a lot. On that same night I made a decision to follow Jesus Christ.
Jesus changed
my life completely. My pain just disappeared--it has never since returned! I was able to continue playing soccer, and I was
sure I didn't have to end my career before my time came. In fact, I was just starting a long journey of victories and
conquests, always trusting in Jesus Christ. I used to be a "bad boy" in Flamengo before that. The referees may have
got tired of showing me the red card as the most violent of all Flamengo defenders. But the peace I found for my spirit was
so evident that it even changed the way I played soccer on the field. As a result, some years later the FIFA association granted
me the "Fair Play" award as the world's most loyal soccer player--I had played in the German league for four
seasons without ever receiving a single red card! If you want to experience God's turning point in your life also, then
read John 8.31-36.
