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MeI’m not a crazy football fan. What I love most about the game is its universal appeal – it’s all about the ball crossing the line, and the goal is the goal whether it’s two jerseys in the park or one that determines the outcome of the players. World Cup. But when I realized in 2007 that only 58 people have ever scored a goal in a World Cup Final and that only 34 of these men are still alive, I thought it would be a good idea to photograph them.
It quickly became clear that book sales alone would not support the project – there were only two English players, the rest were in Europe or South America. But the good talk of the filmmaker gave me the opportunity to go to 13 countries with the film crew. Over the course of four years, we talked to every member of the World Cup’s special club, and I made pictures of them all.
This is Jair Ventura Filho, better known as Jairzinhowho scored Brazil’s third goal when he took over in Mexico City in 1970, beating Italy 4-1. Today he works with underprivileged children in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. This photo was taken in a favela in the neighborhood of Manguinhos, where he runs a soccer school.
The favelas are these strange villages where the police have no control. There is an unwritten rule that anyone not living in a favela must be out by 5pm. We hired drug dealers – they were just kids, and by noon they were tired and left. We took a photo with Jairzinho at the public soccer field and as we were leaving I saw a beautiful old soccer table outside the bar. It was like a gift, and Jairzinho loved it. I said: “We have to do this, can I have another 10 minutes?”
When I’m shooting in landscape, I don’t like things to look like lighting, but I had my assistant Stevie holding a small light. I shoot on a Hasselblad with a digital back and always use a tripod. I learned very early that if the camera stays in one place and I look down the viewfinder and talk to the person I’m filming, they don’t change their behavior, which is not the case if you walk around and raise the camera to point directly at their face.
As I was composing the shot, I noticed a boy approaching the road on a bicycle – not the child you see in the picture. He sneaked into the picture and disappeared behind me, while Dani the director, Gretha the producer and a few others from the team were standing with our designers, waiting for us to finish. I was just staring at Jairzinho, but I could hear a terrible conversation. Finally, Dan said, “Michael, I think we should go.”
When you’re photographing a celebrity, they don’t give you enough time – you just keep going until they’re done. Jairzinho looked good, so I continued for a few minutes, until I was sure I had the frame. Then I turned around and saw the man on the bike with Dan and Gretha at gunpoint. Dan said: “Do you hear now?”
It seems that this person chose our presence in the favela. The rest of the crew and the organizers had left, but Stevie, Jairzinho and I were too focused on what we were doing to notice. Dan and Gretha would have insisted that we leave right away, but I really appreciate that they gave me time to see what I wanted. We are not late.
Apart from the composition and the fact that we were able to shoot in the favela, which is very popular in Rio, what I like about this picture is that the chaos that is happening behind the camera is not visible at all in this picture. This is often the case with photography.
Michael Donald’s CV
Born: Wakefield. 1966 – although I was born there by mistake, I am from Belfast.
Above: Achievements are great and seeing your work published around the world is great, but the key points are when you feel grounded in what you’re doing.
Top tips: If you want to make a living you have to do what you’re told, but always make sure you’re doing your own thing too. Work that makes you happy, not what you think you should do. It’s where you’ll do your best work and it’ll make you better at everything else.
