Elections Today

So, Homero Lacerda reconsidered and ran for president after all. And apparently he lost a resounding 75%-25%, so maybe he is gone for good. Why that would be a mixed blessing is worth understanding.

Homero Lacerda was president of Sport Club do Recife when the team won its only Série A title. That was his only term as president, but he has served in various other capacities, including director of football and vice-president of football. What is clear is that he understands the game, he can identify good players and coaches, and can bring them to the club. What isn't clear is whether or not he can continue the development of the club as a whole, something that Milton Bivar has done to great success. The supporters love him because of the 1987 championship, and he was Director of Football when the team returned to the Série A after the 2006 season. However, his personal honesty is suspect, and perhaps more importantly, there was no clear reason why he thought it important to challenge Milton Bivar for the presidency.

Perhaps as a result of Homero Lacerda's challenge, Milton Bivar (who succeeded his brother, Luciano, as president) sought a different position, and chose Sílvio Guimarães to succeed him as president. At one point, a week ago, the two slates were known as "The Situation" and "The Opposition", but, perhaps to underscore the amicable nature of the dispute, the names were changed to "Work and Continuity" and "Union and Everything for Sport". ("Pelo Sport Tudo", translated as "Everything for Sport" is a phrase that the supporters use to express their love for the club.)

Roberto Neto wrote, on meusport.com, a series of questions for what was then known as The Opposition. He asked them, first, what is was that they were opposing. Second, while they criticised the projects undertaken by the other slate, they offered no proposals of their own -- what was their project? Third, they spoke of renovation but the slate was composed entirely of poeple with twenty years or more of association with the club's administration, so what was the renovation of which they spoke? And finally, they criticised the lack of experience of the current administration, an administration which had cleaned up the club, balanced the books, and gotten the club out of the hole dug by many of the participants of The Opposition. After considering these questions, the only explanation that remains is that Homero Lacerda wanted some of the glory of the Copa do Brasil victory for himself.

Homero Lacerda has done, and hopefully will continue to do, great things for Sport Club do Recife. That said, the club is moving in the right direction, setting itself up to be the equal of the best teams in the country, and Homero Lacerda was not the right man for the moment. He knows football, and would make an excellent director (or vice-president, a position created specifically for him) of Football. But not president.