From Dreams to Tragedy: The Fire That Shook Brazilian Football (O Ninho: Futebol & Tragédia) is a Brazilian documentary series released on Netflix. It is produced by A Fábrica based on the original idea of UOL and developed by Pedro Asbeg, Renato Fagundes and UOL, with direction by Pedro Asbeg. The series consists of three episodes with a runtime of about 34-43 minutes.
The documentary follows the journeys of the survivors and late victims’ families of the tragic fire at Ninho do Urubu (Vulture’s Nest). It closely investigates the events that led to the unfortunate accident and showcases how the survivors have managed to move on from the tragedy.
The documentary series features journalists, football professionals and the victims’ families including Zico, Vanderlei Luxemburgo, Fernanda Alves, Leda Pisetta, Darlei Pisetta, Filipe Chrysman, Rodrigo Salomao, Marcos Marinho, Andreia Candido, Fabio Justino, Izabel Raphael, Marinho Saldanha, Leo Burla, Pedro Ivo, Decio Alonso and others.
From Dreams to Tragedy: The Fire That Shook Brazilian Football Review
2024 would mark the five-year anniversary of the tragic fire that took the lives of ten young people at Ninho do Urubu, the Flamengo club’s training centre, in Rio de Janeiro. Yet there is still much to be discussed about the incident and the aftermath that continues to inflict pain on the late victims’ families. Heartbroken parents share their sorrow and express their ongoing battle to seek justice for their lost children following the tragic event.
The documentary starts by exploring how football often plays a big role in young people’s lives, especially those coming from low economic class, as it gives them an opportunity – to provide for themselves and their families from a young age. Also, being associated with popular football clubs brings them recognition and fame, leading to many more opportunities. One such dream team is the Flamengo Club, where many youngsters spend most of their youth honing skills and bagging a spot in the professional team.
With such big dreams, Athila de Souza Paixão, Arthur Vinícius de Barros da Silva Freitas, Bernardo Pisetta, Christian Esmério Candido, Jorge Eduardo dos Santos Ferreira Sacramento, Pablo Henrique da Silva Matos, Vitor Isaías, Samuel Thomas de Souza Rosa, Gerdson Santos, and Rykelmo de Souza Viana, entered the Ninho do Urubu youth training ground. All the young recruits were lodged in the makeshift container dorms, providing them with basic necessities. At a glance, the containers don’t look too bad but what nobody knew is that the club didn’t have a permit to have such dormitories.
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In reality, the living quarter’s location had only been permitted by the Rio de Janeiro government as a parking lot and the dorms had already been subjected to 31 fines and a lawsuit owing to the lack of safety. The initial cause of the fire was suspected to be a malfunctioning air-conditioning unit that caught fire in the room, a day prior to the incident. Although the unit was said to be repaired, it seemingly caught fire again on February 8, 2019, causing mass destruction of the dorms. But what really trapped the kids inside was the sliding steel doors with polyurethane foam insulation, which expands in contact with heat.
Thus, jamming the doors and making it unable to escape. The windows also had bars on them, leaving no way to get out. Those who caught on the fire were able to run out on time, while others were trapped dead. Initially, the incident seemed like an unfortunate accident since the country was already going through storms and flood conditions. But as the journalists investigated further, it started looking like a clear case of long negligence from the club officials, to whom the parents had entrusted their child.
Despite not being safe and multiple issues raised by the electrical companies working with them, the club authorities kept on neglecting it, as they had planned to have new construction done soon, which never took off. However, what’s really outrageous is how the presidents of the club and other officials handled the whole thing. Playing the blame game is quite typical in such situations, as nobody wants to be responsible for the death of 10 kids. But the lack of empathy towards the grieving parents and the lives lost is just inhumane.
This seems to be a common case in many tragedies, where the people in charge have no regard for the human lives lost. At least, they could have tried to compensate the families without any hassle, even though one can’t put a value on someone’s life. Yet they decided to show their hideous side by refusing to pay ‘so much’ money to the dead and making excuses that they won’t be left with anything to splurge on the current players. It’s like basic decency becomes a rare trait and we get to see people’s ugliest side, in times of tragedy.
From trying to know the real cause of their children’s deaths to seeking out the people responsible for negligence and being harassed over the compensation of invaluable lives – what’s left is just heartbroken and grieving parents regretting their decision to let their kids stay in the club’s dorms. Instead of being apologised to and trying to make their lives a little better, they are left in the dark, ignored and made to feel that their kid’s life compared to nothing.
Dragging on the matter for years, the documentary reported that nine families accepted whatever settlement they were given, as most of them had no will left to fight. Yet nobody has been convicted in the case even after five years. If one such popular clubs treat their young talent in this way, then how could anyone trust them or any other with their lives? While the parents continue to live in guilt and regret, the survivors suffer from PTSD, taking them back to the horrendous night that took away their friends.
Rating: 3.5/5
From Dreams to Tragedy: The Fire That Shook Brazilian Football is available to watch on Netflix.
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