Ricardo Teixeira, the CBF president for 23 years and the man behind Brazil’s 2014 World Cup bid stepped down citing health concerns. It was a great day for football.
Romario, the former footballer and now elected official who campaigned on reforming football reacted: “Today we can celebrate,” Romario posted on his Twitter and Facebook pages. “We exterminated a cancer from Brazilian football. Finally, Ricardo Teixeira resigned.”
Teixeira was Sepp Blatter’s right hand man and a byword in corruption. An interview with Andrew Jennings conducted by Romario is a must read in comprehending the level of bribery and kickbacks that took place under Teixeira’s watch and in concert with Blatter and Joao Havelange, his former father in law and Blatter’s predecessor at FIFA.