João Havelange did a lot of good in the world and paid himself a lot of money to do so. He had many friends and powerful enemies. His legacy is that philanthropic advocacy and corrupt avarice. He built something strong and beautiful and left a huge mess to be cleaned up. Havelange was, in short, complicated. And he’s probably the reason why you and I are able to get so worked up over this silly game. Havelange had 100 years to make his mark on the world, and he definitely didn’t waste that shot.

Read the full article at Paste Magazine.