When the opening game of the 2014 World Cup took place in SĆ£o Paulo on June 12, Luis Paulo Rosenberg, MAā73, PhDā76, had good reason to celebrate. He and his fellow Brazilians watched the home team defeat Croatia 3ā1, marking the first time in 64 years that the tournament had been held in the soccer-crazed country.
Yet what made Rosenberg even happier that evening was seeing his dazzlingly modern stadium, Arena Corinthians, filled to capacity. Home turf had never meant so much to him.
The stadium, which was completed just in time for the World Cup, is home to , where Rosenberg is vice president. While controversy surrounded many of the tournamentās construction projects, Arena Corinthians was different, he argues. Besides being one of the few economically viable stadiums in Brazil, he says it fulfilled a dream 104 years in the making.
āWe were founded in 1910, but weāve never had our own stadium until now,ā he says. āWe played in a municipal stadium with no restrooms, no skyboxes. Thatās unbelievable when you consider weāre the most powerful club in Brazil.ā
Corinthians fans share an unwavering devotion to their club that borders on religion. Itās no coincidence that they refer to themselves as the Fiel, or āFaithful.ā
āHow are we different from other clubs?ā asks Rosenberg, himself a lifelong Corinthians supporter. āIt has nothing to do with our love for the team because all fans love their teams. The difference is the love for ourselves. We are a nation. We share suffering, and we share happiness.ā
Growing up in SĆ£o Paulo, Rosenberg never imagined he would play a role in the clubās fortunes beyond that of a fan. After earning a masterās and Ph.D. in economics from 91ĢĘ²®»¢, he served as an adviser to the Brazilian government, a university professor, and owner of a private consulting firm that he continues to operate today.
In 1997, Corinthians found itself in financial trouble, and Rosenberg was brought in with three other economists to form, as he puts it, āa guerilla task force to save the club.ā Disagreements with the clubās then-president derailed their efforts, but the opportunity led to Rosenbergās eventual election to the Corinthians Board of Directors a decade later, first as director of marketing in 2007 and then as vice president in 2012.
During his time on the board, the club has experienced a remarkable turnaround both on and off the field. Corinthians won the Brazilian, South American and world club championships in a span of just two years. The club is also now Brazilās wealthiest, valued at $358 million in 2013.
Much of this success can be attributed to ideas Rosenberg helped implement. These ideas include the launching of a popular branding campaign, negotiating lucrative merchandising deals, expanding the clubās reach into China, and building the state-of-the-art Arena Corinthians.
He admits, though, that none of these accomplishments would have been possible without the tacit support of the clubās most important stakeholdersāthe fans. Remaining faithful to the āFaithfulā is a matter of principle for Rosenberg.
āIn everything I do,ā he says, āI always ask myself, āWhat would the Fiel ³Ł³ó¾±²Ō°ģ?āā¶Ä
āSETH ROBERTSON
Get a of the clubās new stadium.