Brazilian football team Ibis Sport Club has achieved cultish status in the country and probably not for the reason you’d expect in the soccer-mad nation. That’s because Ibis has been lumbered with the rather unflattering title of the world’s worst football team.
Apparently it all goes back 40 years when, during a period from 1980-1984, the luckless club lost 55 games in a row that saw it tagged the world’s worst sporting team. And not just for football, any sport!
Though the team’s fortunes have varied in recent years, unfortunately it’s a label Ibis has been unable to shake.
Now online sports betting firm, the Swedish-owned Betsson, is in on the joke, unveiling a witty campaign using the Ibis team that show the haplessness of the players and, arguably, comes with a good message that winning isn’t everything.
The spot’s the work of London agency Bold and also features former “star” midfielder Mauro Teixeira Thorpe who, in his illustrious 14-years at the club, managed to score the one solitary goal.
According to reports, Thorpe’s exploits have made him a legend in Brazil, although he now works as a hairdresser and goes by the truly great name of Mauro Shampoo. Check out his marvellous head of hair – and ad highlight – at the 30-second mark!
