Futebol de Botão
Brazilian button football. A tabletop sport played with small discs that look like hockey pucks wearing tiny jerseys. You flick them at a ball, try to score goals, argue about fouls. Think subbuteo, but with a distinct Brazilian flavor.
The Game
I play actively. I have an MDF field at home that looks like Arena Corinthians, complete with the distinctive seating patterns. Family games happen regularly. On Sundays, I drive to São Paulo for tournaments in Santana with a group of regulars. Competitive enough to be interesting, casual enough to be fun.
The Craft
This is where it gets obsessive. I make my own buttons.
The process:
- Buy blank vidrilhas (transparent acrylic buttons) from a friend
- Design the artwork in Illustrator
- Print on photo paper, cut precisely
- Glue the art inside the transparent lens with double-sided tape
- Paint the interior to match the jersey colors
- Sand the feet for better sliding
The Corinthians 2012 World Champions team has black-painted vidrilhas to match the black shorts from that final against Chelsea. The Milan team I left transparent because it looked cool. These details matter to nobody except me.
The Designs
I maintain a repo of printable button artwork: artes-para-botoes. The designs are available in PDF, SVG, AI, and PNG for anyone to use.
Campeões Mundiais Series
Historical world champion teams with their title-winning uniforms:
- Real Madrid 2002 (vs Olimpia)
- Milan 2007 (vs Boca Juniors)
- Corinthians 2012 (vs Chelsea)
- Grêmio 1983 (vs Hamburgo)
- Palmeiras não tem mundial
Não-Futebolisticas Series
Non-football teams for family members:
- My Melody - for my 6-year-old niece/goddaughter, who loves Sanrio
- Cinamoroll - for my 12-year-old sister, who also loves Sanrio
These exist because button football is more fun when the teams mean something to the players.
The Philosophy
I don’t like football. I like button football.
Modern football is corrupted by betting sponsors and disappointment. The Corinthians of today only brings sadness. The Brazilian national team only brings sadness. So I focus on historical teams, when the sport meant something different.
Button football is a thing of the past, and that’s the point.
Related
- artes-para-botoes - Button artwork repository
- Illustrator - Design tool