ENIGMA 5: STRANGE FOOTBALL IN BRAZIL

ENIGMA: STRANGE FOOTBALL IN BRAZIL

In an earlier post, I explained why I often use enigmas and lateral thinking problems in training (see http://petersanderson-dykes.over-blog.com/enigmas-to-solve)

Here is number five; enjoy!

Many young boys dream of becoming football stars, and Edson O’Brian was no exception to this. His Kerry-born father, Seamus, had travelled the world as a merchant seaman before, eventually deciding to settle down in Sao Paolo. There, he had opened a clothes factory before meeting and marrying a local lady called Isabella. Edson was their only child; like all his friends, Edson spent most of his time kicking a football around the streets while the walls in his small bedroom were covered with posters of the players he one day hoped to emulate.

Unfortunately, things don’t always go according to plan...

One year, during the festivities associated with the the traditional Mardi Gras celebrations, the clothes factory caught fire. Seamus rushed to the factory, and ignoring the advice of the firemen, he forced his way inside to try and save some of his colleagues who were trapped there. They all perished in the blaze.

Edson’s mother, now a widow, did all she could to help her bereaved friends, and Edson accompanied her to al the funerals. Everybody noticed how kind he was with the mourners. A few months after this tragedy, Isabella moved back to her family home in the north of the country, taking Edson went with her; she remarried several years later. Her second husband, a distant cousin and a childless widower, encouraged his teenaged step-son to study hard. The idea of becoming a professional footballer was soon no more than a distant dream.

After graduating from school, Edson went to university and successfully studied dentistry for three year. There were few career oppportunities back in hi home village though, so he started working as assistant to the local under-taker. Perhaps as a result of his reaction at his father’s death, Edson was greatly respected for his calm and dignified behaviour, and he was soon promoted to deputy-head undertaker.

Nevertheless, Edson still loved football, and he often worked as a volunteer with the local youth team; sometimes he would coach the forwards, other times he orked with the goalkeepers ... and from time to time he would tidy the pitch after games, removing the nets and other equipment.

One Moday found him tidying the stadium again. He had missed the weekend match as he had been invited to a wedding in the capital city. He had no idea who had won the game, but there seemed a lot more than usual to tidy up.

As Edson appoached the one of the corner flags, he almost fainted from shock. Only his experience at seeing death pevented him from collapsing at such a horrible sight; for there, planted on the corner flag, was a severed head!

What had happened?