The Football Club That Went To North Korea Pretending To Be Brazil

In 2009, after qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the North Korean national team played a friendly game in front of 80,000 fans at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang.
The spectators who witnessed that 0-0 draw believed that the DPRK were playing against Brazil, when in actual fact, their opponents were a team who competed in the second tier of Sao Paulo's state championship.
In this documentary, HITC Sevens takes a look at that club, namely Atlético Sorocaba, their bizarre ownership at the time, and how they ended up in the world's most famous hermit kingdom.

[@Yitianyishouhaoge]

Dorking wanderers would be a great story, given that both their chairman and first team manager is the same person. The climb up the football pyramid from amatuer leagues and now is in the national league,fifth tier of English football. Real life FM or even much better

[@pierfrancescocosta6336]

We've got a similar story in Italy, too! Virtus Verona is both owned and managed by the same person, and they've been a fully professional team for years at this point.

[@benwheeler8456]

Up the wanderers

[@plebius1877]

come on ya dorks

[@Astro99543]

Dorking wanderers 🤜🤛 Stockport county FC

[@massaganaa]

As someone who went to school and lived in dorking until a few years ago it would be great to get a vid on the wanderers.

[@carwyngregory9446]

The level of story telling and depth of research in this video is exactly what makes HITC sevens so brilliant. Please never stop making this type of content it’s so unique and such a breath of fresh air within the football space.

[@TheRocky8520]

My friend Cairo Andrade played in that match. He said he was very scared of scoring a goal, so the whole team had to go easy on the North Koreans out of pure fear of not coming home safely. He also confirmed me that they were treated like superstars, and the North Koreans really believed they were among the elite of Brazilian football. Great research as always, Alfie. Keep up the excellent work!

[@SamOGr]

I dont know how else to say but of all the HITC Sevens videos, this is the most HITC sevens, crazy and niche football story, talking about weird political stories, a football channel but its not all about football, digs are the royal family and a great sense of humour Loved this video, keep up the amazing work, one of the best channels on this platform

[@AS19Motorsport]

This is certainly one of the comments of all time

[@VillaFanDan92]

Brad Guzan just standing up and plucking the ball out of the air when Del Piero tried to panenka him with a penalty in the 2009 Peace Cup was an all time pre-season moment for me.

[@Ese96Agoaye]

Always amuses me when Panenka's are foiled.

[@minorcompositions]

This is definitely the most HITC7 video ever, Great stuff. Another possible topic. Hussein Hegazi, the OG Egyptian King, who played for Dulwich Hamlet in 1911, and is also quite foundational of Egyptian football. He also established a team called ‘Hegazi for the Arts,’ apparently celebrating football as a form of poetry.

[@od9694]

A squad of players from the league of Ireland went to Gaddafis libya but the crowd seemingly thought they where playing against the Irish national team ( who where very good at the time)

[@AssocUSA]

In 2017 I joined this Cult completely by accident and went to cheongpyeong in Korea. I am learning more about the cult from this video than I ever did with my time in the Cult.

[@Wakeywines]

Wow

[@danielwarren3138]

Ansu time

[@rkeogh3467]

How did you join by accident?

[@AssocUSA]

@@rkeogh3467 My friend was in it and he see it as a cult so didn't introduce it to me as such. If you follow me in Instagram I have pictures to prove I was in the cult. Lol like I'm not bullshitting

[@rkeogh3467]

@@AssocUSA don't worry I dont think your bullshitting the idea of accidentally joining a cult is just funny to me

[@Alex-xn2pj]

Day 33: A detailed look at the state of Crotone would be nice, going from Serie A in 20/21 with a 20 goal a season striker to Serie C by 22/23. Two relegations in a row, something surely has to be wrong at that club.

[@MrBlazemaster525]

Let me disabuse you of that notion nothing's gone wrong there, Crotone were punching above their own weight having gotten to Serie A; considering majority of their history has been spent in Serie C1/C2/Excellenza(effectively League One/Two/Conference National), having that run of 3 top-flight seasons in 5 years is a miracle, especially considering how slanted TV monies in Italian football are.

[@omarsahibzada5117]

That first 10 mins was amazing, I completely forgot I was even watching a soccer video, I was so entranced in the Moon part. Awesome research man, keep it up!

[@thegloriouspyrocheems2277]

Day 60 - The Fall and Rise of FK Velež Mostar From a Club that has beaten Borussia Dortmund, Twente, Derby County and many others to a club that was forced from their own stadium, reduced to nothing during the Bosnian War, becoming a mediocre top-level team in the 00s to nearly being forced into folding in 2016 to its amazing comeback to European competitions in 2021 seeing the early exit of Greek giants AEK Athens in a sensational win in Athens!

[@GreekHouseEffect]

lost to a Maltese club this season lol

[@vkanthems6744]

Atlético Sorocaba is not even known in Brazil, but this excursion in North Korea is well known among football fans here. Atlético Sorocaba has played in Brazil's Série C for 10 seasons, but it's greatest national season was in 1996 when they got 12th place in Série C. Their greatest season was in 2008 when they won the Copa Paulista (São Paulo State Cup), getting qualified to Copa do Brasil, our national cup. But their best success is in women's basketball, in the 90s they were 3x Women's Basketball South American Cup champion

[@genericuser1000]

I love this channel. I never (ever!) know what to expect but it's always fascinating

[@mafiousbj]

The more I learn about Pele´s private life, the more I realize he is as controversial as Maradona but either has a better PR team or just went under the radar because he never antagonized the establishment in general

[@vomgrady]

Cheers Alfie, fantastic work as usual.

[@BALHAM69]

a documentary on the afc Wimbledon on the nine promotions in eleven years, how they’re a fan own club and how they have a stadium in plough lane now. The story of they lost the club, how the F A allowed that and won’t allow that anymore. How they were very close to moving to ireland How they went up the English football leagues. It would be a good documentary video if you can do this. #thepeopleschannel

[@tino6440]

There's already plenty of good wimbledon documentaries on youtube

[@BALHAM69]

@@tino6440 a updated hitc sevens one would be good with talking about the new stadium The planning and everything it took

[@shweetbetta5846]

who is the couple next to the trumps ? i think they were accused of something right ?

[@caesar-dynastysports]

@@BALHAM69 There are almost assuredly hundreds of stories in the world of football more interesting than an update about a single club's stadium in England.

[@BALHAM69]

@@caesar-dynastysports you been to the new plough lane ?

[@noahwhang]

fantastic video very eloquent explanation of both korean history and football great job

[@lemigod4475]

wow,what an interesting story. This channel always delivers the hidden gems in stories you won't see or hear anywhere else.I will go and do further research into this rather intriguing saga.Thanks as always Alfie.

[@AlfieT344]

PEAK PEAK PEAK HITC SEVENS !!!! ALFIEEEE WARRA VIDDDDDDD !!!!!!!

[@lancashire468]

Another great vid that is very informative with some wit included!

[@thecurdy]

The video was great and really informative. Also common Alfie W at the end.

[@BALHAM69]

Don’t think many people would known that, good documentary Alfie and don’t think many heard of the team Atlético Sorocaba the club. Edit update, very close to 500K subscribers on here on KZbin.

[@vkanthems6744]

Atlético Sorocaba is not even known in Brazil, but this excursion in North Korea is well known among football fans here. Atlético Sorocaba has played in Brazil's Série C for 10 seasons, but it's greatest national season was in 1996 when they got 12th place in Série C. Their greatest season was in 2008 when they won the Copa Paulista (São Paulo State Cup), getting qualified to Copa do Brasil, our national cup. But their best success is in women's basketball, in the 90s they were 3x Women's Basketball South American Cup champion

[@arzhi_azis]

Day 319: Indonesia XI If All Eligible Players Had Declared For Them.

[@diamondgeezer5537]

Never give up

[@hi-rr2vm]

Keep dreaming bocah

[@kieronparr3403]

Nooo

[@davekorus]

That team probably gonna be on a same skill level as the Vietnam's national team at best, why even bother lol

[@samir.4718]

@@davekorus They have Radja Naingollan.

[@bidhancb]

This is peak HITC Sevens, great video. Though it irked me somewhat when you said Abe was the president of Japan, he was the prime minister.

[@evanllewellyn1519]

Alfie, I reckon this would make a great podcast, and I think it would be a more popular format via podcasts

[@MrReese]

I am 12 minutes into the video and everything that has been told so far is absolutely insane. That Pele statement is the icing on the cake, unbelievable.

[@lucasparis7284]

This is the most you video ever and i really liked it

[@bhobg]

Thanks for letting us know more about the world through football

[@retrorami]

Brilliant video, as always. I knew about this match when I watched a video from the Brazilian KZbin channel "Peleja", where they also make mini-docs like this. I would suggest - if you're willing to, and have the time for it - you to get in touch with them for a collab or something.

[@karisu4598]

A look at Togo's fake national team that played against Bahrain would be nice, if you were able to make the time for it someday.

[@RossParker1877]

Fantastic stuff Alfie

[@PTGMelo]

Os magos do Fernando Diniz, thanks for the video, Alfie

[@bellaire888]

amazing stuff

[@eddygordov]

Great content... I love the end regarding the real spongers "leading" the UK.

[@RedCruuve]

Asking for you to do a video on the rise and fall of Bursaspor, Attempt 5

[@nr9361]

Great video the Moonies are definitely a wild and fascinating bunch. If you're curious I'd recommend checking out the Behind the Bastards podcast ep about them it goes into a lot more detail

[@MrAlerocks]

looking forward to hitc cults

[@lemonheadgaming7141]

This is some of my favourite hitc content, the looser the football link the better 😂

[@bababababababa6124]

That Moon story gets more insane everytime I hear it

[@martinfrench4890]

Peak HITC Sevens? Absolutely!

[@greenlionantiques]

Wow!! What a video! What a journey!

[@sinxstarx1721]

Can you do Flanders XI vs Wallonia XI if Belgium where to split?

[@calebcaleb9808]

brilliant video bro

[@albertgoodwin1743]

i live in melbourne and i’ve literally had a person from this cult come up to me very odd vibes

[@tatewellman5704]

sometimes I forget I'm watching a foot ball video on your channel

[@rafiwerdiger]

Commonwealth XI but without england

[@danjones8921]

Can't believe this video that couldn't be more tailored to my interests never got recommended to me, smh KZbin

[@roboticaljohn8299]

incredible vid

[@synth9660]

You should do a video on Carlos Kaiser a brazilian who pretended to be a footballer and never actually played a single match, he was signed by several big brazilian clubs like Vasco and Flamengo and even abroad in France and the US

[@jamiedoyle1754]

Alphie what is your opinion on all the football games being postponed due to the Queens passing? Think it's absolutely ridiculous myself and it's a decision that'll be regretted later on...

[@rkeogh3467]

Fixtures list is already very congested this is just gonna make it even worse

[@MrReese]

17:13 a FIFA World Cup finals appearance would mean that they played in the final of the world cup, which was obviously not the case. The world cup "finals" do not exist, only the world cup itself exists and the world cup qualification does not count as part of the world cup.

[@TylerAven10]

You should make a video about the American 20 something NFT salesman who bought Crawley Town, what his plans are for the team, and if it’s good for the club, given they both beat Fulham in the Carabao Cup and sit in 22nd right now in League Two.

[@stevenm5997]

Top 7 footballers who had clouds resembling them appear hours after they died

[@phiwamotsa9875]

Please make video if 7 clubs that had fallen in the past decade from 2010 the likes of man and ac millan having won one league in 10 years but won more in 10.years back Newcastle and Everton after not able to be in a top six please

[@400Awesomo]

Do a video on why Premier League don't have Brazillian managers?

[@soundscape26]

Or European teams in general. They are few and far between.

[@vrocco1395]

Day 24-How the world's best player, Zico, moved to little old Udinese

[@durchfaII]

I genuinly couldn't care less if there was little to nothing related to football in the video, but this might genuinly be one, if not the best HITC video ever

[@stevenm5997]

Great video btw

[@scottkeir3943]

Spot on intro lol

[@supercommie]

"Peace starts with me". Such a humble statement to make...

[@DGAMINGDE]

Sadly I didn't use my change of convincing the St. Vincent and the Grenadines national team. As they use yellow, green and blue it would probably have worked. Missed chance. As this didn't work out I am back to suggesting (After I have listened to random brazilian campaign songs which are actually great music): Day 6: The biggest wins in every european top flight (Athletic Bilbio 12-1 FC Barcelona; Gladbach 12-0 Dortmund; Ajax 13-0 VVV Venlo).

[@aliatwi7757]

So u changed the title ?

[@gallycgames1991]

Anyone know what the hitc stands for?

[@chris94kennedy]

Alfie, you've outdone yourself old boy

[@rogink]

Blimey! That's half an hour of my life I won't get back. Alfie has a tendency for padding out storylines, but this one could have been told in a third of the time. I must confess I missed the last few words of the title, so I thought it was going to be about the much more interesting story of Sven's Notts County playing in N Korea.

[@GardinerAlan]

I joined my university politics society crap footy team as a ringer on their dutch tour. The booking agency had clearly thought we were the official university football team so we ended up with fixtures against a regional youth team, the champions of the dutch factory league and FC Groningen Reserves. I scored and pulled my hamstring in a 6-1 loss in the first game, 2nd game got cancelled (thank christ) and then we lost 16-1 to Groningen with half our team out injured or playing whilst high after some poorly timed cafe trips. It was an interesting trip!

[@GenesiisDavid]

Wow I did not know this was a thing. Now I have to research it.

[@Sully_Iqbal]

Based HITC7s fr the ending

[@Midnight-ot3oi]

Masterpiece, pure Masterpiece!!!

[@homelander9008]

Do a video about Simeone's takeover of atletico

[@polskasausage762]

He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy

[@JaysonGeland]

Another classic!

[@fjrocks367]

Shinzo Abe’s last name pronounced “ah-bay” as a heads up

[@BOABModels]

8:55 What interesting company the former President kept!

[@calebv.8301]

I've learned more history with Alfie than I have at school.

[@h_crow221]

7:54 hey, is that the Ex-Indonesia President Gus Dur?

[@imliakum]

For 12 mins I forgot I was watching HITC Sevens

[@niksv4165]

Day 573: Ways to fix VAR with your suggestions

[@tarvivor]

As fantastic as the content was, it paled in comparison to the shade directed at the royals at the end. Great work!

[@groovemau5]

Behind the Bastards or It Could Happen Here did a pretty good few episodes on Moon and his followers

[@DrFudis]

Just from reading the title… Bruh, what?💀

[@ultimate7131]

Now this is a documentary

[@SilliusSodus]

Video idea: Somali XI if all players were eligible. Also this video title looks bonkers. Edit: It is bonkers.

[@kieronparr3403]

I'd like some Somali action

[@MeatballYaro2]

Damn. This really opened a can of worms...🤔

[@hanhly3732]

Spurs fans will still remember winning the Peace cup very fondly. One of their proudest days in their recent history.

[@rodrigorodriguesdelgado.9674]

A folk club from Brazilian football, that is atletico sorocaba.

[@od9694]

Alfie should start his own cult!! I'd join

[@SulistasDePortoAlegreDaCVFF]

15:25 wait a minute, that is a Fiat Palio!

[@peet4628]

My fiancé was raised in the Unification Chruch (We are not engaged through the church, we are engaged in the ‘contemporary’ way. I literally cannot wait to show her this. I wouldn’t quite call it a cult, but it’s definitely far out 😂

[@peet4628]

To add on to this, your brazilian portuguese pronunciation has progressed amazingly over the years, great job!

[@nicocorbo4153]

16:10 Hey Alfie, would you say that you are an urbanist? If you are, I greatly appreciate it. If not, you should read up on it, I think you'd enjoy it

[@B193Alex]

Day 1: 7 Largest Clubs without any major honours

[@slimjimman96]

Should do a video on the 2 best Bulgarian club’s and how the mafia runs the league!!.

[@edwardmerriam6970]

Fun fact: all of these events indirectly lead to the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

[@therealuncleowen2588]

23:40 The extent to which some American Christian conservatives consider gun ownership to be part of their religion is impossible to overstate.

[@popculturetheology]

I don't read the W times but a lot of your info is second-hand misinformation.

[@corvus2512]

Until the video got to Pele I totally forgot this video had anything to do with football, I was so engrossed in the story!

[@Apollonufc]

I’d absolutely watch you talk about cults

[@ChadRogansBathbomb]

A video on Igor Sypniewski, one of the greatest unfulfilled talents.

[@martinhammarlund3975]

Top 7 players named Jesus should be fitting after this one. Or possibly the best starting 11 with that name.

[@lioncactus1906]

Do the cults channel!