- The midfielder’s recommendations sparked renewed interest in a Tolstoy classic and inspired a book club among ‘Galo’ supporters.
- While sharing books with his team-mates, he is preparing to face Montevideo City Torque in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana Semifinals.
Gustavo Scarpa gave Tomás Cuello, a decisive figure in Atlético Mineiro’s recent CONMEBOL Sudamericana ties, a copy of Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich. He also shared pictures of other Atlético Mineiro players reading during a break in training: “Things are getting serious,” he joked on social media. His passion for literature, which had accompanied him for years between matches and training camps, was beginning to attract new readers inside the dressing room. Outside it, among Galo supporters, the movement would grow even further.
In September, his comments about the Russian author’s novella generated a response that surprised even Scarpa himself. The book climbed to the top of Amazon Brazil’s sales rankings, while a group of supporters organised themselves to read and discuss it. That was how Galeitura, a community inspired by his recommendations, was born. As Atlético Mineiro advanced towards the CONMEBOL Sudamericana Semifinals, one of their players was also becoming a meeting point for conversations about literature.
“I’ve never felt so famous,” Scarpa admitted in an interview with SporTV’s Redação. The midfielder, who has previously played for Fluminense, Red Bull Brasil, Palmeiras, Nottingham Forest in England and Olympiacos in Greece, did not expect such a response to a review of a Russian classic. His approach is appealing: Scarpa naturally highlights what he understood, the lessons a story left him with and the difficulties he encountered while reading it. Canal do Scarpinha reflects his enthusiasm and humour, offering a way into books that has captured the attention of the 282,000 subscribers to his channel.
The habit grew out of an agreement linked to football. In 2019, while playing for Palmeiras, Scarpa became friends with Pedro Jatene, who was then working as an intern with the fitness staff. They would talk about a wide range of subjects and began exchanging recommendations. They later added an incentive: the midfielder’s attacking contributions would be rewarded with books. Scarpa was enjoying a strong run of goals and assists, and his library began to benefit from what was happening on the pitch.
One of the gifts was Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. That book led him to other authors, including Franz Kafka, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Victor Hugo. The journey also had its challenges: Scarpa said he needed help from his friend to understand some works and that he plans to return to certain classics to see whether his interpretation changes over time.
His library includes titles such as Crime and Punishment, Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird and One Hundred Years of Solitude. But one work holds a special place. In an interview with SBT Sports, he named Les Misérables as his favourite and said he would like to read it again. His connection with the novel even reached the pitch: in June 2021, after scoring against Bahia for Palmeiras, he dedicated the goal to Jean Valjean, the protagonist of Victor Hugo’s story.
The short first impressions he used to post on Instagram found a format on YouTube that allowed him to go further. His channel includes reviews of books such as William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and Elie Wiesel’s Night. His choices span different genres and periods.
Galeitura turned that conversation into a shared experience. The initiative was created by Carolina Marques, a Literature student and Atlético Mineiro supporter, with a format built around monthly reads, a chapter-by-chapter schedule and spaces for discussion. Scarpa even made a surprise appearance in the group. Its impact inspired similar projects among supporters of other clubs, including Corinthians, São Paulo, Grêmio and Cruzeiro: the midfielder’s recommendations were already reaching far beyond his own fanbase.
On the pitch, the objective remains to win trophies. He has done so on the biggest stage and across different competitions throughout his career: with Palmeiras, he lifted the CONMEBOL Libertadores in 2020 and 2021, as well as the 2022 CONMEBOL Recopa and the 2018 and 2022 Brasileirão titles. Named the best player in the Brazilian championship in 2022, he was also included in the CONMEBOL Libertadores Team of the Tournament in 2019 and 2022. At Atlético Mineiro since January 2024, Scarpa has expressed confidence in the 'Galo'’s chances in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana. Eduardo Domínguez’s side will host Montevideo City Torque at Arena MRV on 14 October, before playing the return leg at the Centenario in Montevideo on 21 October.
