The eyes of the world are focused on North America today. The FIFA World Cup begins across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and for many Americans, this feels different than previous tournaments. Soccer is no longer a niche sport tucked away behind football, baseball, and basketball. A generation has grown up with Major League Soccer, European leagues available on television every weekend, and global superstars becoming household names.
I saw it firsthand when Lionel Messi came to Nashville.
What would have been a respectable crowd for an MLS match became something entirely different. Traffic stretched for miles. Families traveled from multiple states. Kids wearing pink Inter Miami jerseys packed the stands.
For former Brazilian World Cup star Silas, that growth has been remarkable to witness.
“Nowadays it’s quite different.” Silas told me. “A lot of Brazilian players are coming here. We have friends playing in MLS and doing very well.”
As America prepares to welcome the world, Silas believes the tournament represents something bigger than soccer.
It is fitting, then, that his new book, Beyond Success: One Athlete’s Outstanding Pursuit of God, Goals, and Glory, arrives at a moment when millions of people will once again be captivated by the world’s most popular sport.
But despite a career that included representing Brazil on soccer’s biggest stage, Silas insists the book isn’t really about trophies.
“It’s good to be a soccer player that reached the level of playing in World Cups,” he said. “But beyond success, it’s much more than that. Through the book, people can find principles and values to apply in their lives.” Sports culture often teaches us that success is the destination. Win the championship. Sign the contract. Build the platform. Achieve the dream.
Silas has already lived that life.
He’s worn the jersey. He’s played before massive crowds. He’s competed alongside legends, including Diego Maradona. Yet the lessons that shaped him most came away from the field.
Brazil’s relationship with soccer is difficult for Americans to fully comprehend. “There is a joke in Brazil,” Silas laughed. “Someone asks, ‘What’s the first sport in Brazil?’ The answer is volleyball. Then basketball. Then Formula One. And then they ask, ‘What about soccer?’ The answer is, ‘Soccer is not a sport here. It’s religion.’”
That’s funny, but it also reveals something deeper.
Any culture can turn good things into ultimate things. Sports can become idols. Fame can become identity. Success can become a god.
Silas discovered that faith offered a different foundation.
“Faith helped me understand not only my relationship with Jesus, but also how to be a good father,” he said. His perspective was shaped in part by what he witnessed among former athletes.
“Almost four out of five are bankrupt, divorced, or unemployed within two years after leaving their career.”
For many athletes, the applause eventually stops. The contracts end. The spotlight moves on.
The question becomes: Who are you when all of that is gone?
That reality has inspired Silas’ ministry work helping former players navigate life after retirement. The challenge, he says, isn’t success itself. “Having money is good. Being famous is good,” he explained. “But if you have money and fame without structure, it’s dangerous.”
That structure, for Silas, comes from keeping life’s priorities in the proper order. His answer came quickly when I asked about the lessons readers might take from the book.
“God first. Then my wife. We’ve been married for 38 years. Then my kids. My grandsons. The family. Then the gift that God gave us to help other people who cannot give back to you. Then work. The job is not in last place, but it’s in its place.”
That simple statement may be the most powerful lesson in the entire book.
In a culture obsessed with achievement, many people have reversed that order. Careers come first. Platforms come first. Recognition comes first.
As the World Cup approaches, millions of visitors will arrive in America. Fans from every continent will fill stadiums. Global media outlets will spotlight cities across the country. For a few weeks, the world’s attention will be fixed on North America.
So how should Christians respond?
Silas believes the answer isn’t complicated.
“When you reach this kind of level, but maintain a humble position and think more about others than yourself, that’s the way to go.”
That’s the real message behind Beyond Success.
Not everyone will play in a World Cup.
Not everyone will become a professional athlete.
But everyone will face the same question eventually: What happens when the things the world calls success are no longer enough?
For Silas, the answer wasn’t found in a stadium, a trophy, or a career achievement.
It was found in faith.
And as the world prepares to come to America for the beautiful game, that’s a message worth hearing.
Beyond Success: One Athlete’s Outstanding Pursuit of God, Goals, and Glory is available now wherever books are sold.