Actors perform during the opening ceremony ahead of the group A World Cup soccer match between Brazil and Croatia, the opening game of the tournament, in the Itaquerao Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, June 12, 2014. AP PHOTO/SHUJI KAJIYAMA
SAO PAULO, Brazil—Nely Lopes Cachocira is Brazilian. Her husband, Vlatko Zaimovic, is Croatian.
The couple from Montes Claros had a few mixed emotions about Thursday’s World Cup opener at Itaquerao Stadium.
Lopes Cachocira sported a homemade beaded yellow tank top with half of each country’s flag on front.
So, the debate: Who would win?
“Croatia,” Zaimovic said.
“No, Brazil!” she shot back.
Meanwhile, one soccer fan who traveled from afar jumped right on the Brazil bandwagon.
David Hunt, 55, of Cardiff, South Wales, made his first trip out of Europe to attend the World Cup. He decked himself out in Brazil gear from head to toe.
Literally. His socks featured the Brazilian flag.
“Because I like Brazil,” he said Thursday morning. “Everybody loves my socks.”
And, of course, he was predicting a sixth championship for the proud home country.—Janie McCauley — www.twitter.com/JanieMcCAP
Priceless tickets
For a Brazilian, a ticket to the World Cup on home turf is priceless—even if you are sitting in the last row of the stadium.
“It’s incredible,” said Felipe Turci, an 11-year-old draped in yellow as he peered down upon the rest of Itaquerao Stadium. “It’s beautiful.”
The temporary stands holding nearly 20,000 seats were only recently approved because of safety concerns. They were delayed mostly because of an accident earlier this year. They were installed so the stadium could accommodate the more than 60,000 people for the opener.
Gabriel Ponce, a 21-year-old fan from Sao Paulo, said he was initially hesitant to buy a seat in the questionable grandstands. But now that he was there, his mind was put to rest.
“It doesn’t matter where I sit as long as I am here,” he said. “It is such a unique experience.”
Fernanda Sanchez, also in the last row of the stadium, said she would have preferred to be closer to the action—and potentially safer—but would take what she could get. At 160 Brazilian real (about $75), she said it was the cheapest ticket available.
“I’m not worried. I’m just happy to be here in this day. One day I can tell my future children that I was here,” she said, before adding with a smile: “If the stands fall, we will all fall together.”–Aron Heller — Twitter http//twitter.com/aronhellerap
Traffic un-jammed
The World Cup managed to end Sao Paulo’s seemingly endless traffic jam—at least for a few hours. All it took was for Brazil to play in the tournament opener.
Few cars were on the streets two hours before the host Selecao faced Croatia on Thursday at the Itaquerao, the newly opened stadium on the eastern edge of the city built for the Corinthians club team. There was only a fraction of the usual pedestrian traffic.
Officials declared Thursday a holiday in Sao Paulo. Some shops were shut, with gates pulled partially or completely down.
Still, there were some people walking around the Paulista district downtown and a few sitting in cafes, which had televisions on tuned to pregame shows. A majority of those out wore yellow Brazilian home jerseys or blue road shirts.–Ronald Blum — www.twitter.com/ronaldblum
Eerily calm
Most Brazilians apparently avoided travel on game day so as not to risk missing the opening match.
Rio’s normally bustling Santos Dumont domestic airport was eerily calm Thursday, and there was hardly a customer to be seen in the FIFA store. Even the World Cup-themed Fun Zone, which has table soccer pitches, large screen TVs and benches for fans to rest, was nearly empty. Only employees were taking advantage of the table soccer facilities.–Jenny Barchfield — twitter.com/JennyBarchfield
Local friction
Heavy security around the German camp on the Atlantic coast is causing some friction among the local population.
The Germans are based in a specially built complex next to the village of Santo Andre, near Porto Seguro. The base is being protected by Brazilian military police, along with personnel brought from Germany. When the German team travels by bus to its fully equipped (including floodlights) training ground—built on a nature protected area—police close the main road and security officers in cars and on motorcycles follow the convoy.
Fences and security barriers are disrupting normal life and closing down streets in the village of 800. Residents have protested and German team officials say they are in contact with local authorities to ease the situation.
German team manager Oliver Bierhoff, who is responsible for logistics, says security decisions are made by local organizers, not by the German team.
“It’s not our responsibility but we are in contact with security forces. As far as we know, not everything is optimal,” Bierhoff said.
The German ambassador to Brazil, Wilfried Grolig, who visited the team this week, said he would meet with the mayor of Santo Andre to discuss the situation.–Nesha Starcevic
Dunga on Neymar
Former Brazil coach Dunga, who was captain of the country’s victorious team in the 1994 World Cup, says Neymar must deliver for Brazil to win its sixth title.
“I feel just like everyone else, that Neymar must be more than just a promise,” he said. “He can’t be a promise. He must be reality in order for us to win the World Cup.”
He said Neymar will get more space to play in the World Cup than he had at Barcelona.
“His best thing is his dribbling, which he can’t show off at Barcelona,” he said. “On the national team he is allowed to show more.”–Stephen Wade — Twitter http//twitter.com/StephenWadeAP
Wishes from space
The six-member crew on the International Space Station may be busy conducting scientific experiments out there on the final frontier. Even astronauts will be taking some downtime to watch the action in Brazil.
In a video message (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLwW3pdXkFo) from orbit, German crew member Alexander Gerst wished all teams and fans in Brazil “peaceful games.”
“Have fun, play hard, and we’ll be watching on the International Space Station,” his American colleague Reid Wiseman added.
Gerst, Wiseman and station commander Steve Swanson of NASA also showed off their football skills in low gravity, displaying some impressive feats in the video that players down on Earth might be envious of.
Along with the German and two Americans, there are three Russians on the space station right now: All their countries are represented at the World Cup.
A bit closer to Earth, at least three airlines will be offering travelers the chance to get live in-flight updates from the World Cup to their mobile devices.
Emirates, Japan’s ANA and Philippine Airlines will give passengers free access to a Wi-Fi service that provides text updates of every match direct to laptops, tablets and smartphones.–Frank Jordans — Twitter: https://twitter.com/wirereporter
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