SAO PAULO // “Imagina na Copa” has been a Brazilian catchphrase for much of the past seven years. Ever since the country was awarded the right to hold the Fifa World Cup, residents have been observing myriad problems and imagining how the country will cope when 600,000 foreign tourists arrive. Well, no longer do they have to imagine.
Yesterday was the moment Brazil – and surely all of the football-loving population – had been awaiting. Brazil shirts, a common sight around the country at the worst of times, appeared inescapable, flags hung down from residential windows and shops closed two hours before the 5pm kick-off.
On the train to the stadium, reports filtered through of nearby protests turning violent and horse-mounted police could be seen galloping in the opposite direction of the Arena Corinthians. On arrival at the stadium, homemade banners could be seen calling for peace while people distributed religious material.
Flag-carrying fans produced a United Nations of support as Mexicans and Bosnians and Colombians and countries not even playing here – Turkey, Malta, Hungary – mingled together in the sunshine. Brazilians chanted their country’s name – and, inevitably, that of Corinthians, Brazil’s most-popular domestic club. It was festive and fun.
After a seven-year wait, inside the two-kilometre Fifa fence that surrounds the arena, at least, things appeared to run smoothly. Fans counted down the minutes until kick-off while Neymar and company warmed up on the immaculate pitch. If this is what Brazil will be like for the next month, imagining the cup need not have been so bad.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
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