The Brazil World Cup adventure was arranged long before the draw was made. We just wanted to experience the Cup and booked flights and hotels early before prices went up or they sold out. So, to be honest, when Switzerland : Honduras came out of the hat for Manaus on June 25th, we were a little disappointed. Neither are a glamour team and so this wouldn\’t be the occasion that many other games have been. But! This is the World Cup and so every game is an occasion. This one perhaps just a little different.
\”Yes you\’ll be able to get a taxi at game time without a reservation\” the hotel clerk reassured us for the third time. \”Yes, it\’s a public holiday for the game and so traffic will be light and you\’ll get to the stadium in about 10 minutes\”. Despite her reassurance, and heeding the warning that it can take three hours to get into the stadium, we climbed in the very punctual taxi at 1pm for a 4 pm game. 15 minutes later, just as the clerk had said, we were at the practically empty and echoey stadium.
Back up a moment. Did he just say that Manaus had declared today a public holiday? For a football match? Well yes they did! And let me just say that I love this country even more because of that!!!
Winding our unnecessarily long way through the empty turnstile chute I noticed about 10 unnecessary turns behind me, a young man in what appeared to be a Glasgow Celtic strip. Surely not. More likely to be Sporting Lisbon. Their strip is also green and white hoops. Furthermore as he caught up with me in the line, his oriental appearance didn\’t look especially Scottish.
I pumped a fist – \”Celtic\”.
\”Aye, nae bother\”. Oh my God! It was true. Another Scots lad here in Manaus
Sam, the son of Hong Kong immigrants that settled in Newton Stewart, only a few miles south of Ayr where I grew up. He is on a world tour after finishing up at Paisley Tech (or whatever it\’s fancy new name was). How coincidental was this! As you might imagine we chatted for a while before we carried on, his broad Scots accent brought out mine, although from him it sounded strange coming from a small Chinese guy.
Finally, we wandered into the stadium, a beautiful piece of architecture right here in the middle of the jungle. We\’d later be disappointed that it wasn\’t a later kick off so\’s we would get the full nighttime effect of the orange light filtering through the lattice work of panels. From the photographs we\’ve seen, that must be spectacular.
As if mirroring the overall feel of the two cities, the approach to the Stadium Des Amazonas in Manaus was far more laid back than the intensity of the stadium in Fortaleza. The fans still clustered around posing for photos in their respective colors. Lots of street vendors selling Cup paraphernalia. But just more space. Less intense. We liked it.
Talking of sweat, this was the first time we\’d really noticed humidity in Manaus. Perhaps we got lucky, but the weather since we arrived, even yesterday on the river, has been very comfortable. Not sticky at all. Even more surprisingly, we\’ve seen no mosquitos – or any other insects to talk of for that matter. Perhaps they swept them all out for the Cup, but I think we\’ll continue with the anti malarial tablets – just in case. But today, we got the full on jungle humidity experience.
Maybe \’cos we were sitting high up and the heat got captured by the stadium overhang, but, man, it was hot and sticky up there! As the players came out for the anthems, we marveled at their fitness and wondered how they would get through 90 minutes in these conditions.
Great game. I rooted for Switzerland, just \’cos I have work colleagues there. Dave rooted for Honduras just \’cos it\’s a CONCACAF nation. To be honest we didn\’t really care too much who won. We were really happy with our seats, high up at the half way line where we could observe the tactics play out. To listen to us critique the coach\’s game plan you\’d have thought we knew what we were talking about.
Switzerland took a lead in the first few minutes so the Swis celebration started early and by half time the stadium was in party mode.That said, as at Fortaleza the majority in the crowd were Brazilians and, as we\’ve seen everywhere else, they need little encouragement. The wave rippled through the crowd, and the locals turned their attention to after match entertainment!
Game over the crowd dispersed to the local bars and restaurants where the party continued a while. Security, always a reassuring background presence watched closely but even they were a part of the party as the fans posed with the mounted police horses. (look Ellie: horses!)
By the way, amongst all the pre Cup scaremongering were tales of unaffordable prices.
But, look! Bud. For $3:50. In a bar directly opposite a stadium where a World Cup game had just been played. We certainly haven\’t been ripped off in our time here in Brazil. By 9 pm, surprisingly, things were winding down and, at least here, near the stadium, everything was closing up. I guess the holiday is over and it\’s back to work tomorrow.
What a great day. Not as big an occasion as some other games, but an experience none the less. And again, just overwhelmed by the laid back, happy people of Manaus and their apparent delight to welcome the world to their city to share their enjoyment of football!
What! Scotland Qualified!!! 