Kevin Whitcher
So the trip is over, and I am back in Blighty. There are a few loose ends that will come to mind in the entries about the remaining matches, now experienced by me in the same way as it has been by those that did not make the trip, so let me start now with one of them. Graffiti. It is everywhere in Brazil, far more prevalent than here, and although some of it is pretty dubious in quality, the vast majority is of very high standard indeed. Just type ‘Brazil Graffiti’ into a google image search and you will be astonished at the quality of some of it. Another sensation that will remain in the memory is the phenomenon of walking along a street, coming to a large crack in the pavement and smelling the sewage drains below. It wasn’t pleasant and the heat made it worse. This aspect of life – poor sanitization – is doubtless far worse in places I would have been foolish to go, and is a good example how the Brazilian government could have spent money in better ways than on new and upgraded football stadiums that are unlikely to justify the investment once the FIFA roadshow leaves town.
One thing I should mention is that the fears about travelling around by plane were misplaced. I anticipated chaos and long delays at airports, but it was anything but. There were issues with flight times being changed – although that was months before we arrived, meaning, for example, a much later flight from Salvador to Sao Paulo than we had initially planned for. However, getting to the airports was fine, in terms of the roads, and the only alarms were a couple of occasions on which we were so early, our flights had not appeared on the departure boards leading to our fearing they might have been figments of our imagination.
We witnessed no protests against the World Cup when we were out there. Sure, there was some anti-FIFA graffiti and a highpoint for me was the appearance of Sepp Blatter on the screens in the stadium towards the end of the Switzerland v Honduras game when the crowd as one started booing a man synonymous with FIFA’s all too apparent corruption. The general feeling is that should Brazil exit the tournament before the final, the protests might return. Certainly, the heavy police presence indicates the authorities will do what is required to ensure the tournament runs smoothly. Yesterday, I added my name to a petition calling for some kind of monument for the construction workers who died building the stadiums for these finals. Needless sacrifices, a consequence, surely, of bypassing safety measures to cut corners and presumably cost.
It’s a strange contrast. In many senses, this has been a marvelous tournament so far, with exciting games, some excellent football from countries that were expected to be whipping boys, a healthy dose of drama, packed out stadiums and a lively and vibrant atmosphere at the matches. And yet, the background to the finals is something everyone is all too well aware of. Significantly, once it was decided that the 2014 World Cup would be held in South America, no other country bid for it. The reason is simple – the cost of staging it is phenomenal, the long term benefits dubious. Add to this the amount of money siphoned off by those awarded contracts to build the stadiums and infrastructure (some of this in turn doubtless used to bribe the decision makers), and the reality that much of the non-stadium improvements were never actually finished - and by all accounts, some not even started. The end result is that you have something wonderful created from something rotten. It takes a while to get your head around it.
Brazil is a fascinating country. Huge in scale, with a lot to recommend it. Sure, you will get ripped off if you are quite obviously a dumb tourist, and pretty much any visitor without much in the way of Portuguese is going to fall into that category. But you know that before you get there and simply try to limit your losses. I would certainly like to return one day.
As for the tournament, it was back to the armchair for the final four games of the last 16 knockout round. France were expected to beat Nigeria, but made heavy weather of it, significantly looking a better outfit once Giroud was hauled off. It was a similar case with Germany. Algeria put up a very decent display and it is interesting to note that Germany have a history of struggling to overcome certain African and South American countries. That they needed extra time says it all. France against Germany, given neither side looked outstanding in their first knockout game, is a tough one to call. I suspect Giroud will not start for France.
The following day saw Argentina become the third heavily fancied side to struggle against supposedly lesser opposition. However, ultimately, the space that Switzerland’s extra time fatigue allowed Messi at the key moment resulted in the goal. Frankly though, Argentina do not look like champions in waiting. Messi can only carry them so far. My suspicion now is that Holland will have too much in attack for them at the semi-final stage, if they can get past Belgium in the first place. The latter team came through a very entertaining encounter against the USA, one of the games of the tournament in spite of there being no goals in normal time.
It leaves us with a fairly cracking quartet of quarter finals, although I would accept an argument that Holland v Costa Rica might prove a bit one-sided. However, a tournament full of surprises should teach us that nothing is guaranteed. It is unusual though, for the eight group winners to have all won their first knockout match. I am fairly certain that has never happened before.
It’s wind down time now. 56 matches played, eight remaining. The business end of things and the games that actually matter. All that has gone before is an irrelevance, merely the means to the end of reaching this stage. So Germany trouncing Portugal 4-0 and other such impressive displays are good performances to remember, but mean nothing now. Brazil are the favourites, but only remain in the competition because of a penalty shoot-out in which they missed two themselves. It’s about survival, composure, big moments. Brazil were 1-0 up against Holland in the quarter final four years ago, but conceded two second half goals, and then, with 17 minutes remaining to get an equalizer, Felipe Melo lost his head and got sent off. A few days ago, the Dutch had far less time left on the clock when Wesley Sneijder coolly slotted home an equalizer against Mexico, leading to their dramatic win. How a team, or sometimes an individual player reacts to adversity can be decisive, the difference between going through and going home. If you look at that side of things, the likely final is probably Holland v Germany. Might have a bet on that if the odds are respectable…
