Brazil explodes with street parties
Friday, 13 June 2014
Brazil exploded with street parties as the FIFA World Cup 2014 kicked off on Thursday (Brazilian time) with the official inaugural ceremony. Millions of fans dressed in Brazil’s canary yellow, green and blue home colors and cheered as the opening match between Brazil and Croatia kicked off, at a newly built stadium in Sao Paulo whose cost and late delivery came to embody the troubled World Cup preparations. Talking to Reuters an unidentified Croatian fan said in Sao Paulo a few minutes before the gala opening ceremony started: ‘We came only for the first game because if we win, it’s like we already won the World Cup so why would we stay here?’ Meanwhile, Brazilian fan Rubens Alves Morida said: ‘In 1950, we lost here in Brazil, today is a chance to forget this and win what would be the sixth world title. Today the Brazilian people will all be together to see if we can win this sixth title.’ Brazil is seen by many fans around the world as the spiritual home of soccer and hundreds of thousands will descend on the country for the month-long extravaganza. Among the celebrities coming from across the globe to watch the 32-team tournament, the greatest show of football on earth, was Leonardo de Capriano, the Hollywood actor who played the lead role in ‘Titanic’ to rise to stardom.