Celebs welcome at training
Teresopolis: Brazil has been closing its training sessions to fans, but some of the country’s top celebrities have had no problem getting close to the players. Two soap opera stars were among those allowed to watch the team practice Tuesday. Juliana Paes and Carolina Dieckman even took their kids to the training camp in Teresopolis, a mountain city about an hour from Rio de Janeiro. Both posted photos of their afternoon escapade on social media. Fans with links to the team’s sponsors are also allowed at the training camp, which has an area reserved for the VIPs just outside one of the fields where Brazil practices. Regular fans are kept outside the gates of the Granja Comary club, often yelling and asking coach luiz Felipe Scolari to let them in. Hundreds of people show up every day to try to get near the players.
EDGE OF SEATS
Sao Paulo: Actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson shared a family photo on Twitter, everybody on the edges of their seats for the U.S. Some crossed fingers, others clenched fists. Professional sports teams and athletes from the United States took to Twitter on Tuesday to support the Americans against Belgium, along with some well-known actors like the Hanks family. Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks and los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco 49ers NFl team all posted photos on their Twitter pages featuring photos of their teams on half the screen and the U.S. World Cup squad on the other. Each photo said, "ARE YOU READYIJ" The San Diego Chargers' photo featured a flag covering the football field at Qualcomm Stadium with the words, "Go get 'em!" Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon lester posted: "#IBElIEVETHATWEWIllWIN!" The Seattle Seahawks cheered DeAndre Yedlin with #Seattlelove when the Seattle Sounders player came on in the second half in place of injured right back Fabian Johnson.
police use stun grenades
Salvador: Police in Brazil’s biggest city say they used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse thousands of soccer fans raucously celebrating Argentina’s 1-0 World Cup victory over Switzerland. A Sao Paulo police department press officer says the partying by close to 3,000 people - mostly Argentines - began Tuesday afternoon in Sao Paulo’s trendy neighborhood of Vila Madalena and only ended early Wednesday morning, “when we were called in to disperse the crowd that had gotten too rowdy.” He said stun grenades and tear gas where used after many of the fans started hurling bottles at the police.
Mic trouble for Didier
Ribeiro Preto: France coach Didier Deschamps had a spot of microphone trouble during his World Cup news conference on Tuesday. First, the sound was too loud, with Deschamps’ booming voice resonating around the Pedro II theater house in Ribeirao Preto, where France holds its media activity. Then, it was far too quiet and he could barely be heard. “Everything OK, chiefIJ HelloIJ” a bemused Deschamps said as he turned to the sound technician, who was desperately trying to fix it. Deschamps carried on talking, but the problem persisted. “Is he trying to wind me upIJ They’ve sent the cook instead,” Deschamps joked. “This is a disaster.” The issue was eventually resolved, and Deschamps was free to talk about Friday's quarterfinal against Germany.
All ARGENTINA
Sao Paulo: Every time Pele was shown on the giant video screen, the crowd booed. More than 20,000 Argentina supporters made the Sao Paulo Fan Fest their own Tuesday for the round of 16 match against Switzerland. Some wore lionel Messi masks and white and light blue wigs. Many were shirtless, standing under the sun for hours. Whenever Pele, the Brazil great attending the game at nearby Itaquerao Stadium, was shown on the screen, they screamed that he has nothing on Argentina legend Diego Maradona.