Spain vs Holland match with most empty seats
SAO PAUlO: One of the World Cup's most exciting games had the most empty seats in the first round of the tournament in Brazil. More than 3,500 seats were empty when the Netherlands routed defending champion Spain 5-1 in the northeastern city of Salvador on Friday, according to FIFA's match reports and its numbers on stadium capacities. Although it wasn't the worst crowd — 48,173 attended the match at the Arena Fonte Nova — it was the game with the most unused seats. Crowds have been good so far, but there were many matches with empty seats across the 12 host cities. Nearly all matches were sold out ahead of the tournament, and FIFA said "the empty seats corresponded to either no-shows or people who did not collect their tickets." Among the matches with visible empty seats was the high-profile encounter between England and Italy in the jungle city of Manaus, when 39,800 were in hand. More than 503,000 people have attended the initial 10 matches of the first World Cup in Brazil since 1950.
Making the most of first World Cup
MANGARATIBA: Mario Balotelli (in pic) is making the most of his first World Cup. The mercurial Italy forward proposed to his Belgian girlfriend last week, scored the winning goal in the Azzurri's opening game against England and has won over fans both at the stadium and on social media. "I'm not surprised, because Balotelli was fundamental at the 2012 European Championship," Italian football federation president Giancarlo Abete said Monday. "He's a player with a huge amount of talent and it seems like he's setting himself up to have a great World Cup." Balotelli took advantage of coach Cesare Prandelli's policy to allow wives and girlfriends into Italy's training camp by popping the marriage question to Fanny Neguesha on a moon-lit beach at the Portobello Resort & Safari where the Azzurri are based. Ever since, Balotelli has appeared smiling and focused — whether when receiving congratulations from teammates or finding the target against England with a precise header. This is clearly a different "Super Mario" from the one seen with AC Milan just a couple of months ago. Or the player who made more headlines off the pitch than on it during his 2 1/2-season spell with Manchester City.
PiranhasIJ No problem at Manaus beach
MANAUS: Beaches are a big part of life for most Brazilians, and the locals deep in the Amazon jungle are definitely Brazilian. In Manaus, the most exotic of the 12 World Cup host cities, the residents head to the posh neighborhood of Ponta Negra to lounge on the sandy beach and take a dip in the Rio Negro, the river that joins up with the Amazon River on the other side of the city. The warm water, as its name implies, is dark, but with a bit of a red tint. Oh yeah, there are piranhas in there, too, but that doesn't seem to bother anyone. And neither does the rain. On Monday, it started to pour in the afternoon, scattering the few spectators in the nearby Fan Fest who were watching Germany beat Portugal 4-0 on a large-screen TV. But down on the beach, most of the revelers stood their ground and stayed in the water. No piranha injuries were immediately reported.
BRAZIlIANS FOR PORTUGAl
SAO PAUlO: Outside Restaurant Haddock Grill hangs a big flag of Brazil, and a small one of Portugal. Inside, businessmen in suits and ties are having their lunch break — chattering loudly over their dishes with their eyes glued to the screen above the buffet offering. Portugal is playing its first World Cup game, and the mood suddenly turns dour as the team surrenders its second goal of the first half, en route to a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Germany.
Even though Brazil has been independent from Portugal for nearly two centuries, most of the diners appear partial to the squad of their former colonizers.
"Portugal is in our blood, in our body," said Andres Szarukan, a 37-year-old business manager for a digital media company. "We still have a lot of families who came from Portugal and the connection is strong."
Among those are the Martins, the owners of the diner in downtown Sao Paulo who placed the flag outside.
Sandra Martins says her parents were born in Portugal, so naturally their allegiances were to the team of Cristiano Ronaldo — so long as they weren't playing Brazil. The 38-year-old frowns after Germany scores again. As the first half comes to a close, the diners shuffle out and reluctantly head back to their offices. less commotion is expected the next day, when Brazil is set to play again. Most say they'll skip their business lunch out, leaving work early to catch the afternoon game at home.
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
FORTAlEZA: Brazil coach luiz Felipe Scolari (in pic) sent a message to his former Portugal players after their 4-0 loss to Germany on Monday. "I tell my friends that when I was the coach at the Euros (in 2004) we also lost the first match and we still went on to the final," Scolari said. "This is what I can say to motivate them. They have to regroup to try to win the next match, and then win again to make sure they can advance. We lost it that time at home but we still reached the final. It can still happen and this Portugal team can do it." Scolari coached Portugal after he led Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title in South Korea and Japan. He stayed with the Portuguese national team until 2008. In the news conference previewing Brazil's match against Mexico on Tuesday, the coach also took the time to joke with team captain Thiago Silva. In one of his answers, the defender was listing the players who could replace striker Hulk if he can't play because of an injury. Scolari interrupted his player and asked, "Wait, so now you are the one who is saying who will be playingIJ"