World Cup, Brasil 2014

[DavieW]

The Ghanaian players wrapped and locked their arms completely around the USA players as the ball sailed right into the group, and the referee who was standing right there saw nothing.

With all due respect, fuck the World Cup.

Aww, did the poor ickle Amewicans get beaten up by those rough and tumble Ghanaians?

;-)

[Jackson]

Getting very close (flying out of here on Wednesday).

The games we got in the end were...

Ghana v USA.

Does anybody remember this matchup 4 years ago when the USA had a corner kick at a crucial point in the game, during which 4 Ghanaian players mugged 4 USA players directly in front of the goal? The Ghanaian players wrapped and locked their arms completely around the USA players as the ball sailed right into the group, and the referee who was standing right there saw nothing.

With all due respect, fuck the World Cup.

Thanks,

Jax

[El Perro]

Cheers Doggboy, you still in Thailand?

I reckon we'll be alright. We're pretty seasoned travelers and my Portuguese skills and Brasilian flag tattoo will get us through most difficulties!

Still here Davie. Hot as blazes and little cuties running around in short skirts.

Watching the WC here in Bangkok will be an adventure:

1. 12 AM-4 AM curfew still in effect in Bangkok.

2. Nearly all games fall somewhere in that time slot (no watching in bars or you break curfew and the military have reason to bust your ass. Depending on their mood.

3. TV watching at home is a dog's breakfast due to battles between cable companies. If I'm "lucky" I'll get a dish at the last minute. If not, I may be able to watch with Thai commentary.

I wish I was back in Buenos Aires for the next month!

[DavieW]

Good luck Davie, sounds like you might need it!

Cheers Doggboy, you still in Thailand?

I reckon we'll be alright. We're pretty seasoned travelers and my Portuguese skills and Brasilian flag tattoo will get us through most difficulties!

[El Perro]

Good luck Davie, sounds like you might need it!

Getting very close (flying out of here on Wednesday).

The games we got in the end were:

Mexico v Cameroon.

Ghana v USA.

Japan v Greece.

Italy v Uruguay.

So 3 pretty interesting games and Japan v Greece!

It's all got pretty nerve-wracking in the last few days though. The tickets arrived weeks ago, but I got an email from FIFA yesterday to say our tickets are no longer valid! The stadium isn't finished so they have to reallocate our seating, which means we have to report to the ticketing centre before our first game to pick up new tickets. Given that we arrive on the day of our first game, we'll be cutting it a bit fine. Luckily we're walking distance from the stadium and the ticket centre is on the way.

I also decided to check our hotel reservation (made through despegar.com) and although I've got a pdf confirmation voucher with the dates and rates clearly marked and a reservation number, when I called the hotel they claimed to have no record of us! So I checked my despegar.com account and guess what? ALL of my records have disappeared (and I've been a regular user over the years). I checked the hotel's web-site to see if we could still book and yes, we can, but instead of the are $1781 (USD790) we were previously quoted, the cost would now be are $6846 (USD3040)! I eventually found a phone number to call despegar.com and on putting the reservation number into their automated system I got a message saying "your reservation is confirmed, enjoy your trip".

*bites nails*.

[DavieW]

Getting very close (flying out of here on Wednesday).

The games we got in the end were:

Mexico v Cameroon.

Ghana v USA.

Japan v Greece.

Italy v Uruguay.

So 3 pretty interesting games and Japan v Greece!

It's all got pretty nerve-wracking in the last few days though. The tickets arrived weeks ago, but I got an email from FIFA yesterday to say our tickets are no longer valid! The stadium isn't finished so they have to reallocate our seating, which means we have to report to the ticketing centre before our first game to pick up new tickets. Given that we arrive on the day of our first game, we'll be cutting it a bit fine. Luckily we're walking distance from the stadium and the ticket centre is on the way.

I also decided to check our hotel reservation (made through despegar.com) and although I've got a pdf confirmation voucher with the dates and rates clearly marked and a reservation number, when I called the hotel they claimed to have no record of us! So I checked my despegar.com account and guess what? ALL of my records have disappeared (and I've been a regular user over the years). I checked the hotel's web-site to see if we could still book and yes, we can, but instead of the are $1781 (USD790) we were previously quoted, the cost would now be are $6846 (USD3040)! I eventually found a phone number to call despegar.com and on putting the reservation number into their automated system I got a message saying "your reservation is confirmed, enjoy your trip".

*bites nails*.

[DavieW]

The 4 games or 1st round is played in a 2 week period, right? Will the games in Natal be from one group or different groups?

In the past, I have seen empty or scattered sections, probably due to unattractive teams or too expensive tickets for the locals. I believe that you can easily get a ticket just showing up, but price will be determine by who is playing. Bosnia vs Ivory Coast for example. I saw a semi final game in Los Angeles, ticket price (corporate) was $400 plus that I was able to buy for around $75 from a travel agency. I was at the final at the Rose Bowl, but outside looking in. Not a ticket to be had. This was in 1994. In the 1st round, US beat Colombia 1-0 and I was in Las Vegas, I was too dumb to place a bet 40-1 for a US win. Colombia was very highly rated with Valderama.

Sounding very tempting, I may succumb.

Yep, group games cover the first 2 weeks. They're not doing groups at a single or even across 2 venues, as has been the norm previously. We'll be seeing 4 games from 4 different groups, so we'll see 8 different teams. Being one of the smaller venues, we'll be mainly watching the lower ranked teams. Just one seeded team and one second rank team I think. That's the only reason I managed to get tickets. Because they're less popular! The first phase 'draw' (supposedly random) was total a scandal, with countries like Canada having 30+% of applicants getting tickets and the average being around 20%, but of all the applicants from Argentina (including me) only 1.5% were successful! The second round was 'first come first served' and I was pressing the button the second it opened and was eventually successful trying my 3rd venue.

As the draw hasn't even been made yet, we have no idea which teams we'll be watching! But we don't really care, we're going for the experience!

[Rev BS]

I doubt there's any tickets left direct from FIFA. There was a two-phase process to go through to get tickets direct, which finished a few weeks ago. It'll just be through agencies now. I got tickets for all 4 games at one stadium for USD360, not bad at USD90 per game, but I'm guessing you'll pay double that from an agency.

I also got pretty cheap accommodation at a 3-star hotel on the beach for USD60/ night (shared between 2 of us). I found a LOT cheaper too (like USD20/ night), but we decided it was worth paying a bit more to have a nice pool and being near the beach as we'll be there for 13 days.

The killer is the flights. I'll be going up to Iguazú to pick up my mate and we'll be going over to Foz to get internal flights, which cuts the cost in half, but they're still costing us USD1050 each + this bastard government's 20% credit card tax. (Although, as I get paid in USD I still make on the exchange and ended up only paying USD775 for my flights!

The 4 games or 1st round is played in a 2 week period, right? Will the games in Natal be from one group or different groups?

In the past, I have seen empty or scattered sections, probably due to unattractive teams or too expensive tickets for the locals. I believe that you can easily get a ticket just showing up, but price will be determine by who is playing. Bosnia vs Ivory Coast for example. I saw a semi final game in Los Angeles, ticket price (corporate) was $400 plus that I was able to buy for around $75 from a travel agency. I was at the final at the Rose Bowl, but outside looking in. Not a ticket to be had. This was in 1994. In the 1st round, US beat Colombia 1-0 and I was in Las Vegas, I was too dumb to place a bet 40-1 for a US win. Colombia was very highly rated with Valderama.

Sounding very tempting, I may succumb.

[DavieW]

I doubt there's any tickets left direct from FIFA. There was a two-phase process to go through to get tickets direct, which finished a few weeks ago. It'll just be through agencies now. I got tickets for all 4 games at one stadium for USD360, not bad at USD90 per game, but I'm guessing you'll pay double that from an agency.

I also got pretty cheap accommodation at a 3-star hotel on the beach for USD60/ night (shared between 2 of us). I found a LOT cheaper too (like USD20/ night), but we decided it was worth paying a bit more to have a nice pool and being near the beach as we'll be there for 13 days.

The killer is the flights. I'll be going up to Iguazú to pick up my mate and we'll be going over to Foz to get internal flights, which cuts the cost in half, but they're still costing us USD1050 each + this bastard government's 20% credit card tax. (Although, as I get paid in USD I still make on the exchange and ended up only paying USD775 for my flights!)

[Gandolf50]

Won't happen!

FIFA will move heaven and earth to make sure the opening game (and the entire tournament) goes ahead as planned.

They might have too! They looked like they would not make the opening date before the accident!

[Rev BS]

Anybody else thinking of going?

I've already booked my trip. Going for the 4 opening group games in Natal.

Can't wait! Proper 'bucket list' item finally getting ticked off. Even better that Natal is my favourite place in all Brasil - got some great memories of mongering there back in the mid 90s.

Wow, nice. The draw is yet to come. Cost? Flight, accommodations, tickets. Tell us more.

[DavieW]

Anybody else thinking of going?

I've already booked my trip. Going for the 4 opening group games in Natal.

Can't wait! Proper 'bucket list' item finally getting ticked off. Even better that Natal is my favourite place in all Brasil - got some great memories of mongering there back in the mid 90s.

[DavieW]

Maybe just enough damage for them to miss the opening game according to reports.

Won't happen!

FIFA will move heaven and earth to make sure the opening game (and the entire tournament) goes ahead as planned.

[Gandolf50]

Thinking about going to Rio.
You might want to read the photo story first.
Also their new soccer stadium they were building just collapsed.

LOL! Thieves are nothing new in Rio! The stadium did not collapse, but a crane fell over onto a part of the stands. A bit of a mess. Maybe just enough damage for them to miss the opening game according to reports.

[WorldTravel69]

Thinking about going to Rio.
You might want to read the photo story first.
Also their new soccer stadium they were building just collapsed.