Volunteer Brazil | Blogs and Blags

SAMBA BOYS

¨Dancing In The Rhine¨

Ronaldinho's shimmy will ensure that the FIFA World Cup Trophy is again inscribed with the most successful name in World Cup football.

Ronaldinho, FIFA's player of the year for the past two seasons, helped Brazil win a record breaking fifth world title in 2002, and it will take an outstanding side to stop the ¨samba boys¨ from samba-ing out of Germany with the trophy this summer.

The World champs find themselves in a relatively easy looking starting Group F, consisting of Croatia, Australia and Japan. It would be an almighty shock if they failed to get through to the second stage as winners, where they will meet the runner-up of Group E.The second stage is potentially trickier, but I would hope that the Italians win their Group, leaving either, Ghana (yeah right - smiley), USA or The Czech Republic to face Brazil.

On the 27th June, the Czech’s can enjoy a day out at the famous home of Borussia Dortmund; Signal Iduna Park (formerly, the Westfalenstadion).

I fully expect the Brazilian lads to checkmate the Czech’s, with some winning moves well before the whistle.

The Samba train will make it’s way to Frankfurt, for a Quarter-Final showdown with France, Spain or Switzerland. Assuming the French win their Group, the Brazilians will in all probability face the Spanish. The Spaniards are a damn good footballing side, but never seem to do well in World Cups, and to be frank, they have more chance of recapturing The Rock of Gibraltar from the British than outgunning the Brazilians in a Quarter-Final...A quick march south to Munich will see Brazil face either one of four formidable opponents; England, Portugal, Holland or arch-rivals Argentina.

I have a feeling it will be England...Now this prospect induces a cold sweat. Let me explain:

Cast your mind back to June 2002, England v Brazil, venue - Shizuoka, Quarter Final, World Cup...

I had not long arrived in Brazil with my new Brazilian bride, and upon meeting my father-in-law, whose welcome speech opened with the gambit;

¨there are no divorced women in my family; only widows¨ (yikes).

Guess whose house I was in on that day?

Guess who I ended up watching the game with?

Yes! You got it in one - ¨daddy¨ (yikes).

The fact is of course, I am not English, I am Welsh, but such trivia does not wash on foreign shores.

If you speak English, and you’re from the UK, then you’re English - end of story!

They kicked off - my father-in-law and I were seated at the dining table, some 20 or so inches from the television set and I thought I had successfully faked neutrality.

We were both enjoying the game, until the 23rd minute, when the atmosphere suddenly changed.

I looked over and smiled nervously as Michael Owen scored for England.... (yikes)...

He looked at me in a way that I had never been looked at before - his 76 year old eyes pierced my soul, shivered my timbers, notwithstanding, the steam coming out of his ears had contempt written all over...

It was half-time, and a quick exit to the bathroom, released the tension...

Upon my return, I was searching for something to say, when serendipity intervened in the form of Rivaldo, scoring less than a minute into the second-half to boot...Daddy looked at me smugly, a broad self-righteous satisfaction penetrated. I nervously clapped my hands, and congratulated him on a marvelous goal , the smugness intensified.

I vividly remember thinking that 1-1 would be the perfect result, until Ronaldinho¨s free kick put perfection to bed...He was rather harshly sent off some 10 minutes later for fouling Danny Mills.

England had thirty minutes against 10 men...Surely, Beckham, Scholes and co, could muster a couple of goals against 10 men... Not on your life they couldn’t - and at the final whistle it remained England 1 Brazil 2...

Thank the Lord for small mercy; I would never have gotten out of the house alive, if England had scored 2 more...

Where was I? Oh, of course!

Lets move on to Munich, its Wednesday 5th July 2006 - 2nd Semi-Final.Brazil v England (revisited) This is tough, tough, tough, nevertheless, I take the Brazilians to samba sweetly into the final against France, Italy or the hosts Germany...