The opening ceremony was grand… On a carpet that covered the
pitch and with four massive drums in four corners, it celebrated Brazil’s
nature, people and the one sport that is part of the cultural fabric of this
country. There were men and women kicking balls tied on a string shifting it
from one foot to another. US
rapper Pitbull, Brazilian pop singer Claudia Leiite and US singer Jennifer Lopez performed during the opening ceremony at the Corinthians
Arena in Sao Paulo
singing the World Cup anthem “We are
one”. “Show the world where you're from/
Show the world we are one” was a theme in sync with the festival that has 32
participating teams but a following that extends to all corners of the globe.
The
anti-tournament protests continued even hours before the ceremony but the din
was lost when thousands of football lovers from across the world thronged the
Corinthians Arena and watched the spectacle unfold with invigorating
enthusiasm. A giant LED ball, placed at the center of the stadium, displayed
the welcome message in different languages, and hundreds of artists started to
trickle in. Reports state that more than 60,000 fans were in Sao
Paulo's Corinthians Arena, including 12 heads of state and UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon There was no political speeches this year, not
even from Brazil's
President Dilma Rousseff. The giant ball
opened and took the form of a flower. Brazilian singer Claudinha surfaced from
under it along with Pop icon Jennifer Lopez and rapper Pit Bull.
In the
tournament lung opener, Neymar was the star of the show as Brazil came from behind to secure a hard-fought
3-1 victory over Croatia.
The hosts’ star No10 equalised after Marcelo’s own-goal, and converted a
second-half penalty after Fred had been fouled by Dejan Lovren. The opening
goal of the 2014 World Cup was remarkable in itself, the first own-goal scored
by a Brazilian in the history of the tournament. Ivica Olic received the ball
on the Croatia
left and ran unopposed into the Brazilian half. His low cross fizzed across
goal and was turned in by Marcelo, who failed to readjust his feet in time. The crowd were stunned, but they rallied
behind their side, who were level before the half-hour mark.
Despite
a valiant effort by Croatia,
including their disallowed goal, Brazil wrapped up the three points
when Oscar fired home from the edge of the box. In a trivia, only one team will be making their FIFA World Cup™
bow at Brazil 2014. Bosnia
and Herzegovina are those solitary
debutants, and this is the second edition in succession in which all teams but
one have prior World Cup experience. Slovakia
were South Africa 2010's
sole first-timers while, by contrast, Germany 2006 produced no fewer than
eight, including Brazil 2014 hopefuls Ghana
and Côte d'Ivoire.
So on day 1, it was Brazil's poster boy Neymar scoring twice and
the outstanding Oscar added a late third in that thrilling game whence Japanese
referee Yuichi Nishimura harshly ruled that Croatia skipper Dejan Lovren had
fouled Fred who appeared to throw himself to the ground.
Much more is expected to happen in the fortnight to come …
With regards
– S. Sampathkumar
13th June 2014.
