Some count the days, hours, minutes. I guess I know how close the World Cup is in Brazil by the blooming green and yellow colors in every single corner on the streets of my hometown, Brasilia.
The green-yellow commerce is super heated. The once unemployed population becomes street vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs that remind us of what we are about to watch. Only a few days for Brazil to star. A time of the year we forget poverty, we forget how gloomy our future might look. Some say it is like opium, mainly in the year of our presidential elections. However, we simply forget all about our ordinary lives.
There is something bigger about to happen, so extraordinary that the streets are emptied during the Brazilian games, the waves of optimism take another dimension. We believe our positive vibes can reach our soccer players in South African lands.
June 11th is historical for South Africa when the world glues its eyes on big screens, live. Ahead of us, we’ll face the Ivory Coast, North Korea and Portugal. Though we have a powerful team with the group being better well-prepared than in other World Cups in which the individual talents counted the most, we can never underestimate our opponents. A moment that never goes back and we cannot fail. Emotional balance, cooperation, understanding weaknesses and strengths, these are all part of the game.
On the part of the fans, we are ready, all in yellow and green counting every single minute for the 19th World Cup round Brazil is part of.
Check back for more updates from Carla on the world cup in Brazil.
Read more:
Brazil’s countdown to the world cup
Feijoada in Brazil
Quebrada de humahuaca: hidden Argentina
When I was watching your photos, I thought ‘wow, they even paint the kerbsides with the football team colours’. Then tonight I noticed that our kerbs here have been painted with green and white, the colours of our local team (Bursa Spor) which just won the Turkish league! So thanks to you I also noticed something new about Turkey.