Slick show but rocky road to Rio lies ahead

In journalism, there are few moments less inspiring than writing about the hypothetical ramifications that balls being pulled from a bowl might have six months down the line.

But for once, such a luxurious whine about a fortunate job was, for a while, representative of the greater feeling that existed here yesterday morning.

In Brazil, such indifference transferred across much of a nation in advance of the World Cup draw. After all, for a country like this, it doesn’t matter who you play, only how much you beat them by.

Perhaps it was down to everything else that’s happened in terms of the negative societal influences of this tournament, from the forced evictions to the lack of legacy, from the violence of protests to a country being told to accept that soccer is more of a government priority than health, education and transport. Perhaps it’s just that the gap between the elite nations and the rest is so great that most of the groupings only matter to the no-hopers in terms of possibly getting a fourth game. Or maybe it’s because these shows are always boring, needlessly stretched out by pre-agreed questions and box-ticking answers before business is conducted. But regardless of the reason, you know it’s not all it’s made out to be when you’ve to fake excitement and pretend to care. Indeed initially much of Brazil couldn’t even muster that. Instead, the country simply went to work because this was just another Friday.

In a way, it’s the difference between what a football championship draw means to a provincial hopeful like Kildare or Monaghan versus a team that knows it’s all about the latter stages like Dublin or Kerry. In fact, oddly, here wasn’t the place to be yesterday despite being the self-proclaimed centre of the football universe, even as host nation. Instead, imagine how somewhere like Sarajevo felt as a country ravaged by all the ills of life over recent decades finally got some good news. Indeed during the summer, on a tour of the bullet-ridden buildings in the Bosnian capital, the guide who was a former solider stopped briefly to talk soccer and the hope and positivity it’s providing. But in Brazil, only winning can provide positivity, not fixtures.

When mentioning the draw to locals during the week, much of the chat wasn’t even about potential pairings, rather the sideshows that have kept people entertained all week. There was bemusement at the comments of Manaus mayor Arthur Virgilio who said of England: “We hope to get a better team and a coach who is more sensible and polite,” a comment all the more interesting given Roy Hodgson’s side now open their campaign there. There was amusement at the superstition of Pele who refused to help conduct the draw, saying: “I wouldn’t feel comfortable in picking out balls which are not favourable to Brazil.” And there was the always-present concern about how this tournament has been funded, organised and run.

Even sports stations like ESPN Brasil couldn’t avoid that aspect in their build-up coverage. After briefly looking into the best and worst-case scenarios for the hosts — and the truth lay somewhere in the middle as they will most likely face the Netherlands or Spain as early as the second round — talk turned to politics, finances and the controversy of this World Cup. A flick through the channels and there were other debates in advance of proceedings, like about what Blatter had said on Thursday. With news that the Itaquerao, the Sao Paulo stadium hosting the opening game, won’t now be complete until mid-April after the recent accident there, he remarked: “What can Fifa do? Fifa can pray to God, to Allah, to whomever it may be, that there occur no more accidents related to the World Cup.” Some suggested it showed his priorities as well as a lack of sensitivity given two men lost their lives when a crane collapsed as it put the stadium roof into place.

On stage, the draw itself was showcasing the best of Brazil although for some, there was the sense that this was painting over the crack in the wall, sticking a plaster on the wide-open wound, covering reality with slick presentation. However, with so much money now spent, others preferred to look towards the positives and even within sceptics, there was a hint of excitement once the groups were completed. For those in Sao Paulo, Fortaleza and the capital Brasilia, they can look forward to hosting their heroes. The likes of Spain, France, Belgium and Russia will count themselves lucky they’ll get to see Rio De Janeiro, but in truth, every venue here offers something magical and spectacular. It won’t be cheap, what with Sao Paulo and Rio being the 10th and 12th most expensive cities on the planet respectively, but it’ll still be value for money for those who can afford to fork out.

So, amidst all the trouble and all the bad feeling, the first step has finally been taken. As people left work here and headed out for Friday night, there was still a sense of anger and unease about what has happened. That won’t go away, nor will the protests, with the sense being they’ll intensify and challenges by Fifa to curb people’s democratic right will only increase the numbers taking to the streets. But at least such conversations have been joined by the first seeds of excitement as well.

The rest of the globe is looking forward, while Brazil is beginning to.