Impressions from the stadium - Post your experience here

Discussion in 'WC 2014 Travel and Tickets' started by lpporto, Jun 13, 2014.

  1. Mochileira

    Mochileira Member

    May 23, 2014
    São Paulo
    Club:
    Corinthians Sao Paulo
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    I may be wrong, but I think its not fair to compare Argentinians, Brazilians or Chileans behaviour against Germans or Dutch. The WC was right here in Brazil. Any kind of Argentinians, Chileans or Brazilians could be around if not in the stadium could be in any fun fest in any host city. While Germans, British, Dutch had to cross a hemisphere. Not every 20 years old kid, even from US or Europe has budget to go to a WC across the Ocean. Most of the Europeans and US people that I've seen around seens to be above their 30's while for Argentinians, Chileans, Colombians you could see many young people, in their 20's.

    But anyway, this WC experience, meeting so many different people, from different countries, places and sharing beers, stories and hugs has made anyone of us a better person, at least for those who took time to freed themselves from their comfort zone and did make some effort to join with different people from anywhere in the world. It was something very new for me, as a Brazilian. I did travel a lot around the world, but the experience I had here, right in my own city (Sao Paulo) and in other cities in my own country (RJ, BH, Brasilia, Salvador, Porto Alegre) was something very unique, and unforgettable.

    And about the rivalry. While many Brazilians was cheering against Argentina my Latin American heart was beating higher and I was cheering for Argentina all their way. It was sad to see people's reaction on Sunday in the Fan Fest in Copacabana, crying after the end of the match.

    In general, this WC was one of the best experiences I had in life. I'm very glad to be part of it.
     
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  2. Jyeatbvg

    Jyeatbvg Member

    Nov 11, 2013
    Toronto, Canada
    Arena Corinthians - Sao Paulo (Netherlands vs. Chile)
    First World Cup match (actually first large-scale football match ever) so didn't really know what to expect. Big stadium, but seemed a bit too institutionalized rather than homey. Was a pain to get there - about a 30 minute walk from mall/metro to stadium. Also, for some reason the lines to get in were not well organized. Just a big crowd pushing through not knowing what to do. Checkpoints were all far apart from each other and it seemed like there weren't enough lines at each stop, which created bottlenecks. Situated way outside the city right on the end of the red (?) line. Crowd was 80% Chilean fans and they were awesome. However, never really felt "part" of the action as the seats in the upper deck were so high up! Had to walk up like 6 flights of stairs to get to my seats.

    Overall: 6.5/10 experience

    Estadio Nacional - Brasilia (Portugal vs. Ghana / France vs. Nigeria)
    Easy to get to as it's situated right in the center of the city - about a 10 minute walk from downtown. Beautiful stadium and the way the sun seeps in the top and through the side columns is just perfect. Sat in the upper decks for both matches but unlike in Sao Paulo, the sightlines were great and felt like I could see everything. The stadium layout (360-degree with seats all around) probably added to the fantastic atmosphere as sound travels and there were never any 'gaps' in the cheering crowd. The fact that there were ramps leading to upper levels rather than stairs was convenient.

    Overall: 8.5/10 experience

    Mineirao - Belo Horizonte (Brazil vs. Chile)
    Stadium was outside the city a bit, but the Cup Shuttles made it really easy to get to (pay $R15 and it takes you straight from Metro to stadium, and back). Lines were quick as they had checkpoints situated on and along all sides of the stadium (rather than in Sao Paulo where they only had 4). Got to the stadium early so went to check out the FIFA store, which was crowded and had nothing worth buying (all overpriced FIFA stuff). Beer lines were quick, Budweiser area was bumping as well as all of the Brazil fans were cheering. The stadium isn't high like the previous two stadiums, so it seemed like there wasn't a bad seat in the house. I was situated about 5 rows from the back behind one of the nets and the sightlines were great. It helped that the net I was behind was used in penalty kicks. Crowd was 95% Brazilians, though honourable mention goes to the 5% Chileans who were unbelievably loud. I was about 4 rows behind the Chileans and our section never sat down the entire match! Great atmosphere, great match - this was the highlight of my trip and something I'll remember for the rest of my life. Favourite parts were the national anthems (50,000 Brazilians shouting it out) and the missed penalty kick at the end..place went crazy!

    Overall: 10/10 experience

    Arena Fonte Nova - Salvador (USA vs. Belgium)


    will continue after..
     
  3. Steve Page

    Steve Page Member

    Oct 30, 2013
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    I was actually surprised at how many young England fans were in Brazil. There were quite a lot of 18-25 years olds, particularly in Rio. Didn't think they would be able to afford it. I guess that if they have a job and live at home without paying rent it wouldn't take that long to save up. Of course it was much easier for South Americans to travel and they did so in much greater numbers. The more people that travel the higher the number of idiots. The majority were great and gave the tournament a unique and wonderful feel.

    The best thing about any international sporting event is meeting people from lots of different countries. Particularly as they share the passion for sport. Anybody who just sticks to their countrymen is missing out. I'm glad that the Brazilians enjoyed it too. Hosting the World Cup or Olympics gives a country a boost that is hard to quantify. You're pretty much the centre of the World for a while, lots of people tell you how wonderful everything is.
     
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  4. clubamericalara

    clubamericalara Member+

    Jun 20, 2013
    Oklahoma City, OK
    Club:
    Club América
    Arena Das Dunas (Mexico vs. Cameroon)
    seat view 4/5
    atmosphere 4/5
    stadium amenities 3/5
    transportation/access to stadium 4/5
    we left 3 hours early from Ponta Negra (tourist district about 5 miles away from the stadium) with a cab. The cab dropped us off at a overpass to were we could walk over to access the stadium. The walk was minimal maybe 1/2km-1km at most so that was convenient. It was pouring, flooding and made it tough/epic accessing the stadium haha. anyway we get to the stadium and we are sitting in Cat 3 behind the goals on the second floor which was not bad at all! there were a few empty seats which leads me to believe that i could have gone down to the first floor without a problem. anyway the view was spectacular. The bathrooms met world cup standards as they were very clean. One problem we encountered was that there was poor drainage on that second floor because of the heavy rain. exiting the stadium was not a problem however finding transportation was hell. as we were walking out we encountered an incident were a bank was literally being robbed and there were other police loading their shotguns to go in, all of this happening as the exiting crowd was walking by (sprinting after we saw the incident)luckily we followed a group, heading to ponta negra (we were clueless which stop had to go to or were we would need to be dropped off) however with a bit we made it back.

    Arena Castelao (Brazil vs. Mexico)
    seat view 5/5
    atmosphere 5/5
    stadium amenities 5/5
    transportation/access to stadium 1/5

    The stadium in fortaleza was located in a inner city location away from the beach and touristic area. After asking around (i had no internet and all wifi seemed to suck) we found the bus rendezvous to head to the stadium. the bus ride was free. the bus ride was not to bad. however we were dropped a fairly distant location to start walking (only stadium parking could keep driving) after what seemed like quite a few km we finally made it! the stadium was beautiful and the atmosphere was great. I was very surprised at how many mexico supporter were there which made the game so much better. we were sitting in the category 3 seats on the second tier with all of the other mexico supporters behind were memo ochoa made that incredible save. good security, good food, good service, good people, good times. exiting the stadium was just like the accessing, a long walk.

    Arena Pernambuco
    seat view 3/5
    atmosphere 5/5
    stadium amenities 2/5
    transportation2/5

    getting to the stadium required accessing a bus ticket. the bus ride as expected was very long however the good vibes made the trip awesome. Once we arrived to an isolated Pernambuco the celebration began. the walk from the bus dropoff to the stadium was not bad. the surrounding had a safer feel so more people were drinking outside of the stadium pregaming and partying. once we accessed the stadium we sat in our category 1 tickets which we got unlucky with btw. the concession served beer and packaged goods however there was no cooked food available ... at world cup? come on! the walk to our seats required walking through many ramps which made the walk seem eternal. the seats were the most uncomfortable out of all the seats. getting back to recife was a breeze as our bus had turned into a party bus!
     
  5. Steve Page

    Steve Page Member

    Oct 30, 2013
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    I was at this match. Really enjoyed spending time with the Mexico supporters. And the tequila obviously. Great atmosphere and glad I got to see you win. Pleased you enjoyed yourself as I remember your enthusiasm before the tournament. Also your delight at getting tickets.
     
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  6. paulalanr

    paulalanr Member

    Nov 5, 2013
    New Orleans, LA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This article from Brian Straus at Sports Illustrated has his take on the best and worst venues, which seems right in line with what we've been saying here:
    http://www.si.com/soccer/planet-fut...best-worst-superlatives-usa-klinsmann-germany

    "Best Venue Visited
    Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador. There was no more beautiful setting, on a hill overlooking the Dique do Tororó lake, and no stadium that was easier to work in. The media center was cozy and the tribune had its own entrance and bathrooms. Throw in the city of Salvador, with its picturesque colonial center, and you’ve got the best road trip of the tournament.

    Worst Venue Visited
    Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo. Hard to get to, ugly and inconvenient, the stadium seemed like yet another waste of money in a city that doesn’t lack for places to see soccer (not to mention the harrowing thought that multiple people lost their lives in its construction). The hike through the congested bottleneck at the Itaquera train station then around the stadium and up the hill to the media center tested the patience on a warm day.

    Worst Trip
    Recife. The pictures of the flooded streets the morning of the USA-Germany game were seen around the world, and maneuvering through them was a scary and sobering reality check. One guy standing waist-deep in water at a gas station stuck his middle fingers up at our FIFA media shuttle as we drove/floated past, and it was impossible to blame him. A $230 million stadium an hour outside of town? Check. Decent drainage (in a city whose beaches are infamous for shark attacks)? Nope. Colleagues waiting on game tickets never got them because the U.S. Soccer staff member who had them wasn’t able to make it. They sat inside a bus outside the gates for nearly 12 hours."
     
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