Football Madness at Maracana, Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is famous for lots of things: many consider it the world’s coolest, sexiest, most relaxed city, famous for its beaches and the things on them. It also now boasts of one of the new seven wonders of the world, the status of Christ the Redeemer, Jesus with his arms outstretched, inviting all to come into his fold.

The statue of Christ the redeemer faces the south of the city, which is the more upmarket part and has the beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema and the tourist hot spots. The joke in Rio is that even Jesus has turned his back on the north, which is a shanty urban town, full of Favalas.

The view from the statue is quite spectacular, and affords lots of photo ops with views of the Atlantic, the lagoon, the beaches and… the Maracana

The Maracana: It is a madhouse of passion. It is possibly the only reason, why anyone who doesn’t live in the northern part of Rio would want to go there. One of the largest sports arenas in the world. Where every event is an opportunity for additions to the world record almanac. Where happenings off the field are as interesting as those on it.

I head in there with lots of expectations, and with a desire to compare this with the most energetic, vibrant and noisy cricket stadium in the world- Eden Gardens of Calcutta, where I have been witness to lots of cricketing action in the 80s and the 90s.

Back to Maracana.

From half a mile away, the are clearly audible. There is expectancy in the air. Nervousness. Enthusiasm. The Maracana is the modern day Colosseum.

Opened in 1950 when Brazil hosted the soccer world cup, the Maracana is home currently to the top three soccer clubs in Rio: Botafogo, Flamengo and Fluminense. Getting back to 1950 world cup, Brazil had done well to move to the final round, facing Uruguay in the finals. The home side went in with a goal advantage, and only needed a draw to come up trumps. More than 170,000 people attended the game (officially; unofficially, it is estimated at 200,000 + ) to see Brazil take its appointed place as world champions. Unfortunately for them, Uruguay won the game 2-1, sending the entire stadium into shock. This match has since been known as the ‘Maracanaço’

Maracana has had its fair share of non-football activities as well, notable amongst them being the visit of Pope John Paul II, who on his visit in the 1980s, blessed everyone in the crowd. Frank Sinatra, Tina Turner, Sting, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Metallica, The Rolling Stones have all performed at the Maracana, most of the time to world record numbers.

Back to the present, I am in a group of approximately 35 people, who have tied up with a tour company to the finals of the Rio state championships between Flamengo and Botafogo. This group is an eclectic mix of fans from Brazil, Ecuador, Netherlands, Denmark, USA, New Zealand, and of course, one from India. The rivalry between these two has been long and fierce, and the Maracana being the home turf for both, has offered high voltage excitement, both on and off the pitch.

I am inside. It’s a huge huge arena. Bursting at the seams. 100,000 people. When I compare it to Eden Gardens, the Eden appears like a quiet library. At Maracana, it is Botafogo versus Flamengo.

Botafogo are in their traditional whites and black, while Flamengo are in their flaming red and black. All over the stadium one sees colour in only these shades. The sights and sounds are a menagerie of passion and love for the game. Flags. Posters. Drums. Streamers. Horns. Banners. Xmas stars. Crackers. Chants. Anthems. Slogans. Synchronized claps. Shouts, Fires. Advises. Wild Gesticulation. Dance. Jump. In the midst of it all, the faithful have a radio stuck to their ears to get details of the game going on in front of them. There are flags of Mao Ze dong, Fidel Castro and Che Guevera. Of course, there are the Flamengo and Botafogo flags everywhere. Surprisingly, there is also a flag of Brazil. The person by my side wonders what it is doing in this game. Then he sees me a little more carefully. I am in a Brazilian T-shirt, which has the number 10 and Ronaldinho written on its back. He asks me which side I am supporting. I answer, Brazil !

The stadium had it s capacity reduced from 180,000 to a little more than half of it in the wake of an accident which happened in 1992, in which one of the upper stands fell off, killing four people. The reduced capacity is built with wider and more comfortable seats, and has fewer tiers than earlier. Seats, however, are of no use whatsoever, as everyone in the crowd is on their feet ALL the time.

The game’s begun. The cauldron roars. Every move is bisected, analysed, shouted at, applauded. Every little happening and a loud roar. To start with, the level of the game is not particularly great. One reason is that the best players in Brazil move on to European clubs to practice their art. It a lackluster first half. Botafogo 0 – Flamengo 0.

Half time. Reserves from both teams line up with a huge inflated ball, about 100 times the size of a regular football. The ball cannot be kicked, it is so huge. It has to be rolled. The crowd cheers even for this half time encounter. The Botafogo reserves manage to roll the giant ball into the Flamengo net. The crowd goes berserk. While Botafogo celebrate, Flamengo roll the ball in on the other side. Parity is restored.

End of half time. The scoreline is still 0-0. The crowd begins to get restless. The level of the game picks up as well. Flamengo break ahead through a cross on the left flank. Gooooooooooooooalllllll. 1-0. The stadium is a riot of red. Flamengo are going mad. On the other side of the stadium, there is devastation. Nagasaki. The game resumes. Flamengo are a little complacent, and Botafogo take full advantage. Equalize through a magnificient move on the right. 1-1. And the game’s really on. Before one realizes, its one more to Botafogo. From 0-1 down, they are 2-1 up. In a matter of five minutes. Everyone’s going crazy. The game moves on, at a fast pace, the standard much better than the first half. With just ten minutes to go, Flamengo shoot in a late equalizer to take the game into a penalty shoot out. Botafogo miss their first two. Its all over for them. Flamengo are champions once more. The botafogo section of the crowd exits immediately. The Reds stay on, for almost an hour. They have their own mega celebrations for the night. For now, beer cans, banana peels, water bottles are thrown all around to celebrate the championship victory.

As I head back, the heady feeling of being to the Mecca of football, I have but one GOAL for myself. To be there one more time at Maracana.