Rio de Janeiro at World Cup Time: Like a Car Crash

Rio World Cup Street Art - Spirit of the Game

All along our plan had been to be back in Rio for the World Cup final – not that we had any intention of going to the game (tickets were very much out of our price range) but given Rio is famous for its reputation as a party place any time of the year, we couldn’t miss the opportunity to see it at fever pitch. And even though we weren’t getting the final we had all hoped for, we were still expecting big things.

I should firstly point out that we were not disappointed.

Getting back into Rio, it was clear of one thing – that the Argys had taken over. Given Argentina’s close proximity and their love of football, this shouldn’t have come as a surprise. But the sheer magnitude of them was something to behold. It appeared as if half of BA had driven over – in vans, wagons, hatchbacks, pretty much anything with 4 wheels that could be overloaded with luggage and then crammed with people for good measure.

These modes of transport also doubled as their accommodation. Most took to parking on the main road, adjacent to the beach, and lived out of their cars. They all seemed to take to partying all afternoon and night, and sleeping during the mid-morning hours – in any spot they could find somewhere out of the sun.

Copacabana for the 3rd place match

The first night was the 3^rd place match, and as predicted not too many people cared too much about this one. Well at least not the Brazilians in the area. From past experiences, usually on game day it was smarter not to plan any activities as the whole of Brazil seemed to shut down from about 5 hours before kick-off. Not so much on this occasion. As we wondered down to the beach, people were still about conducting their day to day activities. At this stage I believe a lot of the Brazilians just wanted the Cup to be over with and FIFA eradicated from their country like the vermin many think they are.

View from Fariss and the lads' apartment

However, the Argys were out in full force. They dominated the beach, singing their 2 songs over and over again to the point where one starts to wonder if it was a type of torture method used in harsher times. But still they did provide some sort of atmosphere. We watched the game from some Perth lads’ apartment with a view over the Fan Fest and the surrounding beach. Nic called it the best ‘free’ view of Copacabana she got, so cheers for the invite Fariss.

The Argys celebrating the Brazilian loss 

The next day was what it was all about: the Final.  And given the number of Argys in the streets we were expecting one hell of a party if they ended up holding the Cup aloft, and were half dreading/half interested in the outcome if the German juggernaut rolled on. Sort like a car crash, or something similar – you just can’t help yourself and turn away, you have to keep watching.

Friends had planned to try and get into the Fan Fest but given we were down at the beach at around 10am for a swim and the line was already longer than I had ever seen it before, we decided to scrap that idea and join the throng of Argys watching it from the free screen.

We loaded up with froths, vodka, snacks and ice and found a spot in the shade to settle in. Al and I were quite pleased with our make-shift esky that kept the froths cold all day – well at least until we ran out of them, and we seemed to be in decent spot – close enough to the screen to see and close enough to the road to get out of there if need be.

I would say the atmosphere before the game was probably better than the majority of the game. The Argys sang and danced to those very same 2 songs but being in amongst it seemed less torture and more party time.

Argentinian National Anthem

A few meters further in was the main German contingent who were happy to get involved in some friendly banter with the Argys, and for the most of it, it appeared to be in good nature (not that I knew what they were saying to each other – nor would the majority of them for that matter).

When the game finally got under way, for the majority the songs died down as the crowd became more nervous than anything else. But after Higuaín tapped in during the first half the place erupted. It was like being in the mosh pit for Rage Against the Machine a few years back at BDO, except this time I didn’t have shoes on and there were glass bottles everywhere.

However the madness didn’t last too long as most people looked back at the screen to notice the goal had been disallowed due to Higuaín being offside. However, for the rest of the first half the Argys were back in full voice, and yeah those same 2 songs caressed our ears yet again.

The game looked destined to go the distance and, like a fair few of the eliminations games prior, be decided on penalties. As we all know that didn’t eventuate and Götze finally broke the deadlock. What happened next, albeit somewhat predicted, still took us by surprise.

With some 7 minutes of extra time still to play, the Argys abandoned the game and took to attacking the nearby Germans. Anything that wasn’t tied down was hurled at the small group, from cans, bottles, backpacks, chairs, etc. You name it, if it was on the beach and was able to be thrown, it was.

The crowd pushed back, some for safety, and possibly some to get access to more projectiles. And like a car crash, we stayed far enough away from the action to be relatively safe, but still close enough to see it all unfold.

We did see a group of Argentinians try and form a protective ring around the Germans and implore their countrymen (and women) to stop with the madness, but to no avail. This was all happening when the game was still up for grabs. Not that we saw it then, but later highlights did show Messi with a free kick from a dangerous spot that could have taken the game to penalties. But this was all lost in the insanity that had erupted.

The Germans quickly retreated and got well away, only to be replaced by some locals and possibly the same Argentinians who had tried to stop the craziness. The space created from the initial surge was now some sort of no-mans land with people running through to collect more ammo, others running through to try and king hit anyone within arm’s reach, and one crazy bitch taking it to a whole ‘nother level. Spots fights were popping up all over the place and we couldn’t tell if it was Argy v Argy or Argy v Brazilian.

Tried to get  a shot of the Argys going crazy but they wouldn't stop and pose for me

The cops finally arrived and quickly quietened things down – a few swings of the baton can do that. We milled about for a while later, and the after party we had expected to rage all night along the Copacabana foreshore was nowhere to be seen. Not that we would have hung around for it with the mood most of the Argys were in.

You kind of felt sorry for the Germans who didn’t really get to celebrate what could have been one of the proudest and happiest times of their lives (if they are as big a sports nut as my good self) but at the same time we did get to witness something I don’t think I’ll see again for a very long time – well not until we go to an arch-rival Brazilian game, or of course an Argentinian one.

Rio World Cup Street Art - The best side all Cup