Catching Up - News from Paradise

Ok, so where'd we leave off? Hmm...seems a lot has passed. Best to jump right in. Actually I'll work backwards. We just came back from sailing all afternoon around Buzios. I guess sailing isn't strictly correct, but it's close enough. Buzios is an isthmus with beaches all around, so we'd go from beach to beach, drop anchor, and go for a swim. The crew wasn't particularly safety conscious, so we were able flip off the deck, sit up on the bow, etc. In the morning we had a quick, hard training session in the local stadium (fenced in field) where we will play against the local team from Buzios.
What's today? Wednesday I suppose? So Tuesday was Fluminence and travel. We had to drive out an hour into the country to get to Fluminence's training ground. It was cloudy, wet when we arrived (8:30ish), but it all burned off by the second half. We weren't the most prepared for whatever reason for this game. The energy was low, and didn't seem to have much pop for the start. To make matters worse this team was much better then Portuguesa. The skill level was about the same, but this team was a lot more aggressive and stacked with athletes. We found out after the game that 8 of the 11 starters were already professionals, either playing for the reserve or full team. We were rolled in the first half going down 3-0. The second half marked a bit improvement though. They still had more of the play, but we picked ourselves up and won the half 1-0, leaving a more respectable 3-1 final score. From a technical, tactical standpoint, what impressed me so much is how the Brazilians move. Every first touch changes the angle - the player never kills the ball; and equally as important after a pass they almost always move. The effect is to never lat the defense settle. A midfielder might work hard to get wide and force a player in, but by the time he gets there the wide player has cut in on his first touch, played on his second, and moved into space behind. They were able to play around us consistently doing this. We on the other hand often killed the ball on our first touch and they would swarm us. Constant movement is needed. The rest of the day was spent driving several hours to Buzios, not too much there.
Monday - our scheduled game was canceled because of rain, so we went to see Christ the Redeemer in the morning. The statue sits 710 meters overlooking almost all the city. The 20 minute train ride up goes through thick forest that gives no clue to the huge metropolis around, except for the beautiful views when the train is on the side of the mountain occasionally. On top the view over all Rio was breathtaking. The ocean, the bay, the lagoon, the stadiums, the favellas, the beaches, our hotel - you could see almost everything. The rest of the day was pretty open. The afternoon was spent lounging on the beach or fighting the crashing surf. We had a short training session somewhere in there. The evening we had dinner at the hotel (very good as usual) and went shopping at a market down on Ipanema beach. Got the rest of my shopping done (some very nice pickups), and turned in early because of the game.
Sunday - second professional game had Rio home team Botafoga against Palmeras. A big, loud crowd met us at the newer _____ ( can't remember the name) stadium. Botafoga won 1-0 on a late goal, which left the whole crowd happy. Picked up a Botafoga jersey after from a street vendor (pretty good quality for a knock-off). Went to a Brazilian pizza joint (the Brazilian part being where the waiters continually assault you with different pizza after different pizza). Got back around 9ish and spent the rest of the evening doing shopping at a small market a couple blocks down on the beach.
Saturday (from game on) - The Maracana lived up to its reputation - huge. We sat among the home Flamengo supporters. When Flamengo scored late in the second half the crowd went nuts (see video complete with flares). After the game we went to a samba school - Salguerro. A samba school is apparently a lot like a soccer club where they train year round for carnival while teaching the younger kids how to play the music and dance. We didn't get there until 11, and nothing really started until midnight. The festivities kicked off with the drum core before moving on to a full band and eventually costumed (read very little clothing) dancers. We stayed pretty late with half the team having a great time, and the other half looking like zombies sitting at the tables in the middle of the dancing. Right before we left one young women looking at the zombie group asked if we were having any fun and if we were Swedish. We assured her we were having fun, just some had neglected to take an afternoon nap, and we weren't Swedish, she just happened to be looking at all the blondes on the team half asleep at the tables. That's as much as I can type for now, over and out.