Rodolfo Motta has two passions in life — travel and football. Those two worlds are colliding this week as he takes off to take in all the action at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
It’s a trip that’s been four years in the making.
Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Motta got a behind the scenes look at the 2014 tournament in his home town. He only had tickets to a couple games but ended up working as an event producer and host in the hospitality areas for World Cup sponsors.
“That atmosphere, being there was amazing,” he said. “That’s when we decided, me and my friends, to go to the next World Cup.”
Things have changed a bit in the last four years, and the four friends have gone in different directions — Motta moved to Vancouver in 2016, one friend moved to Portugal, another is now living in St. Petersburg, while a fourth stayed back in Brazil. However, the foursome, who have been friends since high school, stuck to the plan.
On Monday afternoon, Motta was wrapping up a few things at the office — he works in student and career services at University Canada West downtown — before heading to the airport for an 8:45 p.m. flight. He’s the last of the group to arrive in Russia.
They have tickets to Brazil’s second and third games of the group stage, which will see the yellow and green face off against Costa Rica on Friday and Serbia next Wednesday. After that, things get a little complicated.
Passes for the rest of the tournament are sold in packages, and at the outset ticket buyers have to commit to one team. If that team is knocked out at any point, those pass holders then follow the winning team.
When Motta and his friends went to purchase their passes, Brazil was already sold out so they bought passes for Sweden. The rationale? If Brazil finishes first in its group and Sweden finishes second it its group, the two teams will face off in the first round of the knockout stage. If Brazil beats Sweden, they have tickets to every Brazil match to the final.
That’s the plan, at least, but so far things haven’t gone exactly as planned.
Brazil tied Switzerland in the team’s first match of the tournament Sunday, which wasn’t supposed to happen, Motta said, and Sweden beat South Korea 1-0.
“At this point we don’t know what we’re going to do with our tickets — if we’re going to sell it and buy new ones. But it was just the first game so we still have some hope,” he said.
The World Cup, and football in general, is a pretty big deal in Brazil.
“Generally speaking, Brazilians love football and even the ones that don’t love football, when it’s World Cup it’s a thing. It’s our thing,” Motta said, adding that everything shuts down in Brazil during game time.
“It’s pretty big,” he said, adding that expectations are high this year, especially after the team’s performance in the last World Cup.
In 2014, host team Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany in the semi-finals. Germany went on to beat Argentina in the final and Brazil came in a disappointing fourth.
“I think one of the good things about Brazilians is that… after a point we think that some sad things can be funny,” Motta said, reflecting on the loss in 2014. “And it was very, very sad but after the fourth goal that Germany scored we were laughing because it turns into a big joke.
“We’re pretty much over the Germany thing… a little bit,” he said with a laugh.
For Motta, this year’s World Cup is about more than just football and winning.
“If we win that’s even better but being there and seeing my friends, it’s been two years since we’ve all seen each other, so having a fun time — beer, football, friends — it’s about that. It’s about our friendship and having everyone together again.”
jkerr@vancourier.com
