…even if the sample had been representative of the people as a whole, the likeliest outcome would probably have been the same and she would have still have been booed. Former president Lula was jeered at the Engenhão stadium during the Pan-American Games in 2007. Rousseff herself received catcalls at the Mané Garrincha stadium in Brasília at the opening games of the Confederations Cup last year. “The Maracanã boos even during the minute of silence,” said Nelson Rodrigues, the Brazilian playwright who was very familiar with the contact between the intentions and gestures of football-crazy supporters. Good times during which the jeers were only long “boooooooos!”. Now, the boo is accompanied by swear words, delivered as an order, along with the name of the person and uncouth description of what the crowd would like to see happen to the object of its ire. It has become crude and offensive. If Brazil has improved a lot since the last time it hosted a World Cup in 1950,  it has gone backwards to the Stone Age as far as jeering in the stadium is concerned. This is a sign of the times.

ONLY THE REFEREE SAW IT…a penalty awarded for Fred´s exaggerated fall in the Croatian box. “Theft” and “robbery” was the reaction of the press in Argentina and Italy

Having said that — and before we ourselves get jeered— let´s look at what really interested the 62,000 spectators at the opening match held on Thursday, June 12, and those who bought a magazine about the World Cup: football. The clear message by the Brazilian fans from their team´s victory over Croatia was that the country is not the government and the passion for football does not tolerate any outside interference on what happens on the pitch. The crowd sang the national anthem at full voice after the official version had ended in a patriotic gesture and certainly not as a sign of support for officialdom, an unprecedented scene at a World Cup. At the same time, it was a nice way for the crowd to thumb its collective nose at the nitpicking rules and regulations imposed by Fifa on this kind of mega show. Above all, it was a war cry from the fans showing their solidarity with the warriors of their national team (who accompanied the terraces in singing the national anthem at full blast without any musical accompaniment) and isolating this conditional love (which depends on the team actually winning) from other intrusions from the world outside — whether from Rousseff, Fifa and even the Pope.

… AND THE CROATS DID NOT LIKE IT ONE BIT- and set off in pursuit of the Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura. He confirmed the controversial penalty that has now gone down in history

The passionate football fan wants to see a game, whether it is in a street kick about, casual match or the World Cup. Those who only watch football at the World Cup or are attracted to the stadium by the sheer size of the globalized spectacle, with its unparalleled security and comfort in line with Fifa standards, also want to see goals and performances by star players. They do not want to be interrupted, not even in their thoughts. It just needed two seconds of Rousseff´s image flashed on the screen celebrating Neymar´s shot past the excellent Croatian goalkeeper Pletikosa for the supporters to stop cheering in the middle of shouting “goal” and fire off another jeer at the president. When an idol and star scores a goal, particularly one that takes the advantage from an adversary and evens out the score, when the opening match features the supporter´s team in his own country, the only thing that interests him is to experience that magic moment as strongly as possible. Every supporter just wants to see how the star celebrates the goal, whether he will make his customary gesture, if he changes his way of expressing his joy, if he lets himself be surrounded and hugged by his team mates or if he will point to someone on the bench (it could be the manager or the doctor who cured his injury in record time) or if he will run to the crowd on his own. What matters here is to try and see something that nobody else in the stadium saw, thereby establishing a private and unique link between the star player and ordinary fan. “Did you see that? Neymar pulled back from Fred´s hug. I felt they were not getting on well.”

RIGHT ON TARGET – Oscar scored the third goal against Croatia and guaranteed his place in the main team

Neymar! Neymar! Neymar! He is the star of the team. This position was held by Pelé, Romário and Ronaldo Nazário, the “Phenomenon”. However, Pelé, Romário and Ronaldo can no longer do anything for us on the pitch. Neymar is the guy and we have to find something he has done that it is better than the past idols. In terms of the number of goals scored and games played, there is no comparison. Precocious in the sense of maturity? Perhaps but this is abstract and difficult to explain. Neymar is only 22 and the unchallenged star of the team. Pelé was 17 when he set off with the team for Sweden in 1958 and even then only as a reserve to Mazzola. Nevertheless, Pelé returned to Brazil as the out-and-out star, idolized as being responsible for Brazil´s first World Cup victory and the only candidate for the “King of Football” position that had never been held previously. Well… neither Pelé, nor Romário, nor Ronaldo scored two goals in their World Cup debut. Only Neymar has done this. Yes, only Neymar, the guy. He is the player who will lead the team to the World Cup final in the Maracanã stadium on July 13. The responsibility for doing so rests on Neymar´s shoulder. The team captain, defender Thiago Silva, said: “Neymar is only 22 and look at how mature he is. He is a leader”.

The national anthem sung at full blast without any musical accompaniment, the jeers directed at Rousseff and even star player Neymar´s baptism were the highlights of the opening game of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. However, those who know football´s unbeatable propensity for questionable moves are betting that this game, held on a cold afternoon on June 12 in the “Itaquerão” stadium, will be remembered five championships from now for a goal scored from non-existent penalty following a tackle by a Croatian defender against Brazilian striker Fred. The Japanese referee, Yuichi Nishimura, gave the penalty — and, by doing so, entered the history books.

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