Matt's World Cup Diary

Day 6 – Brazil v Japan – Dortmund

So Brazil - in theory the heart and soul of the World Cup - probably the 2 friendliest and most enthusiastic nations where football matches are concerned, and some of the cutest women. Of course half of Germany has donned yellow shirts for the day meaning the stadium was a sea of yellow but the Japanese definitely played there part in the occasion and there were multiple joint photo opportunities outside.

Just when we were getting somewhat blasé to the ticket checks, Mark got stopped and asked for his passport on the way in, however when they found the names didn’t match they let him in anyway which seemed a bit pointless. Mild excitement at half-time when we discovered Pierluigi Collina was in the television box above us, he then showed an previously unseen side of his nature by playing peek-a-boo as people tried to take pictures of him

Dortmund is definitely the best ground we’ve been to and our ‘seats’ are right at the back of their massive terrace behind the goal. The very steep banking means we have a great view down onto the pitch but the barriers between the groups of seats (which are barely used) means it’s perfectly safe.

Japan take an early lead but Brazil sweep them away in the second half without really getting out of third gear. Our vantage point is perfect to see how Brazil play in simple triangles, with rarely more than 3 players actually moving at any point, but their passing and control is so precise that they retain possession easily until they have pulled the opposition out of position and then hit them with a killer pass. Easily their best performance of the tournament, despite barely moving during the game (he made Viduka look like Lee Bowyer), Ronaldo even popped in a couple.

Being at a game we miss the excitement of Australia v Croatia and Graham Poll’s virtuoso performance, though a few texts from Aussie friends at home fills us in on the details. We saw Franz Beckenbauer at this game, apparently he got married at the weekend but as the wedding was a secret only got 3 cards – all from Graham Poll.

Westfallen - a long way down