World Cup in Recife.

 The only thing in the world that is more important than women is football.

That is one of the main reasons why I have no choice but go to to the world cup in Brazil.

I have spent the past 10 days in the world cup city Recife. And it’s been a great party with football fans from around the globe. I have actually not attended any games in the stadium. Just enjoyed the atmosphere in the city with football fans from around the globe.

This is what the world cup is about for me. I am not so obsessed with what team wins the cup. More with meeting fellow football fans from around the globe. This is the third world cup I have been to and it never fails to be a great experience.

I chose to base myself in Recife. That is because I have been to the city many times over the past 22 years and have good friends there. Recife itself is not really a big tourist city. But it’s a place that I like to just exist in and hang out with the locals. And is more important for me than being a tourist as sightseeing is not really my thing anyway.

Just give me some good people and I will have a great time and this is why I keep coming back to Recife.

Has there been any danger at the world cup so far?

On the way to a game.

I have been looking forward to seeing what the whole thing would be like.

Brazil is a country with a high crime rate. While I was pretty sure things would not get totally out of hand I was thinking that there could maybe be some trouble with drunk football fans getting mugged and so. But I have so far not come across any cases now that we are 19 days into the world cup. Police are here and watching out but it’s not in a scary way at all. There was actually more police presence and stricter security when I was at the world cup in Germany in 2006.

The fan area in the old city is smaller than in the other world cup cities. But it’s working quite ok as the old city is full of bars with big screens so people just head there when it gets too crowded in the fan area and that gives some good business to the local bars too.

Recife as a world cup city.

Boa Viagem beach in Recife.

While some world cup cities were struggling to finish the stadiums ahead of time, Recife was done several months before the world cup kicked off. The Stadium is on the metro line so there is regular public transport there. And there are also busses running from the beach area to the stadium when there are games on.

All public workers get the day off from work if there is a world cup game in the city. And also the day off if Brazil plays a game in another city. So the locals are very much hanging out with the fans from around the world when the games are on.

The city council has also sponsored several free concerts in the old city next to the fan area during the world cup.

My good friend Sergio Ferraz from Recife, giving a concert during the world cup.

Only negative thing that has happened, is that the city had a few days with very heavy rainfall. That stopped people from hanging out at the little beach kiosks where I love to watch the games on television. But having to go to a bar and sit inside to watch the games for a couple of days is bearable for me and at least the sun has been out the last 3 days again and the world cup fans have moved back to the beach.

Meeting football fans from around the globe.

Mexican football fans in Recife.

 Hands down, I am obsessed with Mexican football fans.

In the three world cups I have attended they never fail to bring one hell of a party.

Dressed in sombreros, lucha libre costumes, Mexican shirts with guys playing trumpets they make it worth alone coming to the world cup.

But I love hanging out with the other fans too.

Met lot’s of USA fans on this trip as the USA played against Germany and they were a really good gang with passion for the game.

Costa Rica brought in thousands of fans too for their game against Greece and they were really cool guys to hang out with too.

Biggest surprise was probably the number of Canadian football fans I met. Canada has not qualified for the world cup in more than two decades. But I really met quite a lot of Canadian football fans here.

Football fans from around the world in Recife.

Hanging out with locals in Boa Viagem.

Germans, Colombians, Argentinians, Italians, Greeks, Japanese, Koreans, Finnish, Norwegians, Australians, New Zealanders and many many other nationalities.

The world cup brings fans of the game from all over the world together and no, we are not fighting with each other like hooligans.

We are partying and talking football as the happy party loving football nerds we are.

Brazilian football fans in Recife.

Pretty girls and street cleaners celebrating Brazils win over Chile.

We are now 19 days into the world cup and if the last 13 days will be as good then I am one happy little football geek.

if you want to read about whether it was dangerous for me to cycle around Brazil, then I have a link to that on this link.