Brazil Win Is Cause for Carnival in Rio
The normally exuberant Brazilian soccer fans went absolutely wild in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday after their team won a World Cup semifinal against the Netherlands on penalty kicks.
Supporters of the defending World Cup champions burst into spontaneous street parties and horn-honking traffic jams while firecrackers boomed across the country after goalkeeper Taffarel saved a second penalty to put Brazil into Sunday’s final.
“Taffarel, Taffarel,” fans screamed through tears of relief as they ran, hands outstretched, down the beachfront streets of Brazil’s famous carnival city.
Moments before, their hands were clenched, all eyes glued to televisions and screens set up in bars, offices and on street corners around the city, as they watched in breathless silence.
In Sao Paulo’s more serious financial district, Brazilians shouting “Five-time champions” and waving banners hung out of cars careening down the wide Paulista Avenue, while another part of the street was blocked off and filled with hundreds of thousands of celebrating residents.
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The score from the World Cup drug lab: Doping tests 240, Dopers 0.
Officials said that not a single banned substance had been found in the tests conducted on 240 players picked at random from the first 60 matches.
“There were 240 tests and 240 negative results,” said Dr. Lars Peterson of Sweden, a FIFA medical committee member.
He said the tests took in a majority of the players who got into games at the World Cup through the quarterfinals, and that the negative results were “a source of great satisfaction.”
Dr. Michel D’Hooghe of Belgium, another member of the medical committee, attributed the latest results to efforts by the world soccer federation and medical officials of the 32 teams to combat illegal substances, including steroids and stimulants.
“We emphasized to all team doctors that we should have a World Cup without doping,” D’Hooghe said.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he was pleased but surprised by the absence of drug cases.
“I don’t think doping is in football,” he said.
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Former Dutch coach Rinus Michels was reported much improved in a Paris hospital where he’s under treatment for a heart attack.
“He’s substantially improved. There’s absolutely no cause for concern,” FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper said.
Michels, 70, coached the Dutch to the heights of world soccer in the 1970s.
Michels was stricken in Paris while watching a TV broadcast of the Netherlands’ 2-1 victory over Argentina in Marseille on Saturday in the quarterfinals.
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Despite late-night kickoffs and no local team to root for, the World Cup is drawing big TV audiences in China.
A survey of 1,036 people in Beijing and Shanghai found that 68% have stayed up to watch the broadcasts, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency said.
Among men, the figure was 83.5%, Xinhua said, quoting the survey conducted by a Beijing company. It gave no margin of error.
