Mythical Maracana is ready for World Cup

By John Bagratuni, dpa

The mythical Maracana stadium is the place where hosts Brazil hope to lift the World Cup trophy on July 13 and erase the trauma from 1950.

Brazil were beaten 2-1 by Uruguay in the deciding game of the tournament 64 years ago in front of an estimated 200,000 fans as the event known as the Maracanazo shocked the entire nation.

As iconic as London's Wembley, the Maracana saw its first goal scored earlier in 1950 by local legend Dida, the 1,000th goal from Pele and holds the official international game attendance record with 183,513 fans attending Brazil v Paraguay in 1963.

And just like the English football temple, the Maracana has now undergone a complete overhaul for around 500 million dollars between 2010 and 2013 to be ready for the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

It was only fitting that the first official match last year was between Brazil and England, and now the Brazilians want to emulate the English (1966) by lifting the World Cup in their most cherished arena.

Those who run the stadium with its capacity reduced to 73,531 say they are offering perfect conditions for players, teams and fans for the six World Cup games, starting with Argentina v Bosnia-Herzegovina Sunday, and beyond.

"The stadium is 100 per cent ready," said Joao Borba, president of the Odebrecht consortium which runs the stadium complex near downtown Rio where many locals were jogging or just strolling past on a sunny Saturday.

Borba said his company hopes to break even within 12 or 13 years by using the Maracana not just for football but other events as well, and attract families to its restaurants and museum - as in the past where the Rolling Stones and the late Pope John Paul II have been among those drawing huge crowds.

So far 90 matches, plus the 2013 Confederations Cup which was won by Brazil, have been played in the revamped arena which did not experience as many construction delays and problems as other World Cup stadiums.

"It is an easy stadium to operate," said Saint Clair Milesi from the World Cup organizing committee.

Borba highlighted the big ecological efforts that have been made, ranging from collecting rain water from the roof to solar panels and waste management, which has earned the stadium a silver certificate.

"We started this in the design phase," said Borba. "The (roof) canvas has a system for collecting water. We use these reservoirs for cleaning the bathrooms to watering the pitch ... So far 9 per cent of our power is solar. We will see how we can expand this."

"We know that every day is a learning curve. We will try to seek the gold certificate."

"We are on the right path for a successful future," Borba said in general terms.

Borba freely admitted that as a businessman he would have loved more Brazil games than only the possible final at the Maracana, but that as a private person he understood that the Selecao also has to play elsewhere in this vast country.

Neymar and company, who opened with a 3-1 over Croatia Thursday, hope to be there in four weeks time, but having Lionel Messi and his Argentina present Sunday is also a classy opening for the Maracana in this tournament.

"Eager to play in the big Maracana for the first time in my life and for a good start into the World Cup," the four-time World Footballer of the Year Messi said on Facebook under a picture of the famed stadium before the final training session Saturday.