Who let the dogs in?
In the stadium where Germany said, ‘Auf wiedersehen, pet’ to Brazil’s World Cup hopes, dogs are taking the lead
After becoming the first team to seal a place at next summer’s World Cup in Russia, Brazil’s dog days are over – although the same cannot be said for the stadium in which the 2014 hosts lost 7-1 to Germany.
But if every human in Brazil knows the Mineirao as the setting for the Selecao’s greatest humiliation, dogs are oblivious to the whole thing: to them it is just the home of Belo Horizonte outfit Cruzeiro. Until this year, pooches eager to cheer on their local club had no way of doing so. However, things have changed with the introduction of the ‘Arcaobancada’ – an area in one corner of the Mineirao.
If truth be told, its creation wasn’t to satisfy hordes of football-mad canines, even if quite a few did turn up wearing scarves and jerseys. Instead, the idea was to give dog owners the option to bring their pets along to some home games – but not without a little bit of careful, er, vetting.
“Most of the dogs have got profiles on social media now,” reveals Mineirao communication director Rivelle Nunes, briefly leaving FFT wondering whether there is an underground world of dog Youtubers, possibly where they teach other hounds how to score overhead kicks. “If their owner uploads a picture of the animal online with the hashtag #caotbtorce [which translates as ‘dog also cheers’], we get in touch and then invite them. After, we ask them to fill out a questionnaire so we can find out about its behaviour.”
Once they have established that the canine has no intention of rushing the away fans or defecating in the centre circle, they are in – and a test run of the Arcaobancada proved successful. “It’s now a permanent area in the stadium,” Nunes says. “We usually invite 15 dog owners to each game, who can bring a guest and their pets.”
Even the Cruzeiro players have been making use of the scheme. Midfielder Lucas Silva, back at the club on a loan deal from Real Madrid, brought his own dog to a match once. “He felt at home and very comfortable,” he says. “While I was away on the field, he played and got on with the others.”
Renata Flores, the owner of a German Spitz, has been to two games. “As well as being a great place to watch football, they have dog training at half-time and offer snacks, toys and anything else you need – it’s a cool experience,” she says.
It’s surely only a matter of time before the dogs form an ultras group and start barking into megaphones. Best to arm stewards with rolled-up newspapers, then, just in case they step out of line.