Fans, football and those Fijians
Brazilians popular
The Samba boys know how to pull a crowd.
Brazil’s enterprising style of play and football reputation always draws in the fans and Sunday was no different in Christchurch.
A pleasing crowd of 15,298 attended the clash between Brazil and North Korea at AMI Stadium, the fourth highest attendance of the Fifa U-20 World Cup, before Thursday night’s matches.
There were 12,045 in the stands for the curtain-raiser between Honduras and Germany.
Only New Zealand’s three pool matches in Auckland and Wellington attracted larger turnouts than the Brazil-North Korea game.
Crowds should be even higher in Christchurch for Sunday’s quarterfinal and Wednesday’s semifinal matches.
Christchurch’s six pool games were attended by 43,931 with an average crowd of 7321.
Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium had 32,595 at their six pool games, an average turnout of 5432.
Bulls-eye
The Germans had no trouble with their accuracy during group play, scoring 16 goals in three games.
It seems they were just as accurate at Terrace Downs resort, near Mt Hutt, on Monday.
They made the most of a day off training, trying their hand at archery, clay pigeon shooting, golf and jet boating.
Insiders in the Germany camp said several of the players were naturals.
Long way from home
It’s a long way from Lagos to Christchurch’s Ferrymead Park.
The Nigerian players were rugged up at an evening training session on Tuesday, donning jackets and other winter woolies.
Temperatures back in Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, were a balmy 30 degrees this week.
Nigeria’s media manager told The Press, the players were finding it cooler in Christchurch than New Plymouth, where the team played all their group matches.
There would have been no complaints with the balmy winter weather in the city on Thursday.
Nadolo inspiration
Was barn-storming Crusaders’ wing Nemani Nadolo partly responsible for Fiji’s remarkable win over Honduras last week in Christchurch?
Nadolo spoke to the Fijian side before their opening game of the tournament against Germany, while presenting shirts to the players.
While Fiji may have lost to the mighty Germans, they obviously took his fighting words on board.
Just four days later, Fiji were a much-improved side, stunning Honduras 3-0 at AMI Stadium.
Captain Jale Dreloa thanked the Fijian rugby international for his fighting words.
‘‘We were humbled with the presence of a rugby star like Nadolo to inspire us and his words do motivate us to play our hearts out in all the games,’’ he said.
Fiji were competing in a Fifa tournament for the first time at any age-level in New Zealand.
In the money
Few people gave Fiji any chance of knocking over Honduras, with the TAB installing them as $31 outsiders. One lucky pundit was laughing all the way to the bank after bravely chucking $170 on the island nation, netting a handsome return of $5100.