Brazilian team survives Offenbachs pitch
9/6/2006 15:16
Brazils national football team held today in Offenbach its only practice
open to the public, a FIFA requirement to all the teams playing in the World
Cup.
At the Kickers Stadium, players exercised and participated in a tactical
practice. The stadium was packed with fans, as FIFA distributed 25,000 tickets
to the event. Five hours before its beginning, the fans were already lined up
outside the stadium. Tickets for the practice reportedly amounted to as much as
100 Euros in the black market.
At the end of the practice, 14-year-old Gellal
Gedraz bypassed security and entered the pitch to talk to Brazilian midfielder
Ronaldinho.
"I asked for his T-shirt, but he wouldn't give it to me, because
he had nothing underneath," said Gedraz, who got an autograph from his idol. The
teenager is Turkish and lives with his family in Germany.
Brazil's technical
staff was not at all pleased about the conditions of the Kickers Stadiums pitch.
The staff had attempted to postpone the practice, but that proved to be
impossible, due to the lack of dates on the teams schedule.
The staff decided
to use just part of the field, as the areas near the goal posts were unleveled.
Xinhua
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