Day 19

DAY 19

6/30/14. RIO DE JANEIRO - Mini Papi and the Pestana Hotel have one thing in common: They both are the party of the night! Well, this time they joined forces to rock Rio and all its World Cup fans, as results are unfolding and face-offs are getting hotter and hotter.

 

Today, two European teams reserved spots in the quarter-finals of this FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014, as Deschamps' men defeated "the Green Eagles", and Germany conquered a hard fought fight against a well put Algerian team.

 

TODAY RESULT'S:

FRANCE 2 - 0 NIGERIA

ALGERIA 1 - 2 GERMANY (OT)

Day 18

DAY 18

 

 

6/29/14. RIO DE JANEIRO - If you have never been on a moto taxi in your life, please do! Mini Papi was clueless they even existed, and (after he got on one today) found out how dangerous they could be. But also how fast they can take you places. Moto taxi riders in Brazil don't respect anything... they ride in-between lanes, ignore red street lights... to summarize, they have their own rules. And, most importantly, they are 'wicked' cheap!

 

Today, the World Cup said good bye to a Mexican team that was minutes away from eliminating one of the strongest squads of the competition (Netherlands) and advancing to its first quarter-finals outside of 'azteca' territory ever. Nevertheless, the story of the day is that Costa Rica's historic run continues for, at least, one more game, as they defeated Greece, 5 to 3, in penalty kicks.

 

TODAY'S RESULTS:

NETHERLANDS 2 - 1 MEXICO

GREECE 1 (3) - (5) 1 COSTA RICA

 

Day 17

DAY 17

 

6/28/14. RIO DE JANEIRO - Mini Papi, pigeons and a dog with its owner, that's it... Copacabana was so deserted during Brazil's dramatic match against Chile that Mini Papi could have been the only lifeguard of the whole beach while the game was on and still would have succeeded beautifully.

 

Today, Colombia did not only send home the third place team of South Africa 2010 (Uruguay), but also advanced to the quarter finals of the World Cup for the first time ever. The 'cafeteros' keep convincing people that they are for real at this competition with tactical, organized, smart and well-fought soccer, and led by a great James Rodriguez, who scored the best goal of the tournament, so far, and is currently at the top of the goal's list with five.

 

In case you are wondering... YES! Brazilians are still thanking goalkeeper Julio Cesar for saving them from what should have been Brazil's last match of its own World Cup.

 

TODAY'S RESULTS:

BRAZIL 1(3) - (2) 1 CHILE (PK)

URUGUAY 0 - 2 COLOMBIA

 

ELIMINATED: Chile and Uruguay.

 

 

Day 16

DAY 16

 

6/27/14. RIO DE JANEIRO - Mini Papi enjoyed the first day off of this World Cup 2014 by walking around the city and doing some sightseeing. His improvised solo tour ended on a very good note after he discovered one of the most beautiful spots of the city, where he was able to see Copacabana from beginning to end.

 

Two huge games tomorrow to start off the World Cup playoffs. First, Brazil vs. Chile: Historically, the 'canarinha' has had plenty of success against the Chileans. In 1962, the Brazil of Garricha won 4-2; in 1998, the Brazil of Ronaldo beat the 'rojos' 4-1; and in 2010, the Brazil of Kaka crushed Chile 3-0.

 

And then, Uruguay vs. Colombia: the two teams have met only once at the World Cup (1962) with a victory for the 'charruas', two goals to one. However, the 'cafeteros' are one of the hottest squads right now after winning its first three matches of the group stage... I don't want to jinx anything, but a Colombian party may be in order in Rio tomorrow.

Day 15

DAY 15

 

6/26/14. RIO DE JANEIRO - It was about time for Mini David to take his swag to the second largest city of Brazil and the third largest metropolitan area in South America. Christ the Redeemer, Copacabana & Maracana Stadium are among the most popular attractions to visit in the Carioca cultural landscape that is the beautiful Rio.

 

One unfortunate news today is that FIFA suspended forward Luis Suarez for nine matches and banned him for four months from any soccer related activities for biting defender Giorgio Chiellini on his left shoulder during the Italy-Uruguay game, a couple of days ago. Nevertheless, one very positive note is that Argelia made it passed the group stage for the first time ever in the history of the World Cup.

 

TODAY'S RESULTS:

USA 0 - 1 GERMANY

PORTUGAL 2 - 1 GHANA

ARGELIA 1 - 1 RUSSIA

BELGIUM 1 - 0 SOUTH KOREA

 

Germany & USA qualified from Group G, and Belgium & Argelia adavanced from Group H. Ronaldo's Portugal, Ghana, South Korea & Russia are out of the competition.

 

 

 

Day 14

DAY 14

 

 

6/25/14. SALVADOR DE BAHIA - Mini Papi might be starting to like soccer better than baseball after all the VIP treatment he is getting at the World Cup in Brazil. This time, the DH of the Red Sox was invited to the Bosnia-Iran match, so he could watch the game from the very first row of the Arena Fonte Nova... the field of play!

 

Today, the national team of Nigeria became the first African nation to make it into the second round of the World Cup 2014, even though it lost to crack Leo Messi and his Argentinian side 2 to 3 in a crucial game. In fact, Nigeria may be thinking of sending a 'thank you' letter to Bosnia, because if they hadn't defeated Iran, Nigeria would have not qualified to the round of 16 for the third time ever in the World Cup.

 

TODAY'S RESULTS:

BOSNIA 3 - 0 IRAN

ARGENTINA 3 - 2 NIGERIA

FRANCE 0 - 0 ECUADOR

HONDURAS 0 - 3 SWITZERLAND

 

Iran, Bosnia, Honduras & Ecuador are eliminated from the World Cup. Actually, Honduras & Ecuador are the only two Latin American squads that didn't advance to the playoffs in Brazil 2014.

Day 13

DAY 13

 

 

6/24/14. SALVADOR DE BAHIA - It may look like Mini Papi is about to take a corner kick in this picture, but what he is actually doing is supervising the work that it is being done on one of the Arena Fonte Nova's nets, a day prior to the Iran-Bosnia match.

 

Today, not only did Colombia move on as the Group C leader to the round of the best 16 teams in the World Cup, but also its goalie Faryd Mondragon -at the age of 43 years and 3 days old- became the oldest person to ever play in a World Cup game, surpassing the record of Cameroon's Roger Milla, who played in the 1994 World Cup at 42 years and 39 days of age.

 

TODAY'S RESULTS:

ITALY 0 - 1 URUGUAY

COSTA RICA 0 - 0 ENGLAND

COLOMBIA 4 - 1 JAPAN

IVORY COAST 1 - 2 GREECE

 

Group C: Colombia & Greece advanced; Japan & Ivory Coast are out.

Group D: Costa Rica & Uruguay are in; England & Italy are disqualified.

 

 

Day 12

DAY 12

 

 

6/23/14. SALVADOR DE BAHIA - Mini Papi is trying out new things in Brazil. In the picture we can see him being fed a warm by Oxossi (one of the representatives of Sao Joao), whose habitat is in the deepest part of the forest and its job is to protect hunters.

 

So far, with three more days to go in the first stage, the teams that have advanced to the next round of the World Cup are: Netherlands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil and Mexico. And the ones that have been disqualified are: Australia, Cameroon, Spain, England, Bosnia, Croatia.

 

TODAY'S RESULTS:

SPAIN 3 - 0 AUSTRALIA

NETHERLANDS 2 - 0 CHILE

BRAZIL 4 - 1 CAMEROON

CROATIA 1 - 3 MEXICO

 

 

Day 11

DAY 11

 

6/22/14. FORTALEZA - Unfortunately, my friends, all parties have to come to an end. For as much "Papi" wanted to stay and dress up like one of the two locals in the picture with him, he had to go to save the Red Sox from a 4-game series sweep... You already know what happened, Mini Ortiz -in hero mode- showed up in the game and hit a leadoff HR in the 10th inning to beat the A's.

Hey, but don't worry! He is already on his way back for more action in Brazil.

 

Today, for the first time in the history of the World Cup, the recently implemented timeout rule was used at the Portugal-USA match played in Manaus. About 7 minutes before the end of the first half, when the temperature was at 32 degrees Celsius, the referee decided to take a 2 minute break for players to drink some fluids and stay hydrated, as the most important thing for this innovation in the tournament is directly related to the health and benefit of the soccer players.

 

TODAY'S RESULTS:

RUSSIA 0 - 1 BELGIUM 

SOUTH KOREA 2 - 4 ARGELIA

USA 2 - 2 PORTUGAL

 

Day 10

DAY 10

 

 

6/21/14. SALVADOR DE BAHIA - This dude in the picture above is loving 'Festas Juninas' in this region of Brazil. Everything from the music to the decorations to the costumes to the dances was spectacular... An atmosphere hard to imagine but impossible to resist. Especially, with the World Cup going on, the melting pot of cultures makes the celebration of this June's festival extra special for both, tourists & locals.

 

Today, German forward Miroslav Klose tied Brazilian 'phenomenon' Ronaldo for most goals scored in the history of the World Cup (15). At his 36 years and 12 days of age, Klose became the oldest player to ever score at a World Cup match, and also joined Pele & Uwe Seeler as the third soccer player to score a goal, at least, in four different World Cups (2002, 2006, 2010 & 2014).

 

TODAY'S RESULTS:

ARGENTINA 1 - 0 IRAN

GERMANY 2 - 2 GHANA

BOSNIA 0 - 1 NIGERIA

 

 

Day 9

DAY 9

 

 

6/20/14. SALVADOR DE BAHIA - Today, at Arena Fonte Nova's match between France & Switzerland, Mini Papi witnessed two things that happened for the very first time at this World Cup: a penalty kick was missed and there was a free kick goal. After the game, he went to the Historic Center of the city to check out what the whole buzz was about, and the atmosphere was so great that he decided to stay there partying like a... 'local', I guess (don't miss the pics of this place the next couple of days). 

 

 Without a doubt, the story of the day belongs to Costa Rica. Known as the "Cinderella" of Group D, Costa Rica is not only very much alive in the so-called "group of death", but it is also guaranteed a spot in the first round of the playoffs, already, after beating Uruguay & Italy in back to back matches. 

 

TODAY'S RESULTS:

ITALY 0 - 1 COSTA RICA

FRANCE 5 - 2 SWITZERLAND

HONDURAS 1 - 2 ECUADOR

 

 



Day 8

DAY 8

 

 

6/19/14. SALVADOR DE BAHIA - Mini Papi is back at Arena Fonte Nova for the France-Switzerland match. The face-off will feature the two first game winning teams of Group E, as the defeated Honduras & Ecuador, respectively. And it is likely that the winner of this match will move on to the next round as the group leader.

 

Today, more interesting than to see Uruguayan Luis Suarez kick the butt of some of his Liverpool's teammates, the national squad of Colombia advanced to the first round of the playoffs after being absent from the World Cup in 16 years. As a matter of fact, the last time the South American country made the playoffs was in 1990, when Colombian forward Freddy Rincon scored a dramatic goal in the 93rd minute against West Germany to tie the last game of the group stage, which subsequently was just enough for captain Carlos Valderrama's side to qualify as the second best 3rd place of the tournament.

 

TODAY'S RESULTS:

COLOMBIA 2 - 1 IVORY COAST

URUGUAY 2 - 1 ENGLAND

JAPAN 0 - 0 GREECE

 



Day 7

DAY 7

 

 

6/18/14. FORTALEZA - On one side Mini Papi is saying "love and be loved", as he is feeling the affection of soccer fans on Beira Mar avenue. And, on the other, Chileans and Colombians are saying "today we do it for you and tomorrow you do it for us", as they are standing united for the collective success of the two "underdogs" of South America.

 

Today, with Spain's disqualification, we are guaranteed to see another team rising the World Cup in Brazil. Curiously, the last three World Cup champs from Europe have been dismissed from the following tournament in the first round (France in 2002, Italy in 2010 & Spain in 2014).

 

By the way, if you are hesitant to jumping on the bandwagon of La Furia Roja's meltdown, this stat might do it for you: Spain was scored on 7 times in two games at this current World Cup... in the two previous ones, it received 8 goals in 11 matches (2 in South Africa 2010 & 6 in Germany 2006).

 

TODAY'S RESULTS:

AUSTRALIA 2 - 3 NETHERLANDS

SPAIN 0 - 2 CHILE

CAMEROON 0 - 4 CROATIA

Day 6

DAY 6

 

 

6/17/14. FORTALEZA - Mini David Ortiz might not have hit a home run today, but he definitely made some extra cash after working as a taxi driver due to the high number of cabs needed to transport Brazil-Mexico match's attendees to and from Castelao Stadium. I guess you can say he worked "under the table" in Ceara's territory for a few hours.

 

After 6 days of full World Cup action: The 32 national teams have played once (expect for 'la canarinha' and 'el tri' who have done it twice); 49 goals have been scored in 17 games (2.88 goals per match); there have been only 3 draws, 2 red cards and 6 penalty kicks (none missed); and "Memo" Ochoa (Mexico) made history for becoming the first goalie to ever win the Budweiser Man of the Match award.

 

TODAY'S RESULTS:

ALGERIA 1 - 2 BELGIUM

BRAZIL 0 - 0 MEXICO

SOUTH KOREA 1 - 1 RUSSIA 

 

 

Day 5

DAY 5

 

 

6/16/14. FORTALEZA - Yes, Thomas Muller recorded the first hat-trick of the competition and Pepe's lack of self-control cost him a red card. Yes, the Super Eagles and Queiroz's team starred in the first tied match of the tournament. And, yes, Clint Dempsey became the only American to ever score a goal in three different World Cups and the second player from the Concacaf.

 

But, most importantly, YES, the picture of today's post (above) represents the reality of Brazil's poverty. This is only my opinion, but a country that is hosting the largest sporting event of the world, shouldn't have kids (the future of Brazil) sleeping and working on the streets. This is the main reason manifestations occur constantly in this country... instead of investing in education and health care, among others, the Brazilian Government spent billions of dollars to build soccer stadiums that will be used only during the World Cup.

 

TODAY'S RESULTS:

GERMANY 4 - 0 PORTUGAL

IRAN 0 - 0 NIGERIA

GHANA 1 - 2 USA

 

Day 3

DAY 3

  

6/14/14. SALVADOR DE BAHIA - It was a very relaxing day for Mini Papi at Praia de Naturismo (local beach), which happened to be almost empty, surprisingly. Especially since none of today's four soccer matches were scheduled to be played at Arena Fonte Nova (local stadium).

While Papi worked on his non-necessary tan all day long, Costa Rica upset the 4th place team of South Africa 2010 (Uruguay) and are now the momentary leaders of Group D, which consists of three previous World Cup champs and the humbled but hungry 'ticos'.

TODAY'S RESULTS:

COLOMBIA 3 - 0 GREECE

URUGUAY 1 - 3 COSTA RICA

ENGLAND 2 - 1 ITALY

IVORY COAST 2 - 1 JAPAN

Day 2

DAY 2

 

 

6/13/14. SALVADOR DE BAHIA - "Massacre" is the best word to describe the revenge the Dutchs had on the Spaniards in today's match at Arena Fonta Nova, and Mini Papi witnessed it all.

DID YOU KNOW?
Today, Cahill didn't only tally the first goal Australia has ever scored against a South American team (Chile) in the history of the World Cup, but also became the only player from Oceania who has scored a goal in three different World Cups.

TODAY'S RESULT: 

MEXICO 1 - 0 CAMEROON

SPAIN  1 - 5 NETHERLANDS

CHILE 3 - 1 AUSTRALIA

The Journey has begun. Day 1

David Ortiz may be too busy defending the Boston Red Sox's championship title to go to the World Cup in Brazil, but he has sent a 'mini' representation of him to be a part of the biggest sporting event in the world.

 

THE JOURNEY HAS BEGUN

 

 

6/11/14. MIAMI, FL - Mini 'Big Papi' is at Miami International Airport, ready to take on his World Cup trip in Brazil. First stop: Salvador de Bahia.

 

 

 

DAY 1

 

6/12/14. SALVADOR DE BAHIA - Flight and immigration went smoothly. World Cup is underway, however its inauguration wasn't great and already half of the world thinks that referees have been bought off by Brazilian President Dilma (Thank you Japanese referee Nishimura for calling a non-existent penalty in favor of Brazil and putting this thought in our minds).

 

TODAY'S RESULT:

Brazil 3 - 1 Croatia

 

 

 

In all seriousness, during the World Cup (beginning to end), I will be taking pictures of Big Papi's bubble head (and soccer fans) in places that I visit. Don't miss the action, and if you see it in Brazil, say hi!