Sports

Monday June 5, 2006

Swiss village returns to normal as Brazilians leave

WEGGIS (Switzerland): About 7,000 thousand fans gathered to bid farewell to Brazil's soccer stars on Saturday, with life in the small Swiss town that hosted the team's pre-World Cup preparation gradually getting back to normal.

People dressed in yellow-and-green packed the 5,000-seat arena – and nearby hills – to watch Brazil's last training session in the lakeside resort town of Weggis.

Brazilian fans and local residents danced and chanted as the players practised ahead of their warm-up against New Zealand on Sunday in Geneva. Brazil will then head to Germany to defend their World Cup title.

APPRECIATION: The Brazilian players salute the crowd at the end of their training camp in the tiny resort town of Weggis on Saturday. - APpic
“It was just great to have them here,” 16-year-old Larissa Hegglin said. “Everything changed around here just because of them.”

Weggis, located by Lake Lucerne and the Swiss Alps, transformed itself to welcome the Brazilian national team – and the more than 10,000 people who flocked to town each day just to be near the players.

Brazil flags were nearly everywhere, and Portuguese was heard on the streets just as often as the usual German.

“I still can't believe they were here,” said 17-year-old Jana Radi. “We were so lucky.”

Weggis officials estimated the town's financial return ranged from US$3.8mil to US$8.2mil.

“What is important is that Weggis has become a famous spot for soccer teams,” town official Josef Odermatt said, adding that French League champions Lyon had already reached a deal to stay in town for their pre-season in July.

The Brazilian Soccer Confederation reportedly received US$2mil to have their team prepare in the central Swiss town.

The Brazilian delegation left town a couple of hours after the team's last practice and some of the nearly 800 journalists covering the five-time world champions had also departed. Some of the temporary food shops near the arena – built exclusively for the Brazilians – were closing too.

Brazilian music – usually the samba – could still be heard, but not as loudly as in the past 13 days.

All 45,000 tickets put on sale for Brazil's training sessions – which began on May 24 – were sold out despite a price of US$18 each.

At one point, additional security guards had to be called after five fans invaded one of the team's practice. One of them, a Brazilian woman, was able to get a hug from star player Ronaldinho.

Brazil players gathered in midfield after practicing on Saturday and applauded the fans.

“It was all very, very nice,” Brazil defender Roberto Carlos said. “Everyone was very happy.”

Home to about 4,000 people, Weggis was chosen as Brazil's training site after 40 offers from around the world, including from locations in France and the United Arab Emirates.

Brazil will play their World Cup opener against Croatia on June 13. They will then face Australia and Japan.

“We are all off to Germany now,” 26-year-old Brazil fan Guilherme Fonseca said. – AP

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