For my first ever non-high-school-junior-varsity soccer game experience I got press access to the Chile vs. Brazil World Cup qualifying game. I thought we were only getting passes to the Chile vs. Columbia game, but when we picked em up, they had both games included. Nice birthday present.
My credentials were technically only valid for the press room and the seats, but I was able to finagle my way in to the Zona Mixto zoo that was the post-game press area and onto the field at the beginning of the match.
The dingy National Stadium is the biggest in Chile, with a capacity of 65,000, and was used as a torture camp during the Pinochet dictatorship. It definitely felt like death had been there at one point or another.
We got free hamburgers and drinks in the press room.
Brazil won 3-0. Click here for more on the game.
Here are some pictures:
Chile's team
Chile's fans
Chile's uniformed police force (el amigo verde)
Where's the gringo?
Brazil's Diego
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