Mugabe Hosts Soccer World Champions Brazil As They Clobber Zimbabwe
President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe waves the national flag upon his arrival at the National Sports Stadium, where Zimbabwe were playing a historic friendly soccer match against Brazil yesterday
It's a goal! - A ball finds the back of the net during the Brazil-Zimbabwe soccer encounter at the National Sports Stadium yesterday. Of course, it could only be a goal from the Brazilians, since Zimbabwe came nowhere near the Brazilian goalpost!!
Fans troop into the National Sports Stadium in Harare yesterday, to watch Brazil run circles around an outgunned and outclassed Zimbabwe National Soccer Team.Harare, Zimbabwe, 03 June 2010
Five-times Soccer World Cup Champions, Brazil, clobbered a hapless Zimbabwe team in Harare yesterday in front of President Robert Mugabe, who arrived at the stadium waving the Zimbabwe flag and hoping for an upset win by the Zimbabwe Warriors team.
Of course, nothing of the sort was ever going to happen.
Unlike our superlative cricket team, the Zimbabwe soccer team are perennial losers, hopeless against even such teams as Zambia and South Africa.
Still, it was a good Public Relations opportunity for President Mugabe, who was able to sit through the match and play the man of the people, watching the game with thousands of his fellow Zimbabweans.
Brazil won the encounter 3-0.
The game was one of the most watched in Zimbabwe's history, with the government declaring a half-day holiday for all civil servants. Private companies were also largely deserted as it seemed every single middle and upper manager working in Harare was at the game.
The interesting thing is that not one of them expected Zimbabwe to win. The attraction was in watching the former world champions on Zimbabwe's own turf - a once in a lifetime opportunity, as the local papers put it, with the main daily newspaper, The Herald, saying it was an encounter that people would be telling their grandchildren about.
Security was at almost paranoid levels at both the Brazil team's hotel and the National Sports Stadium itself. Fans who had hoped to get autographs never got a chance to get close to the players at all.
Of course, nothing of the sort was ever going to happen.
Unlike our superlative cricket team, the Zimbabwe soccer team are perennial losers, hopeless against even such teams as Zambia and South Africa.
Still, it was a good Public Relations opportunity for President Mugabe, who was able to sit through the match and play the man of the people, watching the game with thousands of his fellow Zimbabweans.
Brazil won the encounter 3-0.
The game was one of the most watched in Zimbabwe's history, with the government declaring a half-day holiday for all civil servants. Private companies were also largely deserted as it seemed every single middle and upper manager working in Harare was at the game.
The interesting thing is that not one of them expected Zimbabwe to win. The attraction was in watching the former world champions on Zimbabwe's own turf - a once in a lifetime opportunity, as the local papers put it, with the main daily newspaper, The Herald, saying it was an encounter that people would be telling their grandchildren about.
Security was at almost paranoid levels at both the Brazil team's hotel and the National Sports Stadium itself. Fans who had hoped to get autographs never got a chance to get close to the players at all.
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