Three glorious World Cup weeks lived up in Brazil for World Cup

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Three glorious World Cup weeks lived up in Brazil.

That’s one must-do ticked off my Bucket List.

The tournament’s opening match in the crush and exuberance of the FIFA Fanzone on Copacabana Beach in Rio – a thrilling victory for the home nation.

Dancing and singing in the small hours every night with soccer supporters from across the globe.

The mad joy of England fans in Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Stadium celebrating Rooney’s equaliser against Uruguay – but let’s forget that Suarez moment soon afterwards and the crushing despair of those very same fans.

A chance meeting with Luke Shaw in the England team hotel – his last interview and photo as a Saints player.

Sunbathing and wave-surfing every day on the fabulous beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema.

And the giddy climb up to Sugar Loaf and Christ The Redeemer – to look out 360 degrees over the majestic panorama of Rio, with the Maracana Stadium centre stage.

It was all a long, long way from my life in Shirley, Southampton – brilliant coverage on TV and in the press back at home for sure, but absolutely nothing like the real thing!

Yes, this former Daily Echo staff reporter packed a lot into his three weeks of World Cup heaven in Brazil.

Including the Maracana being centre stage for the eyes of the world as several billion people switched on to watch the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina.

The home fans were still mourning the footballing death of their team in the semis, but they were cheering nonetheless as their fantastic tournament reached its climax.

If I never manage to tick off anything else on my Bucket List, I’ll pass away a happy man.

There are other highlights too numerous to mention – so this feature will give you just a flavour.

These days working as a freelance broadcaster and film maker, I was based in Rio for the duration of my three-week trip to Brazil – save for a threeday hop to Sao Paulo for that Uruguay group game that saw England eliminated.

So let’s get that disappointment out the way and then we can quickly return to the good stuff.

The match was a fantastic occasion, wrong result.

The England fans were tremendous in defeat – just as they were after I’d stood with them in the FIFA FanZone on Copacabana to see them lose by the same scoreline to Italy.

A brilliant place to watch football on the giant screen, the fan-zone I refer to is what you can see in the far background on Copacabana Beach – through the windows of both the BBC and ITV studio sets during their World Cup broadcasts.

I don’t know what the feeling was back home, but England fans I spoke to before both games just weren’t expecting their side to progress.

So when they did lose, it came as no surprise.

Of course, there was huge disappointment among the England fans thronging the beaches and the bars – but this was shortlived as Rio’s World Cup festival swept them off again on a tide of football joy.

England fans were determined not to let their failed team spoil their party!

The Costa Rica game was a bonus – win, lose or draw, they didn’t really care, so long as England played well.

That didn’t happen either.

Meeting Luke Shaw for the last time as a Saints player is a moment that will never fade.

Such a nice boy – yes, a boy!

Luke is 19 – my two sons are older than him and I still call them boys.

I ran into Luke – literally – at England’s beachside hotel The Royal Tulip, three days before the Italy game.

I was in Rio to provide World Cup video scene-setters throughout the tournament for the US website SpaceCoastDaily.com – based in central Florida around the Kennedy Space Centre after which this whole coastal area is named.

Run by my brother Giles Malone, who was in Rio working with me, Space Coast Daily provides online news and sports coverage and has a million unique visitors every month, with lots of ex-pats among them.

At the hotel, Luke was on his way up to his room after training and I was looking for the FA office to confirm my accreditation for the England Media Centre.

A quick call of “Luke, hello!” saw the brilliant young fullback turn and greet me with a big, friendly smile.

After introducing myself, one of my first questions was to ask him if he had any messages for the Saints fans back home.

“Fantastic out here,” he told me. “Tell them how great it is to be part of the England squad. We’re training hard, it’s going really well, got a great spirit in the camp and can’t wait to get stuck into Italy.”

And he spoke well of the food, the sights and of Rio.

There was none of the hard-bitten, media-savvy look of the highly-paid Premier League footballer on Luke’s face – the sort you see on a Gerrard or a Rooney.

Instead there was the openness and sincerity of a young man explaining the thrill of being in an exciting new country with his team mates to represent his country and hopefully win the World Cup.

Less said about that last ambition the better.

But Luke can now turn his attention to the much more likely prospect of winning trophies with Manchester United.

He’s left Saints far behind – along with his former club’s possible return to a season of toil now so many of their star players have left or are leaving.

I wonder for how much longer will that innocent look remain on Luke Shaw’s face now he’s among the Premier League’s elite millionaires?

My impromptu interview and photo with him was a milestone: it was his last as a Saints player because days later his £30m transfer to United was confirmed.

We would have gone on to talk longer, but the FA officials I was looking for arrived looking peeved and cut short our unauthorised chat.

And so to my impressions of Rio. What a city. Happy, funloving, friendly, welcoming.

Surrounded by mountains, you sit on the beach and marvel at the panorama.

Not just one beach: Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, Bahia, Sao Conrado, Gavea, Flamengo – the list goes on.

And as you watch groups of young men and women showing off their brilliant skills of keepy-uppy, you realise why Brazil are nearly always World Cup favourites.

When you tire of the beach, you can venture out to discover Rio’s Tijuca Forest – the largest urban forest in the world.

You can cycle the seven kilometres around Rio’s beautiful inland lagoon.

And you can take the cable car to the top of Rio’s Sugar Loaf mountain.

But best of all is the ascent to see Christ The Redeemer.

The views that await you up there are simply breathtaking and the enormous statue fully lives up to its billing as one of the wonders of the world. At night, though, Rio is a little dangerous and your wits are needed at all times.

Despite the warnings, I was pick-pocketed by a group of young women who jostled me on the sea front.

But amazingly, I got my money back!

I chased right after them and they handed it over with a smile. And beware – sometimes it is hard to tell the girls from the boys, specially in Rio’s party district of Lapa.

I wanted to do some secret filming on the blatant sex trading being carried out at a seedy market right opposite FIFA’s Fanzone on Copacabana.

I was in Rio to cover news as well as football for Space Coast Daily and I wanted to flag up the Brazilian authorities’ total disregard for young women and under-age girls being exploited by throngs of fans with lots of money in their pockets.

But the light on my Iphone was immediately spotted by a girl clearly on the look-out for reporters like me wanting a story – and I was chased away.

Put off by sky-high hotel prices, I’d booked my brother and I a double room with private bathroom at a backpackers’ hostel – The Mango Tree in Ipanema.

Great move!

It was affordable and comfortable with ample breakfasts and filled with soccer fans from many countries – including many Australians, a great bunch.

The hostel was also right next to the Girl From Ipanema Bar, where the song writer Vinicius wrote the famous song that’s said to be the second-most covered in the world.

And yes, I too saw plenty of young, tall, tanned lovelies go walking by.

Everywhere you went in Rio was dominated by the World Cup, with street art reflecting the host nation’s dream of winning.

In the cultural district of St Therese, where Cat Stevens lived when he moved to Rio, I came across the best examples of World Cup graffiti featuring Brazil’s pin-up Neymar.

But now the Brazilian people’s dream of lifting the trophy at the Stadio Maracana night is over.

I’m glad I was not still out in Rio following the aftermath of the semi final, because the whole nation’s sadness at that shocking 7-1 defeat to Germany would have affected me.

Instead, I’ll be watched on TV – not really caring who wins.

I’ll be honest, after England were knocked out, I wanted Brazil to be the new world champions.

For their passion, for their spirit and for the wonderful way they play the game, they deserve to be back at the summit of world football as quickly as they can get there.

And yes, I will one day return to Rio to soak up this wonderful city once again.

And to relive my three weeks of World Cup heaven.