It is over a year since Germany won the World Cup, beating Argentina in the Maracana Stadium. Tim Vickery spoke to Off the Ball last night about how the country has coped since the World Cup concluded in July 2014.
According to Vickery, "there is a legacy in the heartland" and average attendances in the Brazilian Championship have gone above 20,000 for the first time in many years. This is even more impressive as Vickery added the country is the country "has walked into an economic depression".
Ticket prices are not cheap according to Vickery but the World Cup worked as an advertisement for the "stadium experience". One of the post World Cup legacies has been the introduction of 11am games, compared to a tradition of late kick offs.
The 11am games on Sundays initially began as an experiment, but the games have attracted higher crowds than other kick off times due to the "family experience". Vickery warned though that the experiment may have to end soon due to rising temperatures in the afternoons around Brazil as "the heat has arrived earlier than usual".
Tim also spoke to Ger about Carlos Tevez breaking the leg of an opponent in a Argentinian League last week, and the historical physicality of the game in South America.
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