‘The greatest show on earth’ sparks protests and parties

By Amanda Davies/CNN

This is a country synonymous with football: the nation with more World Cups - five - to its name than any other; home of the samba stars and Copacabana beach. The whole world is gearing up for a party.

But on the streets, there’s another story.  Protests have been well documented.  Journalists are packing their flak jackets and gas masks. With just days to go, Brazil is far from united.

Significant numbers are unhappy that the “greatest show on earth” is returning to their turf.  These people see no reason to celebrate – instead, they believe they’ve been let down. They feel that there are other, greater priorities than football for the government and national authorities to worry about.

“Many Brazilians feel too much was spent on stadiums - about $4bn,” says CNN correspondent Shasta Darlington, who is based in Sao Paulo.  “Special interest groups want to use the World Cup as a platform to air their grievances and pressure the government to meet demands for everything from higher teachers’ wages, to more public doctors and low-income housing.”

According to the widely respected Datafolha polling agency, support for the event has plummeted from 79% in 2008, to just 48% in April this year.

When even the players - usually so afraid to say anything controversial for fear of causing a storm - are publicly expressing their sympathies with the protesters, you start to understand the depth of the issue.

Ahead of what is set to be the biggest moment in his career, Brazil’s World Cup poster boy, Neymar told me last month: “My opinion is that protesting, there’s no problem with it… as long as it is peaceful, without violence, without vandalism…. I’m in agreement that if it’s for Brazil getting better, they have to protest.”

While the tournament will certainly begin on schedule, it seems the violence and protests are set to continue too.  So where does that leave Neymar and his teammates, and their mission on the pitch?

As Shasta Darlington told me: “You would expect wild enthusiasm from a country where football is a national passion. Instead many people are embarrassed by the delays and problems, or angry at the costs, and even say they don’t feel comfortable putting on a Brazilian jersey.”

Against this backdrop, the need for the host nation to perform has never been greater.  If Brazilians feel their country is paying too much for the right to host the tournament, Luis Felipe Scolari and his team claiming a record sixth World Cup might go some way towards repayment.

As two-time World Cup winner Cafu put it: “For us it is going to be a very historic and fantastic moment, since the last world cup that we’ve hosted… we weren’t that fortunate… but now I think we have all the conditions to change that and make sure Brazil is appreciated for what it has best, which is football, when it’s about the World Cup.”

Scolari is aware that failure isn’t an option. The coach who led Brazil to their last World Cup success - in Japan and Korea in 2002 – says: “There is no other objective that we’re interested in. So we need to state it: we’re at home, the conditions are in our favour. We’re going to win.”

So how will it play out? Having performed well at last year’s Confederations Cup, beating Spain 3-0 in the final, the hosts are understandably the favourites.

There is no Kaka, Ronaldinho or Lucas Moura named in Scolari’s squad, but it is still a team blessed with talent.  Hulk, Oscar, and Thiago Silva will pull on the famous yellow and blue alongside Neymar.  After a disappointing defeat to the Netherlands in the quarter finals in South Africa, confidence has returned.

As for the Netherlands - the 2010 runners up - we’ll find out where they stand early on. Group B’s opener is definitely not one to miss - a repeat of the final from four years ago - pitting the Dutch against defending champions Spain once again.

The Dutch must be firing on all cylinders from the start, but the loss of influential midfielder Kevin Strootman – ruled out with a long-term knee injury – is a big blow for Louis Van Gaal’s side.  Much will depend on the fitness of injury prone stars Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben, in what is a relatively inexperienced squad.

Both the Netherlands and Spain know that whoever finishes runner up in their Group will probably have to face Brazil in the next round.

While Spain are most definitely up there among the favourites, for the first time in a long time questions are being asked of the champions. Surely they can’t make it major tournament number four? Spain have shown they can be beaten - losing to South Africa and Brazil in the last 12 months, and being held to a draw by Chile.

Chile - also in Group B - could really throw the cat among the pigeons. Their impressive performance against Spain was not the only decent result for Jorge Sampaoli’s side over the past year.

With the likes of Barcelona’s Alexis Sanchez, Juventus’s Arturo Vidal, and Napoli’s Valencia-loaned Eduardo Vargas showing their form against both England and Brazil, they are blessed with some skilful players.

Defensive frailties aside, they’re the team that Gavin Hamilton – editor of World Soccer Magazine – thinks are a decent outside bet. “I’m hoping Chile will be the surprise, because their football can be breath-taking. Also, France, with an easy group, could go far without people really noticing.”

There is no chance of Germany going un-noticed. With their team slogan screaming “Ready Like Never Before”, the 1990 World Cup winners are talking up their chances under Joachim Loew. There’s a strong feeling that after two semi-final exits in 2006 and 2010, and with a plethora of talent including Reus, Muller, Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Lahm and more, this could be their year.

As Hamilton says: “Germany are older and wiser than four years ago, with more attacking options, but the same old tournament mentality”.

Of course the last time Brazil hosted the World Cup was in 1950. Then they suffered an embarrassing defeat to close rivals Uruguay, which has haunted them ever since.

This year Argentina are the most likely of their South American neighbours to spoil the party - with Messi, Aguero and Higuain hoping to lift Alejandro Sabella’s side to their first title since 1986.

“Argentina actually have a better forward line than Brazil,” says Hamilton. “There are doubts over their defence and their mental toughness, but if they win their group, they could meet Brazil in the final...”

♦ Amanda Davies is a sports correspondent and anchor for CNN International, based in the London bureau.