RIO DE JANEIRO - Venezuelan tourist Alexis Nunez was thrilled to be standing

RIO DE JANEIRO - Venezuelan tourist Alexis Nunez was thrilled to be standing in front of the Maracana. Nike Free Laufschuhe Damen. He crossed his arms, pulled down his shades and began staring at what he calls the "Cathedral of Football." To football fans, there is something magical about the Maracana. It is the second-most visited tourist destination in Rio, behind only the Christ the Redeemer statue. Thoughts raced through Nunezs mind as the sound of heavy machinery echoed from inside the famed venue. "I was just thinking about all the history of this place, about all that has happened inside this stadium in the past," he said. "All the legendary matches, all the great players, all the fans that used to pack this stadium. Its just amazing to be here, there is nothing like it." One of the most recognizable stadiums in the world and the home of Brazilian football, Maracana is filled with history and packed with tradition. Its where Pele scored his 1,000th career goal in 1969, and where nearly 200,000 people watched the 1950 World Cup final, when Brazil was stunned by Uruguay in what became known as the Maracanazo. It was the largest crowd ever known to have watched a football match. "Can you imagine what it was like to be sitting in there for a match like that?" the 28-year-old Venezuelan publicist said. But with a year to go on an extensive renovation project, the best may yet be to come for the famed stadium. Brazil will attract the worlds attention in the next few years by hosting the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the Maracana will be the centerpiece of both events. It is scheduled to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics, the first ever in South America, as well as the final of the World Cup, the first in Brazil since the 1950 tournament. "I was thinking about how nice it would be to be here again three years from now, but this time inside the stadium, for a World Cup final," said Nunez, proudly wearing Venezuelas national team jersey. "Thats my goal now, to be back and to watch a football match at the new Maracana." Nunez was visiting Rio de Janeiro for a week and didnt want to leave the city without stopping to see the Maracana. Hundreds of other tourists like him visit Maracana every day, buses filled with people stopping by even though it has been closed for renovations since 2010. "It hasnt been only foreigners who have been visiting the stadium, even Rio people have been coming here to take a look at how things are going," said Marcio Pele, a 47-year-old Rio artist who for the past seven years has been making money by juggling a football in front of the venue, almost always wearing the yellow jersey of Brazils national team. "The football fans are still coming, they miss it," he said. In addition to the Maracanazo and Peles 1,000th career goal, the stadium also hosted some of the most important matches in Brazilian football, including several Brazilian league finals. Flamengo, Brazils most popular club, was the latest to win the title there, in 2009. Some of the top international matches at the stadium included two Club World Cup finals, in 1963 and 2000, as well as the 2008 Copa Libertadores final won by Ecuadors Liga de Quito over Brazils Fluminense. The final of the 1989 Copa America also took place at Maracana, when Romario scored with a header to give Brazil a 1-0 victory and the title in front of more than 130,000 fans. Among the many soccer personalities on the stadiums "sidewalk of fame" is former Brazil and Flamengo great Zico, the player with the most success at the venue with 333 goals in 435 matches. But there hasnt been a match at Maracana since a 0-0 draw between Flamengo and Santos in the Brazilian league in September 2010. Maracana, which belongs to the city of Rio, is undergoing a $470 million renovation. When the face-lift is completed in late 2012, the stadium will maintain its traditional look but will have new facilities and amenities, including a new roof and a new seating capacity of 76,000. Maracana was constructed for the 1950 World Cup and the goal was to build the biggest stadium in the world at the time. The gigantic project was a huge undertaking for the local government, but officials wanted to showcase Brazils progress and boost the nations pride after World War II. It took less than two years to build for the World Cup, although it wasnt entirely completed when the tournament began. Officially named Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho, for one of the most prominent Brazilian sports journalists, the stadium also hosted some of Brazils most historic events not related to football, including a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II in 1980. One of the stadiums darkest days was July 19, 1992. Thats when more than 120,000 fans were at the stadium for the Brazilian league final between Flamengo and Botafogo and a railing in one of the upper sections collapsed, killing three people and injuring about 50. It was common for crowds of more than 100,000 people to watch matches until then, but the tragedy prompted authorities to reduce the number of fans allowed into the stadium. Its seating capacity was constantly diminished in years following the accident. Maracana hadnt undergone a significant renovation since being revamped for the 2007 Pan American Games that took place in Rio. There were a few changes after the 1992 accident, and it also was upgraded before FIFAs inaugural Club World Cup in 2000. The most recent renovations have not come without controversy, with critics saying they are too costly and filled with irregularities. Workers strikes also have hampered the project. Still, the overall feeling remains one of pride, especially for those directly involved in getting the Maracana ready again. "This is going to be good for everyone in this city and in Brazil," said 67-year-old Joao Lourenco, a construction worker at the venue taking a break from the scorching Rio heat. "We are proud to be working hard to get this stadium ready, we know it will be a big stage for the entire world again in just a few years." ___ Follow Tales Azzoni at http://twitter.com/tazzoni Nike Free Run 3.0 V2. Beach volleyball, that is. The NBAs leading rebounder plans to play in next months Manhattan Beach Open on the pro volleyball tour, finding himself a paycheque while hes not earning one on the basketball court. Nike Free Schwarz. The San Diego Padres havent found the right formula. Cole Hamels tossed eight dominant innings and the Phillies beat the Padres for the eighth straight time, 3-1 on Friday night. http://www.nikefreeschuheshop.de/.Y. -- Doug Marrone is set to try to turn around an NFL team after improving a college program down the road. Nike Free Günstig Schwarz. -- From Notre Dames unbeaten regular season to college footballs biggest awards, Manti Teo just keeps winning. Nike Free Damen. -- Its been quite a stretch between CFL starts for Jarious Jackson.MASON, Ohio -- Andy Roddick developed back spasms during his opening match at the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday, setting up a two-set loss that left questions about his health heading into the U.S. Open. Wild card Venus Williams survived a three-set opening match, another encouraging win coming off her Olympic gold medal in doubles with sister Serena. Later Tuesday, Serena Williams beat Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 6-3, 6-4, overcoming 42 unforced errors as she struggled to get readjusted to a hard court. Roddick, who has played through a sore shoulder this summer, developed a new concern as he lost to a player who was in the draw as an injury replacement. He got treatment for his back during the second set of his 7-6 (4), 6-3 loss to Frances Jeremy Chardy, who replaced injured No. 9 seed John Isner. Roddick had won all three of his career matches against Chardy. Roddick said his back started bothering him a few days ago and he aggravated it Tuesday. "I felt fine early on, and then I had one lunge forehand and ... you know, we have all had it," he said. "The back kind of goes out or spasms a little bit. It got progressively worse." Roddick won the Atlanta Open in July despite a sore right shoulder. He lost to Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-1 in the second round at the Olympics, a match that lasted only 54 minutes, but arrived for the tournament in suburban Cincinnati feeling good about his health and his game. The good feeling didnt last long. After the third game of the second set, he had a trainer come over to help him stretch his back and shoulders. He managed only one break point during the 1-hour, 33-minute match. Roddick left the court quickly with his head down. Roddick said his shoulder felt fine. Hes not sure if his back will force him to curtail his preparation for the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 27. "We will know more in two, three days than we do now," Roddick said. "So its tough for me to say what side of the fence Im sitting on. I dont know where Im going to be in two or three days." Williams is trying to get in position to make a deep run at the U.S. Open, from which she had to withdraw last year because of an immune syystem disease that causes fatigue and sore joints. Nike Free Laufschuhe She beat 12th-seeded Maria Kirilenko of Russia 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2 in a match that lasted 2 hours, 23 minutes, serving 11 aces. Along with the Olympic gold medal, its been a good few weeks for Williams, who is learning how to manage the symptoms of her disease. "Im doing a lot better than this time last year," she said. "So much better than a couple months ago as well. I also am learning to deal with everything a lot better. If I wake up and I dont feel great, then I would panic and lose my match 2-1. Now I realize that I just kind of hang in there if Im not having the best day and still try to get the win." Based on the past few weeks, Williams likes her chances at the Open. "So there are a lot of things that have to fall in place for me, maybe more than other players," she said. "But Im up for the challenge." Her sister struggled to make the switch from Wimbledons grass, where she won the Olympic singles gold medal as well, to the hard courts. "I think Ill be OK just getting that match under my belt," Serena Williams said. "I had (42) unforced errors. Thats shocking. Its unprofessional. Hopefully I can clean up my act for my next match." In other matches, third-seeded Samantha Stosur fell behind 4-0 in the third set before rallying for a 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4 victory over Spains Anabel Medina Garrigues, a match that took 2 hours, 37 minutes. "I thought, I can still regroup and close that gap just a little bit," Stosur said. "If you can do that, then you never know what can happen. I got on a roll and managed to squeeze it out." No. 5 Angelique Kerber beat Timea Babos of Hungary 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Fifteenth-seeded Nadia Petrova retired with dizziness while trailing fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova 7-6 (8), 3-1. Tenth-seeded Mardy Fish beat Spains Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-3. No. 11 seed Gilles Simon withdrew before the start of his match against Marcos Baghdatis with a sore shoulder. Tommy Haas beat David Nalbandian 6-7 (0), 7-6 (4), 6-3 in 3 hours, 22 minutes, equaling the longest non-Olympic match this season on the ATP tour. ' ' '

Posted by iertioy on Wed, 06/19/2013 - 8:15pm