
Yoko Taira might be the president of the Hard Luck Club, with her 75 missing tickets, but so could any of thousands of Japanese and Argentines crowded in desperation outside the roaring stadium as their teams played inside.Taira8217;s story is just one of many.
A young interpreter living in Germany, she found an unofficial ticket agent in Hamburg on the internet. She paid about 300 each for 70 tickets for two tour groups from Japan, plus her own and some for her friends.
8220;The tickets were confirmed, so we paid,8221; she said, standing in the train station in a crowd of confused Japanese, waiting for good news on her cell phone. 8220;Then he said he didn8217;t get the tickets in time, and we would find them in Toulouse.8221;
Revealing offer
BONN: Germany8217;s best-selling daily today published a photograph of a blonde model in soccer kit who said she would strip off a garment with each win by the country8217;s World Cup team.
8220;I8217;ll take my clothes off for Berti8217;s boys,8221; said Annina, 22-year-old from Bremen,next to a front page photo in Bild newspaper. 8220;Give it all boys, then I8217;ll show you it all. With every victory, I8217;ll take something off,8221; she said in a message to German coach Berti Vogts8217; squad.