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Journalism of Courage
Rio de Janeiros Maracana stadium,venue for next years World Cup final and the spiritual home of Brazilian football,has re-opened with an exhibition match despite not being fully finished.
Only two entrances were complete,some seats still missing and the area around the stadium resembled a building site as the arena was re-inaugurated on Saturday with a match between teams led by former Brazil strikers Ronaldo and Bebeto. The Maracana is the fourth of the 12 World Cup stadiums to be opened,having missed the December deadline set by FIFA by four months. It will also stage matches at the Confederations Cup to be held in Brazil in June.
Brazil is going to give a big lesson to the world and to those which didnt think it would be possible to hold this World Cup and Confederations Cup, Ronaldo told reporters during a halftime interval.
Another stadium has been delivered, added the 1994 and 2002 World Cup winner,who is on the local organising committee.
It was a last-minute thing but thats how it goes. We are happy with the result. The pitch is sensational. The stands are beautiful,so are the facilities,everything is really good.
Of the six stadiums to be used for the Confederations Cup,only Fortaleza and Belo Horizonte followed the original schedule and were completed last December. Recife is due to be opened on May 14 and Brasilia four days later.
The Maracana was originally built for the 1950 World Cup and only the shell of the original stadium remains. Inside,it has been changed from double-deck to a single tier stadium which designers say gives supporters a better view while capacity has been reduced to 78,000.
Critics are worried that the stadium will lose its appeal with higher prices once it re-opens. There have also been protests about plans to demolish the adjoining swimming pool and athletics track to build a shopping centre and car park.
