Sitting in a World Cup stadium, seeing the world’s best fight for glory while fans around you get into a football frenzy is a once in a lifetime experience.
I’ll be putting $100 on Greece I reckon. They one the Euro Cup in 2004, so this is 2014 I think Greece might win it. – John Makris
Every four years, new and old football fans around Australia made the pilgrimage to the World Cup, to experience the pinnacle of the sport and support their Socceroos.
For Greek Australian fans, the experience is doubled with two national teams fighting for a place in their hearts.
This time, the World Cup in Brazil has been a dream come true for the Greeks in Australia. Both national teams have qualified, and the host city is one of the most desired locations of the footballing community.
It’s a win-win.
Yet, many wanting to live the dream and make it to the World Cup from Australia know that the experience comes with a hefty price tag.
Already, accommodation and flights have sky-rocketed, and that’s if you can find any that haven’t been booked out in advance.
Game tickets are scarce, though theoretically you can still purchase tickets thanks to FIFA’s sensible behaviour.
The football governing body has held back 7 per cent of the 3.3 million tickets until it is sure the seats are actually installed.
More than 80 per cent of tickets have been purchased by Brazilians, while Australians have bought more than 50,000 tickets since April, and are the fifth biggest national ticket holders in the world.
Conservative estimates on the overall cost, including flights (international and domestic whilst in Brazil), accommodation for the whole World Cup period and tickets, see Aussie fans looking at spending about $10,000.
The cost is something quite a number of Greek Australians have wrestled with, but all see that the payoff will be worth it.
“It’s always been in the back of my mind, I have to be in the World Cup in Brazil,” Greek Australian football fanatic, Peter Baxevanidis, tells Neos Kosmos of his decision to go.
“It’s perfect, Brazilians are soccer mad, it’s a big party over there, it feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Peter is one of quite a few Greeks making the pilgrimage to Brazil, and is spending thousands to make his dream come true.
For more than seven years working in sports statistics, Peter has made football not just a job but an obsession, and with Brazil as the host city, he knew he couldn’t miss it.
It’s been a seven month process for the 26-year-old, trying to find proper and safe accommodation, booking transport and tickets.
He’s seen the price-gouging fist hand when he was trying to book accommodation.
“We tried hotels and hostels. 28 bed dormitories were selling at a $100 a night, when they’re normally $10 a night,” he says.
For those wanting to find something at an affordable price, Peter says try the website airbnb.com, in which people put up their properties on the web privately.
To avoid the mad rush for tickets, Peter bought a five game stadium pass for US$1000 that will give him VIP access to four group games and one knock-out round match in Rio De Janeiro. That knock-out match might include Greece, he hopes.
He isn’t too annoyed that he most likely won’t be seeing the Socceroos or Greece live, as he will be enjoying it like thousands of other Greek Australians, at the bars in Rio.
In 2008, he was part of a group that studied in Greece and was joined by lots of South American Greeks that he will be meeting up with in Brazil.
“I expect it [Brazil] to be nuts. Crazy. From all reports, Rio is crazy a lot of the time, so if there’s going to be a World Cup on with their favourite sport, I expect it to be 100 times of what it is normally,” he says.
“Whenever there’s an event, like Carnival or whenever Brazil is playing soccer, everything just stops.”
Confining himself to just one city is saving Peter a lot of money on accommodation and flights, but means he won’t be able to choose the teams he gets to see.
Another Greek Australian travelling to Brazil is John Makris, who is going with the main purpose of showing his support to the Greek and Australian teams.
Spending a little bit more, and using the help of a travel agent, John is making a few trips to the other cities hosting matches. All in all, 12 cities around Brazil will be hosting games throughout the Cup.
Travelling with his Italian Australian friend, the duo will be filling their suitcases with lots of flags.
“We’ve got the Greek tops happening, the Australian ones as well, I won’t be wearing an Italian one” he told Neos Kosmos when he booked his flights in December.
They are budgeting for six games, mostly in the group stages which he thinks will have the best stadium atmosphere of the Cup.
“The quarterfinals, semi finals and finals aren’t that energetic as the group stages are because you’ve got more diehard fans at each game as opposed to corporate.”
John is an idealist and expects to see Greece not just through to the knock-out phase, but in the final.
“I’ll be putting $100 on Greece I reckon. They won the Euro Cup in 2004, so this is 2014 I think Greece might win it,” he says.
Peter on the other hand isn’t expecting Greece nor Australia to make it past the group stages.
He believes the host city has the best chance to take the cup.
“If it wasn’t Greece or Australia, because I’m in Brazil, I’ll probably go for Brazil,” he says.
“They have a very good chance, with the home support, I’d love them to win.”
Having to pick between Greece and Australia isn’t something either of the Greek Australians want to do.
When Australia welcomed the Greek national team for a friendly, Peter was torn, but soon realised he’s always a little more sympathetic to the underdogs.
“I went as a neutral, but then all my Australian friends were ripping into Greece, so I started going for Greece,” he says.
“I want them both to win, but if Australia played Greece, I think Greece would be the favourite, so I’d probably go for Australia.”
As Australia goes into the World Cup with the lowest ranking, the green and gold brigade will be deafening people in their chanting.
Even the most pessimistic fans will leave a 10 per cent chance in their minds for the Socceroos to get into the knock-out phase.
They sadly have the toughest group, dubbed the “group of death” by the media, going up against World Cup champions and European football royalty.
Greek Australian coach Ange Postecoglou knows that it looks like he’s sending lambs to the slaughter, but his job isn’t just about Brazil, it’s about creating a new look national team, and that will surely take time.
“I don’t think he’s set up to fail, because he’s got a five year contract, it’s a long term thing,” Peter believes.
“So the results for him aren’t determined by this World Cup, they’re determined a couple of years down the track.”
The team definitely screams Postecoglou’s coaching style, preferring to call up talented young Australian players.
Young half-Greek Australian James Troisi is proof of that. The Melbourne Victory player was hand picked by Postecoglou when he was still the Victory coach this
year, and now finds himself in his first ever World Cup.
Peter is keen to see how the young players go against the world’s best.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how Tom Rogic goes, if James Troisi gets in,” he says.
On the Greek squad, it’s no surprise Peter is hankering to see captain Giorgios Karagounis again.
When the player was in the country a couple of years ago, Peter managed to get his Greece jersey signed by the international great.
“I love Karagounis, he’s old but he’s probably my favourite,” he says.
Kostas Mitroglou, on the other hand, is still a little bit of a risk, Peter believes.
“Because he moved clubs and he hasn’t really done that well since he moved,” he says.
“Maybe now is the time for him to redeem himself.”
The players are just a small part of what makes the World Cup great.
The fact that we are a melting pot of hundreds of cultures here in Australia makes for quite a unique holistic celebration.
We feel immense pride being able to hold up two flags and not just one. Plus, we have double the chance of making it past the group stages by supporting two teams.
We are a nation with two teams, and one heart.
To follow the Socceroos’ fans in Brazil, visit the Green and Gold Army website, www.ggarmy.com/