Fans flock to watch Brazil

Weggis, Switzerland -- Fans have been hiking to higher ground in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Brazil's soccer stars as they prepare for the World Cup.

With all 45,000 tickets sold for Brazil's training sessions in the small lakeside resort town, those left out are doing whatever it takes to peek over the stadium fence. A hill overlooking the 5,000-seat arena built for Brazil has attracted many fans, despite the mud and rain.

"It's kind of far from the field, but at least we can see the players," said Daniela Aschwanden, one of nearly 200 people on the hill watching Brazil practice yesterday. "It's great. I can't complain, even with all this mud."

Others tried to get a closer look, climbing onto parked cars and even bicycles to look over the stadium fences.

Stadium tickets sold out, despite costing $18 (U.S.) each. Organizers said as many as 10,000 people a day have been flocking to Weggis, a town of only about 4,000 citizens.

On Tuesday, Brazil's coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, threatened to bar the public from training sessions if the hysteria surrounding the national team began interferring with his preparations. The team has even chosen a secret training site in case things get out of hand.

posted by nscafuro @ 11:11 AM