Socceroos to live it up in luxury in Brazil while Poms sweat by sewer

WHILE the English soccer team has been caught up in a storm after it was revealed its World Cup hotel overlooks Brazil’s biggest slum, the Socceroos will find themselves in far more luxurious surroundings.

Inside one of the rooms of the Ilha do Boi. Picture: Ariel Guevara

FOR once, maybe the Poms have a reason to whinge.

While the English soccer team has been caught up in a storm after it was revealed its World Cup hotel overlooks Brazil’s biggest slum and has on open sewer passing the front, the Socceroos will soon find themselves in far more luxurious surroundings.

The Sunday Herald Sun was given exclusive access to the team’s five-star accommodation at the Ilha do Boi hotel in coastal Vitoria, about 520km northeast of Rio de Janeiro.

A $600-a-night apartment has 81sq m of floor space with flat-screen TVs, an inbuilt spa and ocean views.

Arguably the most privileged view is from the Master Suite, reserved for Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou.

“Maybe he (Postecoglou) won’t want to leave his room,” the hotel’s operations manager Lanca Junior said.

The hotel is on an idyllic peninsula about 8km from the Brazilian city of Vitoria.

The Socceroos have been promised a “big surprise” on arrival on Wednesday.

“The details will only be known when the team walks in the door, but it’s going to be something special, something that will make the team feel very welcome,” he said.

Footballing superstars have been making rock-star-like demands ahead of their Brazil arrival, but Lanca Junior said the Aussies’ requests were “simple and reasonable”.

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While Portugese players reportedly sought a PlayStation in every room and another team wanted a floor set aside as a nightclub, the Aussies have made plainer demands - they want baked beans and spaghetti.

“In Brazil, beans are a national dish but we eat them with a savoury sauce,” Lanca Junior said. “We don’t have canned beans with sweet tomato sauce in Brazil so our chef is preparing the dish especially for the team. It will be as close to the baked beans they are used to in Australia as we can possibly make it.”

The hotel’s meal schedule will be tailored to the Socceroos’ needs, including 2am dinners following matches.

Apart from culinary instructions, team officials have requested beds be at least 2m in length and that all rooms - including leisure areas, the restaurant and meeting rooms - be fitted with televisions showing World Cup matches.

With no shortage of in-house activities on offer to distract players from World Cup pressures, the hotel also provides relaxing panoramas of the Atlantic.

Each of the hotel’s 63 employees has been taking English classes for the past year.

On Monday, locals who have returned to Brazil after living in Australia will speak to staff about the country’s culture, geography and customs.

“We’ve made a big effort to make sure our staff is prepared,” Lanca Junior said.

“These are no ordinary guests.”

Inside one of the rooms of the Ilha do Boi. Picture: Ariel Guevara

About 15km across town from Ilha do Boi is the Unimed Sicoob Arena, the Socceroos’ training base.

The stadium, which belongs to local club Desportiva Ferroviaria, has received a $1.2 million upgrade ahead of the Socceroos’ visit. Improvements include refurbished stands, a new scoreboard, dressing room renovations, including the installation of air conditioning, and a FIFA-standard pitch with the same Bermuda grass used at Brazil’s 12 World Cup stadiums.

Unlike many of the country’s World Cup stadiums and airports, Unimed Sicoob Arena’s redevelopment has already been completed.

“Everything is ready for the Australian team so that they can prepare and train in the best way possible,” Desportiva Ferroviaria’s football manager Pedro Soares said.

The manager says the people of Vitoria have adopted the Socceroos as their second team.

“Of course we want Brazil to win the World Cup, but Australia has won the affection of the people here,” he said.

“There are people approaching me every day asking, ‘Have the Australians arrived yet?’. There is so much excitement.”

Originally published as Socceroos to live it up in luxury in Brazil while Poms sweat by sewer