Anthony Green experiences World Cup trip he will remember

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on July 12, 2014 11:03 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

Forty-four years ago in Jamaica, Anthony Green and his buddies played soccer in an open field with nothing more than an orange for a ball and shirts they laid on the ground for goals.

They ached to go to Mexico for the 1970 World Cup, but they had no money, no passports and no possible way to get there. Attending a World Cup was just a dream for the then-22-year old.

But Green learned it's never too late to make your dreams come true.

More than four decades since he longed to go to Mexico to see the Brazilians win their third World Cup title, Green, now 66 and a Goldsboro resident, returned last Wednesday from spending 10 days in Sao Paulo watching his favorite sport played on the grandest stage.

"It was nice for us three guys to get down there in our old age," Green joked. "But it was fantastic. They breathe soccer down there."

After the 2010 tournament in South Africa, it was announced that the next World Cup would be in Brazil -- the soccer nation of the world.

Familiar with the history of soccer in Brazil, Green knew if there was ever a World Cup he was going to get to, this would be the one. He was going to go and nothing was going to stop him.

In fact, he planned his retirement around the trip.

"'My daughters said 'dad your world is soccer isn't it? You planned your retirement around a World Cup,'" Green said. "I said 'right now is a great time to retire,' you know? I have all the time in the world once I retire.

"If I wanted to spend a month there I could have."

Green met up with those same old friends from Jamaica, Fergie Johnson and Colin Heron -- who live in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., respectively, -- in Brazil on June 21.

They spent a week and a half immersed in soccer, going from bars to beaches to the stadium and seeing nothing but Brazil flags. Fans yelled and chanted as their beloved Brazilian squad took the pitch each game. The hoods of cars were repainted with the design of the Brazil flag.

"You would mess with them and say 'they don't look so good, you think Brazil is going to win?' And even if they weren't playing well you couldn't tell them that," Green said. "They just knew their team would win. Brazil was lucky to get as far as they did.

"But you couldn't tell them that."

Green saw two matches based on lottery draw. He watched Belgium topple South Korea and sat in a section filled with Costa Rica fans during its draw with England. Since Costa Rica plays in the same qualifying region (CONCACAF) as the United States, Green was happy to root for Los Ticos.

The games matter little for Green.

The Brazilian culture and its complete devotion to soccer amazed him. He said the entire country was given the day off of work when the team played.

"When Brazil plays, the beaches are packed shoulder to shoulder (with people) watching the big screen," Green said. "It seemed like there was more people than sand."

The devotion to soccer is similar in his native Jamaica, but he realizes the U.S. doesn't have the same passion. He wants it to, though.

The enthusiasm and fans rallying behind the national team impressed Green. And so did the play of the team. He hopes it's something that doesn't die off now that the U.S. is out.

In their spare time Green, Heron and Johnson mostly went to sports bars and hotel bars to watch games or went to the beach where they watched some Brazilians put a new twist on the game and play soccer volleyball. Green even kicked the ball around some himself.

One moment stood out for him.The trio visited Brazil's historic Museum de Futebol in Sao Paulo on a day they didn't have much to do. The museum has a section dedicated to the 1970 tournament and Green stopped to take a photo with a replica of the Jules Rimet Trophy, which is given to the World Cup champions.

It's a replica trophy for a replica trip to that World Cup he never got to attend.

But his feelings are real. He remembers vividly watching on the television Brazilian captain Carlos Alberto receive a pass from Pele on the left side of the box and beating the Italian goalkeeper far-post to win the tournament.

He remembers watching his favorite player, midfielder Gerson, carve up defenders with his flair and dribbling abilities.

The museum has a board devoted to the evolution of soccer balls and people talk about how Brazilians played with anything they could find as a ball. They will use rolled up pieces of paper and tennis balls. Or an orange.

Green flashbacked to when he was the 22-year-old in Jamaica playing soccer with his friends dreaming of going to a World Cup.

Only now, there's no need to dream.

He finally made it.

And there's still a game to be played today as Germany takes on Argentina in the championship, but for Green the World Cup is over.

It was better than even in his dreams.