World Cup organizers advise not to buy tickets on the Internet
The head of the German Football Association, Theo Zwanziger, urged football fans not to buy tickets for 2006 World Cup matches on the Internet. According to him, football lovers with such passes risk not being able to attend the tournament's games. Zwanziger named the popular online auction eBay as one of the "dubious" ticket distributors.
The organizers of the 2006 World Cup made all tickets personalized in order to prevent hooligans from entering stadiums and to make it more difficult for speculators. However, ticket distribution websites convince fans that stadium staff will only be able to check the name on the ticket against the passport for a small number of spectators.
"Anyone who buys tickets on the Internet takes a big risk. In fact, they will be trying to enter the stadium with a fake document and may not get into the match," Zwanziger warned fans. "Why are you so sure that we won't be able to check all tickets? We have enough stewards. Violators will not only be sent away from the stadiums but also fined."
On the German branch of the eBay online auction, the most expensive ticket was sold for $551 (Brazil - Australia match). Another fan paid €445 for the right to attend the Germany - Poland match. // Sport-Express
Weather will affect teams' results at the World Cup
Data on the influence of weather on the play of teams participating in the World Cup has been published in Germany.
The data were obtained from a study conducted by the magazine WetterMagazin, which compared the results of more than 90 games of the national teams of Argentina, Brazil, Germany, England, France, and Italy with the weather conditions in which these matches took place. It turned out that the Italians are the main "heat specialists," while cool weather suits the Brazilians best.
The Italian national team topped the list of the above-mentioned teams, having won the greatest number of games at temperatures above 27 degrees, while the Brazilians achieved the best results when the thermometer showed below 18 degrees.
The study also showed that the more extreme the weather conditions during a match, the more the opponents' chances of winning are equalized.
According to the study, the best weather for French footballers is 19.6 degrees, for Brazilians - 19.8, for Argentines - 21, for the English - 22.3, for Germans and Italians - 23.3 degrees. // ITAR-TASS