world cup world cup
The sights, sounds and surfaces of Sao Paulo
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hile Justin Lang was based in Curitiba, former Forsyth Barr Stadium turf manager and now PGG Wrightson Turf territory manager Troy Jordan spent his time in the melting pot of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city. Jordan was the sole STRI representative in Sao Paulo and was based at the 65,000-seat Arena Corinthians (pictured above) which was built specifically for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Known as Arena Sao Paulo for the duration of the tournament, the venue hosted six matches, among them the tournament opener between Brazil and Croatia, the Argentina v Switzerland Final 16 clash and Argentina v The Netherlands semi-final. As well as overseeing preparations for these games, Jordan had the added challenge of having to deal with the Opening Ceremony being staged there as well. He was also responsible for managing two training centres in Sao Paulo (pictured left) and paid visits to regional training base camps. Like Lang, Jordan’s key role during his two months in Brazil was to undertake regular pitch inspections on behalf of the STRI. Based on these visual inspections and testing results using a variety of implements such as the Clegg hammer, he was then required to give advice and recommendations. “For the most part, we as STRI consultants had the final say on how the pitch was presented,” explains Jordan, who originally hails from Melbourne and was a groundsman at Etihad Stadium between 2008-2011. “That was everything from mowing lines and linemarkings being straight and goals set up correctly through to height and quality of cut. I had a FIFA general co-ordinator whom I reported to mostly on a daily basis. “Along with the consultancy/advisory aspect of the job I very much had to roll my sleeves up and do a lot of manual labour too. I wasn’t sure of this when going over but was more than happy to do it as it is my background and I loved it. This involved 26
Australian Turfgrass Management 16.6
anything from making sure the goals were set up correctly to divotting and linemarking.” While most of the host venues had couchgrass surfaces, the Arena Sao Paulo was the only World Cup venue that was fully ryegrass. It was also the only pitch to have the Desso Grassmaster system installed which made for a very stable and consistent playing surface. On match days the pitch was cut at 22mm (FIFA-specified) with Dennis walk-behind cylinder mowers. Stadium staff consisted of two co-head groundsmen, 2-3 trained groundsmen and a number of casual labourers. On match days Jordan would have anywhere from 8-10 staff on site. One of the challenges Jordan faced was getting the staff up to speed with new equipment which had arrived specially for the tournament. “The staff were supplied with the Dennis mowers and walk-behind spray markers only weeks before the tournament,” explains Jordan. “Before this they had relied on rideon mowers to cut the surface, while for painting the lines they used a long handled paint roller! “The first match was the most challenging. With it being the opening match of the tournament and featuring the host nation, there was a lot of pressure to get things right. Along with this we also had the Opening Ceremony on the pitch just one hour prior to kick-off. In the days leading up we had numerous rehearsals involving over 1000 performers and staff combined. It was a stressful period but we got through it and the pitch looked great and played really well.” Although more comfortable with the handson aspect of surface preparations, the STRI role provided a great insight for Jordan. “It was a great experience, one I’ll never forget,” says Jordan. “I’ve always found working in this industry a very rewarding one, but I guess when you’re involved in an event such as this, that feeling of reward is even greater. “I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in some pretty big events, including the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, but to be involved in arguably the biggest sporting event in the world was an amazing experience. As I’ve always been involved in the hands-on operation of preparing a pitch, it was great to be involved in a slightly different capacity with the STRI. They were a very professional company to work for and I must thank them for giving me the opportunity to be involved.”