Neilor and Magno Cruz lounged in their beds, each clad in shorts and T-shirts. At 8 a.m. yesterday, their bellies were empty, but their hearts were full.
Hours after defeating a Vancouver Island all-star squad, the two young soccer players had a single item on their breakfast menu: Brazil versus Ghana at the World Cup.
So far from home, the pair were taking part in a national sacrament.
In Brazil, everyone from street sweepers to the President took a two-hour break to watch the national team in action.
"Soccer is not a sport," pronounced Armandinho Manjate, an assistant coach. "For us it is a religion."
On empty stomachs, Neilor and Magno Cruz watched the men in yellow jerseys whose path they hope to follow onto the world stage.
Both cite as their favourite player Ronaldinho, the ever-smiling striker known for inspired playmaking. They have shared a field with him at practice, making the dream of playing at a World Cup not as fantastic as it might otherwise seem.
Neilor Alias Casimiro, known in the Brazilian style by his first name, is a 20-year-old midfielder. A gymnast before he became a rising star in futebol, he celebrates goals by performing a front flip.
Deciding which sport to pursue was not difficult. A soccer player can know riches beyond imagination, not to mention the grace bestowed by the devout. A gymnast is paid in applause, which will not feed his brothers or house his mother.
Neilor and his teammates complete a tour of Canada tonight with an exhibition match at Coquitlam Town Centre. On Monday, they dispatched with ease a select squad of Vancouver Island all-stars, scoring a 5-0 victory with goals so spectacular as to win the applause of the hometown crowd.
Magno Cruz wears his hair in cornrows tight to his head, exposing a prominent forehead not unlike that of his idol, Ronaldinho.
One of the highlights of his life has been to take to practice with his idol, the best player on the planet.
"He has a simple way of being around people, even though he has so many zeroes in his bank account," Magno Cruz said through a translator.
Both Neilor and Magno Cruz first kicked a soccer ball at age 2, later learning the essential skills of dribbling and ball control in the elbows-high, rough-and-tumble of street soccer.
The flair for which Brazilian teams are known developed on the sun-baked earth of a dirt-poor land.
Magno Cruz also hails from humble origins, with a widowed mother and two brothers depending on his success for their well-being.
The teammates wore T-shirts in the navy blue of the Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. On the chest could be found the club's crest, five stars topped by a crown, as dignified as a royal house.
The club recruited both players years ago, providing room and board as well as basic schooling while also offering modest support to their families.
Mr. Manjate has plied his skill as a player in professional leagues in the Netherlands, Portugal and El Salvador. He now splits his time between Toronto and Cruzeiro's hometown of Belo Horizonte.
On most days, Brazilians are scarce in British Columbia's capital and Ghanaians are so few as to be as mythical as Cadborosaurus.
In pairs scattered throughout the hotel, young Brazilians watched a match pitting their heroes against the fearless Black Stars of Ghana.
An early goal by Ronaldo, the gap-toothed superstar, eased the tension. It also made him the all-time career scoring leader at the World Cup with 15 goals.
In time, Cafu and Ricardinho and Ze Roberto showed the superiority of the Brazilian game. The boys punched the air and applauded their team's second goal, whooping when a third ended all doubt.
They had a good laugh when told what a child in Canada might make of the nickname bestowed on midfielder Ricardo Izecson Santos Leite, known as Kaka.
As the referee's whistle trilled to announce the end of the match, another Brazilian victory safely in the books, Magno offered a vigorous yawn. Back home, a bacchanalia would soon be under way, joined in this land by happy fans in Vancouver, in Toronto and in Montreal.
In Victoria, it was time for a sleepy young man to go in search of breakfast.