Flamengo 1, Vasco 1 (police nil)

At the football on Sunday, there were the usual numbers of cops in tanks, bearing improbable-sized machine guns. They stood in a row right next to the ticket office, even three hours before the clash between Rio rivals Vasco and Flamengo.

At the ticket office, we were met with a "moleque" (I supposed the translation is street urchin) who had no less than four different student cards, entitling the bearer to a reduced rate at Engenhao. We happily paid our money, for good seats, as it turned out, then watched him go up to every booth in turn. "The problem is he only has one face," quipped my friend.

Eventually we got our tickets. I didn't see any violence; it only occurred to me later the police, equipped for fully-fledged warfare as they were, were quite happy to watch the illegal activity before their eyes.