“Water so clear you can see to the bottom, hundred thousand dollar cars e’ybody got ’em. Ain’t no surprise in the club to see Sly Stallone, Miami my second home.” So said Will Smith, and the actor-rapper’s observations ring true to this day. Miami is still a city where the stars come out to play. On this night, however, and unfortunately from a Scottish perspective, Vinícius Júnior came to play his way through their defence.
Just as thousands of Scots colonised Boston, so it appeared that the entire upper middle class of São Paulo had come to Florida for this big game. Brazilian celebrities had followed too, the most obvious being Ronaldinho, who not only officially signed for a third‑division Italian side while in the city but was afforded a VVIP spot just outside the players’ tunnel where he could greet the players and Carlo Ancelotti, the Brazil head coach, as they made their way out.
