Brazilian soccer fan Joedir Sancho Belmonte missed the 1950 World Cup final to stay home with his sick mother. Sixty-four years later, Belmonte exchanged his original unused ticket for three new tickets to the 2014 final.
Now a white-haired grandfather, Belmonte has never regretted missing the 1950 match, particularly since his mother died just a few days later. "I decided not to go, and it was a good decision," he told the reporters.
Brazil lost that 1950 final, 2-1, to Uruguay, a historic humiliation that still stings Brazilian fans today. Belmonte, 85, hopes he'll get to see his country regain its honor. "I hope Brazil will be able to win this time," he said. "This is our revenge. I want to go see our revenge."
Unfortunately, there won't be a 2014 rematch between Brazil and Uruguay, as the latter was eliminated on Saturday. If Brazil makes it to the final on July 13, the country could play Mexico, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, Greece, USA, Belgium, Argentina or Switzerland.
Belmonte's 1950 ticket will be displayed at a Zurich museum that is set to open in 2015, according to Jerome Valcke, FIFA's secretary general. "This is something rare we would like to have for the museum," he said.