A 62-year-old retired man plans to travel from his hometown in Portugal to Germany by bicycle in order to attend the 2006 World Cup, which gets underway on June 9.
Jose Fortunato left Vila Franca de Xira, some 30km north-east of Lisbon, on Sunday and he expects to arrive in Munich, which will host the opening game of the 64-match tournament, on June 8.
“I am doing this because I am retired and I have nothing to do. It is a question of being stubborn and a bit adventurous,” he told daily newspaper Publico.
He plans to cycle for five or six hours each day in order to cover the roughly 2 600km in 26 days.
“I am leaving on this trip with a bit of difficulty because the expenses are all up to me. I was thinking of returning by airplane, but maybe I will have to come back by train, but I don’t know how,” said Fortunato.
Portugal are pooled with Mexico, Iran and Angola in World Cup Group D with their first match against debutants Angola in Cologne on June 11. — AFP