São Paulo: Soccer Matchday Tour & Stadium Tickets with Local

5.00

(10 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll be honest — I almost missed the meeting point because I got distracted by a guy selling pastel on Avenida Paulista. Our guide, Rafael, just grinned when I finally showed up (five minutes late, sorry), and handed me a metro card like it was no big deal. There were three of us plus him, squeezed into the subway, jerseys everywhere. You could smell fried onions from some vendor down the platform and everyone seemed to be talking about the game already — even the old lady next to us had a Corinthians scarf tied to her purse.

We got off near Neo Química Arena and Rafael led us through these narrow streets where every bar had TVs blaring pre-match commentary. He insisted we try coxinha from this tiny stand — honestly, I still think about that first bite. The air was thick with grill smoke and beer foam and this kind of nervous energy that made my hands sweaty. A group of locals started singing club songs outside one bar; Rafael tried to teach us the words but I definitely butchered them. He laughed and said “don’t worry, just shout.”

Inside the stadium it was chaos in the best way. People hugging strangers, drums echoing off concrete, flags waving so close you could almost touch them. The match ticket included our seats but nobody really sat down — we all stood for most of it, chanting with everyone else (or pretending to know the words). At halftime Rafael told stories about famous goals scored here and pointed out where his dad used to sit as a kid. It felt like being let in on a family secret or something.

I didn’t expect to feel so swept up by it all — maybe it was the noise or maybe just how much everyone cared. On the way back I realized my voice was half gone from shouting too much (or too badly). If you want a real day trip soccer game in São Paulo with locals who actually love their team… well, this is it.