World Cup 2014 city guide: Salvador

If Recife is Brazil’s Manchester — a bit rough, occasionally grimy but blessed with a fierce creative energy and sense of independence — then Salvador is its Liverpool, equally proud of its unique heritage and dismissive of wealthier, snootier cousins down in the south.

Salvador is the beating heart of Brazil’s African heritage, a city where, according to the 2010 census, around 80 per cent of the population of approximately four million consider themselves to be of African or mixed ethnic descent.

Like its north-eastern neighbour Recife, Salvador, which was Brazil’s first capital, suffers from severe socio-economic problems, with financial inequality and alarming crime rates. Also like Recife, such problems are counteracted by a remarkably rich local culture, ranging from cuisine to literature — one of Brazil’s best-loved authors, Jorge Amado, lived here and spent his life writing about the city’s lost souls — to music.

As a result, a World Cup visit to Salvador, which should include a wander around the atmospheric historic centre of Pelourinho and a trip to one of the surrounding region’s many beautiful beaches, will likely prove to be an unforgettable experience for fans. The two big local clubs are Bahia and Vitoria, although like most teams in the financially underprivileged north-east, they struggle to compete with the big boys from Rio and Sao Paulo, despite enjoying massive local support.

Bahia, in fact, were the last team from the region to win the Brazilian national championship, back in 1988. Bahia currently play at the new Arena Fonte Nova, built on the site of the old stadium of the same name, which was closed in 2007 after a terrace collapse killed seven fans. Brazil players Dante and Daniel Alves are both from the region.

It is hot and sunny most of the time in Salvador but June and July is the rainy period, which can bring traffic to a grinding halt. The Arena Fonte Nova, however, is located in a central part of the city, meaning fans attempting to get to the stadium will not suffer too much.