A few minutes are left for the Kick-off of the 20th
FIFA World Cup in Sao Polo, Brazil. I am in Kolkata for some work. It could be
a coincidence that I happened to be in a city where the football frenzy is
almost similar to the same in my home state, Kerala. We were familiar with the West
Bengal football clubs like Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting
Club from our school days. Many of the known players from Kerala used to play
with these clubs during those times. I think it was the 1998 world cup I
watched first. Ever since I would closely follow all news related to the World Cup
at least three months before the kick-off to keep myself updated about the
teams, players and their chances. However, it was a sudden realisation this
time that yet another kick-off is a few minutes away.
We never had a football ground or team in our village.
However, just for a few months before and after the every World Cup, we used to
play football in the small ground in front of our primary school. This was
often interrupted and stopped by the school management as our excitement often
did harm to the school building, especially to its tiled roof. What we played
most during that time was cricket but the passion for football and emotional
support for the South American countries were still there in our minds.
During the 1998 World Cup, all football fans from our
village used to gather in a small restaurant run by the Kudilparambil Family to
watch the late night matches. They managed to set up a dish antenna and
subscribed to the channel that broadcast the matches live. There were very few
TV sets in the village at that time and nobody else had access to that
particular channel. Watching the matches with such a big crowd was a wonderful
experience which I still cherish.
I completed my 10th standard also during the same
year and moved out of my village. I don’t know whether the new generation in my
village is so enthusiastic about soccer now.
For me this is the second world cup after settling down in
Delhi and the first one after getting married. I don’t know whether I would be
able to enjoy all the matches this time with my wife and an 18-month-old son
around. Anyways, Argentina will remain my favourites this time too as always.
New heroes will emerge in the game but my football heroes
will always be players like Gabriel Batistuta, Ariel Ortega and Juan Roman
Riquelme of Argentina; Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldinho of Brazil; Patrick
Kluivert and Edgar Davids of Holland; Roberto Baggio and Paolo Maldini of
Italy; Zidane of France; Figo of Portugal; Beckham and Steven Gerard of England
(Gerard is playing in this world cup as well); and, of course, Baichung Bhutia
and I.M Vijayan of India!!!!! For, they all belong to the times when I enjoyed
the game most.
(Photo courtesy: www.npr.org)
