The World Cup is merely a day away and this is the time when once every four years, loyalties and age old friendships are traded for footballing pride
– While Goa has been known to support Portugal and Brazil, new trends also see a spike in the support of other teams
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FERNANDO MONTE DA SILVA / Team Café
Once in every four years comes a time when friendships are put aside and familial ties come to a standstill. Most people have an international team that becomes their ‘exclusive property’ for a month and this property transcends all else, be it love, companionship or any other tie that does not approve of this allegiance. This has been the way that things have run for some time in this one-time Portuguese colony, where the footballing fever is thoroughly ingrained via strong lingering Iberian influence. This is the craze that calls itself the World Cup.
While it is no secret that Portugal (and to an extent, Brazil) has a large following in Goa, some fans believe that if India were to participate in the tournament, they would garner fans’ sympathy as well. One such opinion is that of Alton Fernandes, the Manager of popular beachfront hangout, Boomerang, in Colva. “I will support Portugal as it is literally a genetically engineered crazed following in Goa. We believe in the team. However, if India were to participate, I believe that Portugal would be my second choice and India first,” he states.
For some fans, a major deciding factor will lie in the fact that their nation of choice may have players on the pitch from their preferred club, hence tilting their allegiances. One such fan is engineer Elroy Carlos Figueiredo from Aldona, who says, “I will be supporting Germany and have been their follower since the 2010 edition of the World Cup. They have an extremely good squad, with a mix of young blood and experienced players. One reason for me supporting them is that they have three Arsenal players in the team. One of whom, Per Mertesacker, is one of my favourite players. As far as my plans for the tournament go, I plan on going the whole hog by buying the Germany kit and going to watch every single match with my friends and cousins, whenever I can.”
For some Goan fans, stranded away from home during the world’s greatest footballing spectacle, the experience is one that is bittersweet. Rohit Rebelo, a local lad from Verna who is the Programme Ambassador at the Grenoble Business School in France, avers, “This World Cup will be a little different as I am living in France and hence it will be interesting to watch the French team alongside their supporters. I support England and always have since I was a child and my allegiance to the team started in the days of David Beckham and Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers which pretty much was a by-product of my love for Manchester United. I will miss being in Goa though, because I grew up there and it was a very different environment with the Portuguese influence. This is the first time I am residing in a country that is participating in the World Cup, but one does feel the love for football ingrained in our culture in a very different way than it is in France.”
On the flipside of that very equation, there are some foreign nationals who live in Goa and are away from their participating home nation. One such example is that of Oscar de Sequeira Nazareth, a Loutolim based entrepreneur. “I will always be a Portugal fan. While I might not always be clued in to who makes the squad and who doesn’t, it’s where I grew up. It’s my nationality. For me, it is as simple as that. I’ll miss being there, of course, especially given that right now the weather is great and the whole nation is getting ready to enjoy the World Cup in a way that even Goa doesn’t get close to. I will support the team for as far as they get and if they’re eliminated, I would switch allegiance to Brazil, not just because of their reputation or because they are the host nation, but because they speak Portuguese,” he says.
However, while Portugal and Brazil continue to be the mainstay of the fanatical following on an international front, there are some fans whose opinions differ. “This World Cup, I’ll be supporting Argentina, with Spain second on my list. Messi is a brilliant player to watch and what is fantastic about both squads is that they play together as a team, rather than as a group of individuals. Brazil is a good team too, but they win too often and I think that it’s time for a change! As the matches will air fairly late, I’ll be watching them along with my family from the comfort of my home, with Whatsapp to stay synced with friends from the footballing world,” says Jeanine Soares, a graphic designer from Borda.
Whether friend, foe, rival or neutral, the next one month promises to be nothing short of exhilarating.
