Soon after Belgium authored a famous victory over a much more celebrated Brazil at the World Cup in Russia, several young men distributed sweets at the little-known village of Kavanoor in Malappuram late Friday night.
Those fans were not celebrating Belgium’s victory. They were all Argentina fans and were relieved that arch-rival Brazil too went out, like their team.
The defeat of Argentina, to France in the round of 16, was bad enough for Malabar. Now that Brazil is also out of the World Cup, the fans in the region are disappointed. The majority of football followers here swear by Brazil or Argentina.
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There are, however, fans for teams from Europe – a country from that continent will be crowned the World Cup winner next Sunday – too. Like Ilf Kadooran, who painted the door of his ancestral house at Kavanoor in blue, white, and red, the colours in France’s flag.
But, most of the house, though, resembles flags of Brazil and Argentina. Kadooran’s cousins, Nabeel and Rahees had ensured that.
“I never imagined that Brazil will be knocked out so early,” says Nabeel. “Most members of our family are supporters of either Brazil or Argentina, but my aunt Khadeeja has been a diehard fan of France. I have to switch allegiance to France, now.”
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For France
About 40 km away at Kozhikode, Schiller Jos, an orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in sports medicine, too is cheering for France, from where he had done his post-graduation. “Unlike most of my colleagues and friends, I have always supported the European teams,” he says. “I am looking forward to the semifinal clash between France and Belgium. While I was studying at Pierre-et-Marie Curie University in Paris, I used to drive to Belgium on weekends.”
Belgium could hardly be seen on the flex boards by fans ahead of the World Cup. Brazil and Argentina had of course dominated the hoardings. “Now we have to pull down those flex boards,” says Nabeel.
“Fans of all teams have agreed to do that; otherwise they will be removed by the rival supporters.”