KOCHI: It was a blissful evening in Kochi. Hours before kickoff, fans began trooping into the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium and the roads and the adjacent metro station were flooded with yellow and blue jerseys.
If anything, the clock appeared to have been turned back for many fans to witness a match of their dreams: Brazilian legends Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, and their celebrated teammates lining up against India’s own I M Vijayan and Bhaichung Bhutia. Any 90s kid would perhaps have wished to put on these jerseys and be at the iconic venue to soak in the magic of the beautiful game. After the ISL break, Kochi had come alive again with quality football.
Inside, the 40,000-seater Kaloor stadium — despite an inadequate promotion of the ‘Return of the Titans’ exhibition match — was filled more than half. While the fans of Blue Tigers took their seats in allegiance with Indian All Stars, the stands also sparkled with the famed yellow of the Little Canaries. Accompanied by the beat of drums and the buzz of vuvuzelas, chants for Vijayan and Ronaldinho rang around the stadium. And by 7.30 pm, it was ‘Samba’ time, with the unmatched rhythm of Latin American football on display before an eager audience.
Both teams began on an attacking note, with Indian forwards pressing against the Brazilian defence. While India’s C K Vineeth’s stunning shot on the run missed the post early on, Ronaldinho failed to score off a freekick from outside the box. In the 14th minute, Vineeth did the unthinkable with a cool finish — India took the lead against the ‘five-time world champions’!
In the 21st minute, a penalty helped the Brazil Legends open their scoring. And Keralam witnessed the moment the fans had waited for long: with a crisp strike, Ronaldinho found the left bottom corner of the goal and the stadium roared in delight. Thereafter, the Canaries did not hold back. In quick succession, the ball rushed past the Indian goalkeeper three more times.
By the middle of the second half, the Indian All Stars were pushed into defence by a hat-trick from Fernandinho. But the disappointment did not last long. The ‘Blue Tigers’ roared right back. Vineeth struck again to make it 4-2. And right before the final whistle, Indian All Stars reduced the deficit further through Ashim Biswas, as the contest ended 4-3 in favour of the Brazil Legends. Acknowledging the ovation, Ronaldinho left the pitch in the final minutes, with the ‘dance of the legends’ in Kochi wrapping up in 60 minutes.
The fans were understandably thrilled. Siju Kumar had come with his young son, Devayod, to show him the legends of his time playing for real. Little Devayod, an ardent Lionel Messi fan, is too young to have known the Brazilian magic of the 2002 World Cup triumph, but was delighted to have watched the game.
“It was splendid,” he said shyly, clinging to his dad. Like Devayod and Siju from Puthenkurish, the stadium had many families in attendance, with parents bringing in their young ones to show them a piece of their childhood. Outside the stadium, there was a duo clad in India’s blue: Rahul Raj and Philip Kunjimon from Thiruvananthapuram.
“This is the first time we travelled to Kochi to watch a match,” Philip said.
“The Indians were a bit sloppy at times but they did give a tough fight to the Brazilians. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience... watching the legendary Ronaldinho, which we never expected to happen in our lifetime, and we couldn’t miss this opportunity,” he added.