MOSCOW: After Argentina had edged past Nigeria at St Petersburg stadium and secured qualification to the knockout rounds, hundreds of their fans turned the St Petersburg metro lines into a party hall. They played their pipes, beat their drums and sang the greatest hits together.
The one they sang the most often though was one that they had come up with the tournament before.
“Brazil, decime que se siente. Tener en casa tu papa. Te juro que aunque pasen losanos. Nunca nos vamos a olvidar. Que el Diego te gambeteo.” (Brazil, tell us how it feels, to have your dad come home and boss you around. I swear that even if years pass, I will never forget that Maradona outskilled you.)
The World Cup is as much a celebration of fans as it is of football and what’s a party without music? When people from all over the world descended upon Russia, they brought with them songs and chants that were a reflection of their fandom.
The aforementioned Argentina song is, of course, a direct reply to the long-standing Brazilian chant — Mil goals, mil goals, So Pele, So Pele, Maradona cheirador. (A thousand goals, a thousand goals. Only Pele, only Pele. Maradona’s smelling coke). Another one of the Brazilians’ hit numbers goes ‘Eu sou Brasileiro, com muito orgulho, com muito amor (I am Brazilian, proud and with lots of love)’.
Another World Cup favourite heard often in Russia is Germany’s ‘Auf geht’s deutschland schiebt ein tor’ — Come on Germany, score a goal!. The French too have the oft-repeated ‘Allez Le Bleus’ which captured the country’s imagination during their 1998 World Cup triumph. The Belgian’s signature chant is more recent and was first heard aloud during the last Euros. ‘Tous Ensemble’ reflects the social divide that the country is going through and is a perfect war cry for their multicultural team — it literally means ‘all together’.
England, meanwhile, have come to the party with their usual numbers ‘Football’s coming home’ and ‘Come on England’. But some of their fans have come up with a song tailor-made for Russia. “Woaah, England are in Russia. Woaah, drinking all the vodka. Woaah, England’s going all the way,” it goes.
Most of the minnows resort to just chanting their country’s name — case in point is Russia whose supporters just shout ‘Ra-Si-Ya’ every time the host nation plays.
But Nigeria have come armed with a song that has a link to affairs back home. Their ‘There is God, oh!’ (pronounced Diaris God O) is a reference to a video that went viral in the country, featuring their former first lady Patience Jonathan.
Not all songs are fun and games though. For a World Cup deemed at risk of homophobic incidents, the only one to have happened featured Mexican fans and their practice of building up to an opposition goal kick with cries of ‘eeeh’ and then shouting ‘Puto!’ when the ball is kicked. The term is a slang for a male sex worker and many of Mexico’s players have urged their fans to stop the chant. FIFA has already said the opening of disciplinary proceedings into the incidents.