KANNUR: The World Cup will kick off in Qatar on Sunday and Kannur is already in a football frenzy. Flags of Germany, France, Portugal are visible in the city and its outskirts, but the real battle is between the fans of traditional South American rivals Brazil and Argentina.
Most roads, bus shelters and vehicles are all painted either yellow or light blue and white, the team colours of Brazil and Argentina, respectively. In Patyam, a remote village in the district, the design on the outer wall of Argentina fan Shinith Patyam’s house at Meethale Purayil at Muthiyanga resembles a La Albiceleste shirt. It is arousing the villagers’ curiosity.
People from across Patyam panchayat and beyond come to watch the 18-foot long, 10-foot high painting by artist Shyju K Malur, who is a friend of Shinith. They also take photographs and videos and share them on social media.
The painting has French existentialist writer Jean Paul Sartre’s quote: “In football, everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team.”On the left is a big illustration of legendary Diego Maradona, with an aura around his head. Then there is the current team led by Lionel Messi, who is seen marching towards the World Cup along with fans. On the right hand corner is the slogan “Long live football, long live humanity and vamos Argentina”.
Shinith, 39, who became a fan of Argentina when he first watched Maradona in action, believes the Latin American country will regain the World Cup this time. “This isn’t madness. Argentina has not lost a single match in the last three years and looks formidable with the likes of Messi, Paulo Dybala, Angel Di Maria and Lisandro Martinez in their ranks. I’ve been following their journey for long,” said Shinith, who is the secretary of the district sports council.
“I don’t knew exactly when I started supporting this team of romantics. I do remember reading about Maradona, Ariel Ortega and Gabriel Batistuta in sports magazines. As a youngster, these names and their deeds had captivated my imagination and I became an ardent fan of the team ever since then,” Shinith said.“I’ve been with this team for the past 25 years. I believe my team will emerge as the world champions this year,” he said.
Talk of the town