I started watching football at the tender age of 14.It all began with the 2002 world cup. My family watched the game with much zeal and ardour but i could not figure out that when India's not playing.,why is everyone head over heels in love with this game.With time I realized that if my own nation is not playing atleast I can watch the matches with an unbiased perspective of a sports enthusiast,than being influenced by patriotic feelings...and it was at this pooint that I started following the game.In no time I became a fan of DAVID BECKHAM..to the extent that I began cheering for the English team even when i liked only Mr.Beckham in the whole squad.I still remember the quarter final match between England and Brazil in which I went against my entire family to support the britons,and I can still recall my disappointment after the match.It was the first time that I showed my iconoclastic capabilities and i could not bear it all going in vain.It was this match that made me a bit hostile towards the brazilians and I decided never to support them in the future.
But can any football freak ignore the magic of brazil???the answer is NO,and this was precisely what happened to me. I continued viewing the matches and BRAZIL continued moving more and more towards the cup.By the time they reached the finals,I was forced to change my opinion of them.Their game won me over and I felt that not supporting them would be an injustice to football.
11 men ...........calm and composed...running through the grounds to get hold of that 1 ball....a ball that could change their destiny...a ball that could bestow on them limitless glory...a ball that could end their career forever...but these 11 men in yellow seem oblivious to these facts.What are they doing??? they are simply enjoying the game...fiddling with the ball,tossing it up, moving it down.They laugh when they miss out a shot on the goal ....and they are equally at ease when they score one. They seem to be untouched by the pressures of the sport.They don't care if the opposite team trips them or hurts them...no.. they are too immersed in their game to observe all this..They dont fight for CORNERS,PENALTIES and strokes,they know they won't relish these..because it makes it all too simple...they score field goals.which are their passion.
This is the BRAZILIAN team which won the world cup in 2002.This spirit of theirs got them 5 cups so far and it is this spirit which makes them the most popular team in the world..and this made me recognize the essence of football with the BRAZILIANS....and I have remained a faithful fan of this team ever since.....
This charisma was not quite visible in most of the matches of the 2010 world cup.However it came out in traces in the match against SLOVAKIA.Now the team is no longer in the race for the cup....and the expectations which rose after its match with slovakia can no longer be fulfilled.... and this is what replaces the zest with a void....
World champians or not BRAZIL continues to rule my heart...
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wonderfully formed....i loved reading it.excellent use of the words.i could never imagine a girl writing like this about football :P(yeah,i know that is sexist,but...)
ReplyDeleteyour analysis of the team was perfect to the dot.Dunga,the coach,although a strict disciplinarian,didn't retain the samba flavour in the team.and now the whole world cup is ruined :'(
i can go on like this for a whole new blog post.
anyway,good post.keep going.also,nice to know that u like the team which plays well,not the one which looks better.
brasil forever!