A slice of Kolkata in Russian stadium cheers Brazil to victory

KOLKATA: Shyam Sundar De, a 40-year-old resident of New Town, spent Wednesday being swept by the samba wave, seated inside Spartak Stadium that was bristling with Brazil fans. De recorded every moment of the extremely engaging 90 minutes that had his favourite team riding a tidal wave of soccer fans’ emotion and emerging the winner.
“Even if I wasn’t sporting a ‘canarinho’ (canary) yellow garb, I was one with them.We were all staunch Brazil supporters and that’s all that mattered,” De told TOI from Moscow.
“We laughed and cried together. It was a wonderful ambience because 90% of the spectators were Brazil fans. It was magical, different people from different countries supporting one team,” said De.
Since he was seated near the goalpost, De saw Neymar up close. “He kept interacting with us, making us laugh, responding every time we cheered for him,” he said.
Ankit Aditya, 27, from Dum Dum, had also watched Neymar closely from the Spartak stands. “But my mind was somewhere else. I wanted to know if Germany was losing. Can’t forget how Brazil’s World Cup dreams had ended in the most humiliating and brutal fashion in the 2014 World Cup. I’m thrilled to know that I was there to witness a Brazilian victory on a day Germany was kicked out of the World Cup. It was sweet revenge.”
Not all Kolkatans in Spartak were as aggressive, however. Some were Argentina fans and were rooting for Brazil on Wednesday. Kolkata, in fact, is historically supportive of Brazil and Argentina, sometimes both.
“Our city’s emotions for Brazil and Argentina are a sign of solidarity with two Latin American nations that share a history of colonial tyranny,” said Satadru Dutta, who idolizes both Neymar and Maradona.
Just back from Russia, where he had watched Brazil beat Costa Rica 2-0, and Phillippe Coutinho and Neymar send yellow-shirted stands into a frenzy at St Petersburg Stadium, he stayed put before the TV on Wednesday. “I was a little disappointed with Neymar yesterday. He needs to excel more, like Messi and Ronaldo,” said Dutta, who has clicked snaps with Pele and Neymar, having played a key role in getting Pele to Kolkata in October 2011.