After Germany’s loss, I could not sleep that night, says Thalaivasal Vijay

With the FIFA World Cup reaching the semi-final stage, the buzz around it has only gotten bigger, and even our film celebs are caught up in it. Kollywood actor Thalaivasal Vijay, who has been part of films like Bell Bottom and Radhe Shyam, has just returned from watching three World Cup matches live in Qatar and opened up to us about his experience.
“I love sports, and follow football, Wimbledon and hockey, as I played for the Madras University when studying in Guru Nanak College.Though I’m not into club football, I’ve been a huge fan of the German football team since 1988. I had performed along with Chandralekha in Stuttgart, Leverkusen and Frankfurt that year, and had the privilege of watching the UEFA. Since then, I became crazy about the German team,” says the actor, who names German players like Franz Beckenbauer, Lothar Matthäus, Jürgen Klinsmann, Rudi Völler, Thomas Müller and Oliver Kahn as some of his favourites.

Vijay says that it was a treat to watch the matches live. “It was one of the top things on my bucket list. But sathiyama nenachu paakala that I’d be going to this World Cup. My cousin, who is in Kolkata and is an ardent football fan, asked me if we could go to the World Cup, and I told him I was ready if he got the tickets. He somehow managed to get a couple of tickets through the Bangladesh Football Association. This was in September, I think. Luckily, I only had one film commitment — RJ Balaji’s Singapore Saloon — that needed to be rescheduled. So, I requested the team, and with Balaji being a cricket fan (he had just then completed broadcasting for the T20 World Cup), he was quite understanding,” he recalls.
The eight-day trip didn’t really cost much, he informs. “We left on November 30 and came back on December 7. From the tickets for three matches to the travelling and staying, our expenses got covered in under ₹2 lakh. We even got an upgrade to watch the Germany v Costa Rica match from the stadium’s lounge,” he says.

However, the actor admits that he couldn’t let himself loose entirely while watching the matches. “Honestly, I wanted to freak out at the stadium. But then, in Qatar, there’s a huge expat population, which comprises Tamils, Malayalis, Telugu people and Sri Lankan Tamils. These people recognised me and wanted to click selfies with me, so I had to behave myself,” he laughs.
In Qatar, he says he opted to stay in the football village that had been built for fans coming to watch the tournament. “I stayed in the fan village, where over 4,000 containers were converted into rooms, with two single beds, a small fridge, AC, a toilet and a bathroom. So, 8,000 people of different nationalities and languages were gathered there. We’d all make a cup of tea and gather in front of our cabins, and it was an incredible feeling,” he recalls.
Between the matches that he saw at the stadium, he caught up with the rest of the matches on the giant screen that was placed outside the football village, adds the actor.

Vijay says he watched live the matches between Australia and Denmark, France and Poland, and Germany and Costa Rica, a crucial game, which he says he would never forget in his lifetime.
“Germany was kind of overconfident and had taken Japan lightly, which had led to their loss. So, the Costa Rica match was a decider, with the winner having the chance to move on to the next round. Simultaneously, Japan was playing Spain in another stadium. Everyone thought Spain would beat Japan, and Germany would win over Costa Rica and the two teams would go on to the next round. Around half-time, they flashed news of Japan beating Spain on the screens in the stadium. Germany was three goals up then, but once they got wind of it, the body language of the German players changed. They hadjust 15 minutes to score three more goals if they had to qualify. And Costa Rica went on the defensive, and did not allow them to score. So, despite Germany winning the match, it felt like we were walking out of a funeral when we stepped out of the stadium because both Germany and Costa Rica were out of the World Cup,” he recalls, “After that loss, I could not sleep that night. The irony was that I had bought a T-shirt in the colours that the German players wear for 90 pounds on Oxford Street in London while shooting for Kalidas Jayaram’s Kadhal Konjam Thookala, especially for this match!”
Now, the actor is betting on France to win the cup. He is also impressed with Qatar’s organisation of the tournament. “This is a wellorganised World Cup. Despite the kind of crowd getting into Qatar during this season, it took hardly two minutes for me to clear immigration at their airport. They issue you a Hayya card instead of a visa, and that has the entire history of your visit… the matches you are watching, the place you are staying, your passport number.! That was enough for us to move around as we could show that on the Metro and on buses and travel for free. I met an Australian woman who told me that this was the first time she never faced any booing during a football match. I was told women could walk alone on the streets even at midnight and feel safe in Qatar because the punishment for misbehaving with women is very severe. There was also no beer outside the stadium, which solved most of the issues,” he signs off.