Excited Indian football fans admitted to divided loyalties as they looked forward to their country’s first-ever friendly with the mighty Brazil in Kolkata on Saturday.
Five-time World Cup winners Brazil have a huge fanbase in the football-mad eastern city, where many people could be seen sporting their iconic yellow jerseys as the game approached.
India, ranked 138th in the world, are massive underdogs going into the match, due to start at 7:30 pm (1400 GMT) at Salt Lake Stadium.
“We are very excited. Many of us will be in the stadium while the rest will watch the match on TV,” Joydeep Pal, 30, a member of a Brazil fan club in Kolkata, told AFP.
“We have seen the Brazilian stars like Vini Junior, Danilo Santos and Endrick on TV. Now, it’s a big opportunity for us to see them setting the stadium on fire.
“But our heart is split between our love for Brazil and our country,” said Pal. “We will pray for India to win the match.”
India have never qualified for a World Cup, and football, while popular, plays second fiddle in a cricket-mad nation.
Fans have travelled from across the country to watch their favourite stars in action at the 65,000-capacity stadium.
“I watched Brazil’s 2002 World Cup (win) on TV that got me hooked to football, and have since followed them,” Mimin, a 31-year-old engineer who travelled with his partner from the northeastern state of Manipur, told AFP.
“I will stay neutral in the game and enjoy football rather than taking sides,” he said.
A heavy security presence was in place near the stadium, with organisers keen to avoid a repeat of the chaos that hit the city when Argentine star Lionel Messi visited in December.
Frustrated fans broke down barricades and stormed the pitch at the same venue after Messi abruptly left the arena.
Brazil have brought their own personnel to protect players’ safety.
“We have made extensive security and traffic arrangements to ensure the match passes off without any untoward incident,” police commissioner Rathod Amitkumar Bharat told reporters.
“This time, spectators will have to pass through three layers of security before stepping into the stadium,” Bharat added.
Fans are banned from bringing in “banners, hoardings, posters, umbrellas and water bottles”, he said.
