For fans who have followed Brazil and other football powerhouses at World Cup venues abroad, Saturday’s India-Brazil friendly at Salt Lake Stadium offered a different but equally special experience
The Switzerland game was at Stadium 974, which was built using several containers. His World Cup journey continued in the US, where he stayed for 14 days with his son Rishiraj, a class 12 student. An Argentina fan who had travelled to Qatar to watch several matches involving his favourite team, Saha turned up at Salt Lake with around 50 others, carrying national flags and wearing Argentina’s familiar blue-and-white colours — but cheering for India this time.
It was an awesome experience,” he said. The experience was unforgettable,” Banik said. “Stadiums abroad cannot be compared with the ones in India, but Saturday’s match was extremely well organised and we had a great time,” he said. That is where the real change needs to begin,” he said.
Kolkata : For fans who have followed Brazil and other football powerhouses at World Cup venues abroad, Saturday’s India-Brazil friendly at Salt Lake Stadium offered a different but equally special experience — watching the Selecao in action much closer home. Among them was Salt Lake resident Raja Banik, who arrived at the stadium in the same Brazil jersey he had worn while travelling to watch World Cup matches in Qatar and the US. “At Qatar, I watched almost all the league matches involving Brazil. I particularly remember Brazil’s matches against Cameroon and Switzerland. “I watched the quarter-final and semi-final matches. The quarter-final was Argentina against Switzerland and the semi-final was Spain against France. he was impressed by Saturday’s arrangements While he felt Indian stadiums could not yet match the facilities abroad. For Uttam Saha of Gangulybagan, the occasion carried a different twist. “We happily watch the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro, Copa America and European club football. We know the statistics, transfers and performances of foreign players. But how many of us regularly follow Indian football?
Banik, who came with four friends, was supporting India on Saturday despite wearing Brazil colours.