Doha Diary: Argentina fans finally bringing the colour to this World Cup
BRINGING THE COLOUR: Argentina's soccer fans gather holding a life-size cutout figure of late soccer star Diego Maradona on the eve of the World Cup group C soccer match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia, in Doha. Pic: AP Photo/Jorge Saenz
No World Cup has had a longer lead-in than this one. Now that it’s here, Qatar 2022 doesn’t seem to want to leave. The games have seen an extraordinary amount of added time, England’s clash with Iran topping the lot with an extra 29 minutes on Monday. Across the day’s three games there was a full 59 minutes of additional football. While FIFA haven’t yet commented on whether this is a specific diktat, it certainly looks that way. But perhaps not for long.
Wednesday will see Janny Sikazwe take charge of his first tournament game. The Zambian official earned notoriety in January’s Africa Cup of Nations game between Mali and Tunisia. Sikazwe got confused and blew the final whistle on 85 minutes. After the error was pointed out, he ordered the game to restart, only to again end it 13 seconds before time. One to watch.
With many reports of the organisers having flown in fans for free, the conflicts are rarely far from the surface at this tournament. Sometimes they’re particularly stark. Stopping for an overpriced flat white at Msheireb metro station, Doha’s main terminal where all three lines connect, on Tuesday morning we were met with quite the vision.
A fan decked out in a brand spanking new Argentina jersey was carrying a huge Saudi Arabia flag. We enquired where he was from? “India, sir.” That information having cleared up absolutely nothing, we asked why the split loyalties? “Well Argentina I have to support but Saudi, it is my heart. So now I hope for a draw.” And why did he ‘have to’ support the Argies? “Because that is my team.” Ah, lovely. Clear as a desert storm.
Tuesday was the Examiner’s first audacious bid to boldly go where we’d never gone before — two World Cup games in the one day. A metro ride from base camp north to the gleaming Lusail Stadium, one of the most easily accessible, for the Argentina-Saudi clash was the easy part.
The trek all the way south for France and Australia in the late kick off in Al Janoub was only undertaken with the assurance of a FIFA shuttle bus. It wasn’t without its hairy moments but mission was accomplished. A truer test comes in a tighter window Thursday when we try to make the second and fourth matches of the day. There will be stress…and sweat.
The Argentinians, bless them to the heavens, are doing their absolute best to ensure that Qatar 2022 feels like a proper World Cup. Here in their droves, opening wallets and lungs once more, it seems as if two or three out of every five fans has come from Buenos Aires and beyond. One notable change from previous editions though: almost none of them in papal regalia.
As proud of Francis as their deity with No.10 on his back, you’re usually sure to see plenty of Pope-a-likes. Given how every other non-local cultural symbol has been treated here thus far, perhaps they’ve made the smart call.
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