Brazil and South Korea’s match on Tuesday morning clearly showed that Team Brazil means business and the remaining competitors at this stage of the tournament must sit up and take note!
Already considered favourites and one of the strongest contenders, Tuesday’s outcome (against South Korea) has further bolstered Brazil’s chances further.
It is needless to say that Brazil’s thumping win has had a huge impact on the football-fanatic Kolkatans and those who rooted for the South Korean team are demoralised.
Thanks to the popularity of K-pop and K-drama, Kolkata has shown interest in Korean football too and the fans were (needless to say) crestfallen after the 4-1 defeat.
Demand for Korean jerseys slump
After two years of pandemic and lockdown, the Maidan market vendors are beaming, thanks to the ongoing FIFA World Cup at Qatar and the T20 Cricket World Cup in November.
Along with Brazil, Argentina and Germany, there was good demand for South Korean jerseys and flags. On Tuesday afternoon, while the demand for Brazil and Argentina was steadily picking up, there weren't many takers for the Korean ones. “Korea is out of the tournament and football fans are in no mood to purchase (South Korean) jerseys and flags,” said Mohammed Shamim, a vendor of Maidan market. However, the vendors are hopeful that the remaining stock would be sold out in a few months.
“Many youngsters purchase and wear South Korean jerseys for fashion throughout the year. Cho Gue-sung and Chang-hoon have a huge fan following,” Shamim added.
Crestfallen K-drama fans
Interestingly, most of these Korean football fans are actually K-drama and K-pop fans. They got introduced to Korean culture through the country’s cinema and music and are now supporting the football team.
Samraggi Chatterjee, a first-year student at Jadavpur University, had watched the match with her friends at a city pub. “I really hoped that South Korea would do well. Japan defeated Germany, Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina and so we hoped that Korea would defeat Brazil!” she added. Samraggi said even a few years ago, she wasn’t interested in sports, but was an avid follower of K-drama. “I started reading about the country and its culture. So, when the World Cup arrived, it was obvious that I would support the South Korean team,” she added.
K-pop fan Kingshuk Sengupta, who is learning Korean to know more about the country’s culture, also supports the country’s football team. “Even though I knew that Korea could not defeat Brazil, I was really disappointed with the outcome. I really hoped to see Korea win the match,” he added.
Internet Memes
It was not just South Korean fans, but also the jittery German and Spain fans who supported Korea and following their defeat, internet memes have flooded cyberspace. Actress Ushasie Chakraborty, a Brazilian fan, posted a poem mocking the anti-Brazil brigade in Kolkata. Meanwhile, an Argentinian fan wrote, “I do not understand the craze over Team Brazil. They lost against Cameroon and now they are celebrating a win against a C-grade team. Please do not try to scare the God of football Messi with a 4-1 win against South Korea,” his post read.