The FIFA World Cup is a unique time to be in India’s footballing capital of Kolkata. Not least because it is the only period during which practically every neighbourhood is lined with flags. Flags that are not Indian. From Brazil to Spain, from Argentina to Germany, from Portugal to England to France, all the footballing heavyweights have their territories neatly marked as football fever grips Kolkata.
Haridevpur’s 41 Pally club is no exception to World Cup fanfare this winter, but what sets it apart is that it is one of the few localities in the city that seem evenly split between Brazil and Argentina fans, the two teams that draw the largest support from Kolkatans. Every four years, the members of 41 Pally club come together to decorate their neighbourhood’s streets with flags, posters, cutouts and other forms of World Cup insignia. The neighbourhood is not among the city’s most densely populated, but the noise its football fans make during Brazil or Argentina games can fill a small stadium.
‘Last time in 2018, we had a massive cutout of Neymar as well as one of the World Cup trophy’
Among those screaming their lungs out on most evenings is Dipayan Chatterjee, 32, who has been supporting Brazil ever since he started watching football. An employee at a construction company, Dipayan is the go-to person when it comes to decorations and street art during World Cups. “We deck up the neighbourhood during every single World Cup. Last time in 2018, we had a massive cutout of Neymar as well as one of the World Cup trophy. Things haven’t been as big this year, since we couldn’t raise as much money through sponsorships,” says Dipayan, who fell in love with Brazil thanks to the flair and flamboyance of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. “I remember watching Roberto Carlos’s ‘banana kick’ goal on repeat on Orkut, back when YouTube wasn’t mainstream,” says Dipayan, who is also a huge admirer of Cafu, even managing to get the legendary right-back’s autograph on his recent visit to the city. Dipayan also owns a football signed by the likes of Diego Forlan, Romario and Branco.
‘Brazil can go all the way and win the World Cup’
Brazil fans are optimistic of their team’s chances in Qatar Debrup Chaudhuri
Does Dipayan think that Brazil can go all the way in Qatar? “Brazil are heavily loaded in attack, have great depth and chemistry. I have a lot of expectations from this team,” he replies, at once optimistic and reasonable. While Dipayan has a soft spot for Neymar, he, much like the rest of the footballing world, was left in awe after Richarlison’s exquisite scissor kick against Serbia. “It’s the kind of moment you stay up all night to watch,” describes Dipayan.
Fellow Brazil supporter Sombit Dutta is more gung-ho about his favourite team. “I have full confidence that Brazil can win the World Cup,” says Sombit, 30, a musician who has been following Brazil since the 2002 World Cup, the last time they were champions of the world. “Everyone in my family roots for Brazil, so it was natural for me to do the same as a kid. Growing up, I used to enjoy watching Ronaldo or El Phenomenon the most. He was electrifying,” gushes Sombit, who adores Richarlison from the current crop.
‘Most of the people in this locality who support Brazil had taken up the mantle to support Argentina’
Presently, Brazil posters, cutouts and wall decor outnumber those for Argentina at 41 Pally Debrup Chaudhuri
On the other side of the fence, Sagnik Mukherjee stepped up to represent the voices of the Argentina fans of 41 Pally. Working with a sports agency right now, the 32-year-old first watched Argentina in 1998, and was left dazzled by their thumping 5-0 win against Jamaica. Sagnik’s all-time favourite Argentine player is Gabriel Batistuta, who scored a hat-trick in that game against Jamaica. Asked who his favourite player in the current squad is, Sagnik said: “It’s Messi, but I want to make it clear that I’m not a Messi fanboy, in the sense that I’ve been supporting Argentina long before Messi emerged.”
Notwithstanding his Argentina allegiance, Sagnik is not partisan, and was seen cheering along with the Brazil fans of 41 Pally when Casemiro broke the deadlock in a tight game for Brazil against Switzerland in the group stage. Even though the para is divided in its loyalty towards the South American giants, there is no place for blind hatred. “I remember watching the 2014 World Cup final, when Argentina faced Germany on Brazilian soil. Most of the people in this locality who support Brazil had taken up the mantle to support Argentina for that game. Even though Argentina lost the match and the World Cup, watching that final with everyone in the para on a giant screen was one of my most memorable football viewing experiences,” recollects Sagnik.
In Qatar, Argentina’s stop-start performances so far have not exactly delighted Sagnik, but he feels “the team can get its act together and go hard for the rest of the tournament”. Sagnik also acknowledges that the Argentina unit “looks very different from the one that won the Copa America in 2021. They looked like wild beasts in that tournament and destroyed Brazil in the final. I can only hope they can show some of the same energy here.”
Should Brazil and Argentina make it past Croatia and the Netherlands, respectively, 41 Pally will be in for the ultimate showdown. A Brazil-Argentina semi-final with the intriguing subplot of Messi versus Neymar for a place in the World Cup final. For their part, the Brazilian fans are already preparing a massive cutout of the entire Brazilian squad to celebrate what they feel is an imminent sixth world title. Over to the Argentina fans to see if they can be inspired by Messi’s creativity and their neighbour’s competition and come up with something equally special.