PANJIM: The biggest football extravaganza commences on Sunday. Thirty-two teams of differing expertise will contest for the FIFA World Cup. It is without question the most viewed sporting event in the world. That truism holds for Goa too.
For Goans, the overwhelming favourites appear to be Portugal. And it’s certainly the case for Conrad Barretto. His reasons? Portugal have very good players and is the only nation to appear at every World Cup from 2002. But are they in form? Barretto replied, “They’ll miss the work rate of winger Diogo Jota while superstar striker Cristiano Ronaldo is now looking at his age for the first time in his career. Getting past Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea isn’t going to be easy. I think they will finish second or third in the group.”
Goa, he said, has historic connections with the Portuguese and their culture and traditions are followed by Goans. Portugal featured again in the conversation with Satchel D’Silva. He said “They have Ronaldo and fresh talent like midfielder Matheus Nunes and winger Rafael Leao breaking through the ranks and playing well for their clubs.”
Speaking of Goa’s fascination with Portugal and Brazil, he said the players from these countries have had a huge influence on fans in the State. He hoped to see a Portugal-Argentina final and watch the battle of the greatest players of our generation if not all time.
Without a doubt, Portugal is the team to be followed by several fans in the State. Omi, a musician and football enthusiast, said, “Portugal always resonated with Goa due to the historical links and also many sharing Portuguese names.”
Omi added, “There always has been a Portuguese superstar, be it Eusebio, Luis Figo and now CR7. Most the younger generation of supported Portugal only because of Ronaldo. Portugal has always been an unpredictable side which means one ever knows which side would turn up on a given day.”
Omi hopes CR7 would be able to lift the World Cup which would be a perfect farewell to the best player of our generation.
For veteran fan Conal Lobo, the World Cup is possibly the most open in 20 years. He said, “In an ideal world I would like to see Portugal win but they are not good enough. Teams like Argentina, France, Brazil and The Netherlands are the top dogs. They can win the World Cup. Teams like England and Belgium can cause an upset or two. I hope a team out of Africa does magic and goes far into the tournament.”