Five weeks ahead of the World Cup 2014 final, to be played halfway across the world in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium, Brazil defeated Argentina 2-1 on June 8 in the Dream Final played out at the poor man’s Maracana, the Kottappadi Football Stadium in Kerala’s Malappuram district.
As Brazil scored its second goal, thousands of crazed soccer fans, drawn from the interior villages of Malappuram, erupted in excitement forgetting that this was just a symbolic match .
M.P. Zakeer from the Brazil Fans’ Team, wearing Neymar’s No. 10 yellow jersey, secured the second goal at the 47{+t}{+h} minute in the one-hour match. The blue-clad Argentine team, which includes Azeez Cherukara, wearing Lionel Messi’s No. 10 jersey, made a valiant effort to win the Dream Final, but in vain.
The Dream Final organized by Youth FC, Malappuram, and played mostly by professional footballers, epitomized Malappuram district’s soccer mania. Who won was immaterial, the entire packed stadium enjoyed the exciting game.
The soccer syndrome Malappuram is crazy about football. Cut-outs of Pele, Messi, Maradona and other international favourites look down on passersby at street corners. Boys and young men love to wear jerseys worn by their favourite players. Rickshaws, taxis, motorcycles and even fishing boats carry the flags of Brazil or Argentina. Merchandise ride piggyback on soccer icons, symbols and colours.
To outsiders, Malappuram’s soccer fever is pure madness. But fans believe the game is in their blood. In the past, schoolchildren played football in open public spaces (purambokes), paddy fields and temple grounds over weekends and during the summer holidays. The World Cup season is a peculiar time in Malappuram. People go on long leaves to watch the game on TV.
Hundreds of World Cup Cafes, many in makeshift palm-leaf camps, spring up across the district. The entry is free while the TV and furniture are borrowed from neighbourhood homes. Now, the district is divided between fans of Brazil and Argentina.
You are either yellow or blue, other countries don’t matter much. The adoration for Pele developed into the craze for Brazil. Maradona’s stellar performance in the 1986 World Cup later led to Argentina securing a huge fan following. Victories and defeats bring ups and downs, but the excitement is always shared.
New entrants As the public spaces and paddy fields shrank, the number of football players has greatly reduced in Malappuram district. But football thrives with the induction of a considerable number of African players as well. Even small local teams have one or two Africans, who come to Kerala for higher education and fund their expenses (around ₹ 3,000 a match) from football.