Football frenzy hits city’s sports lovers

May 27, 2010 - Nivi Shrivastava (The Asian Age)

Recently when actor Saif Ali Khan mentioned in an interview, “Cricket is happening 365 days. I am more interested in soccer now. The football World Cup is just a month away and I am looking forward to it,” sports enthusiasts couldn’t have agreed more. After back-to-back seasons of IPL (Indian Premier League) and T20 World Cup cricket, many cricket fans are still recovering from cricket “fatigue,” and warming up to a refreshing season of 2010 FIFA World Cup. We checked with a few football fans about the teams and players they are looking forward to watching in the upcoming soccer season.
For Deb Shankar, a media professional, it’s going to be the English team that will be grab everyone’s attention this time. He says, “With players like Wayne Rooney, Walcott, Lampard, Cole, and Steven Gerrard, I am all set to cheer for England. EPL (English Premier League) is the world’s most popular game, and after cricket, football has the highest fans in India. Moreover, with our new coach, and successful run in the recent Nehru Cup, I think this time more and more Indians would be interested in it.”
The non-stop sporting action of 32 nations and eight groups at the FIFA is a great relief for many. Karan Ambardar, a model and also amateur football player says, “The 2010 FIFA World Cup with so many football stars representing their respective nations is adding extra excitement. Both England and Argentina are my old favourites, and I am not going to miss the 90 minute action at any cost.”
However, Shikha Vig, a professional and football enthusiast, hopes to see some hunks in the next FIFA World Cup. Speaking about her favourite team, she says, “I’ll be looking forward to see some action from Brazil. That’s my favourite team and I’m already planning to get the team jersey too. I am a great fan of Kaka and I hope he plays a good game this time.”
Abhishek Thakur, an MBA student, plans to moot for Argentina this time, and he says, “My favourite team this time is Argentina. With big names like Carlos Tévez, Lionel Messi, Maxi Rodríguez, the team can surely be among the top contenders.”

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