[1]As hosts Poland took on Greece in the Euro 2012 opener at National Stadium in Warsaw, the mood was electric 6,800 km away, in Karukapilly Junction, Kochi, where football crazy fans greeted Europe’s mega event with banners and hoardings in support of all major contenders for the title and watched the match on a big screen.
Arts and sports club, Kudos Karukapilly, with over 150 members, which is whipping up enthusiasm among Kochiites for the Europe event, says the city is in for an exciting time.
A club member, Siyad Ibrahim, says the craze is expected to only increase as the tournament progresses.
“We plan to screen all the matches and it is going to be really exciting around here,” he adds. Germany and Spain have the most supporters, followed by France, Netherlands, England and Italy in the city.
“The supporters of each team have put up hoardings of their favourite players and more decorations will follow once the knockout stages begin. We celebrated the World Cup in similar fashion,” adds secretary of the club, Mohammed Shibili.
Traditionally, people of the state have been fans of Brazil and Argentina.
But with the Latin American giants missing from the event this time, their fans are now rooting for others, although with dimmed enthusiasm.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/euro-1jpgcropdisplayjpg-166