Alchemist Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 50,000 turned up to see Diego 2,000 turned up to see Messi Huge difference between the both.
Yoda-esque Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 http://ibnlive.in.com/news/only-55000-messi-match-tickets-sold/180285-5-21.html Indeed very poor. We need to start appreciating other sports much more. If we don't, we will NEVER ever see soccer world cup in India and Indian soccer team playing in that tournament. Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have been playing each other for decades now and yet there has been no improvement to their level.I remember when PSV Eindhoven had come to India about 15 years back and defeated a team with all Mohun Bagan stars .The scoreline read 10-1 or something.:giggle:
someone Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 Why the hell is it being called soccer? Both by indian fans + media. stupid..
Serani Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 This Indian love for soccer is so embarrasing ever since I stumbled upon that Indian man united fans video. I really cringe for you brahs. Vee areee Man United, Veeee never give up, lololol.
Cricket Tragic Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 This Indian love for soccer is so embarrasing ever since I stumbled upon that Indian man united fans video. I really cringe for you brahs. Vee areee Man United, Veeee never give up, lololol. :hysterical:
Mariyam Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 Andy or Sunny or any of the peepz in Kolkata went for this? Two of my friends made the trip from Mumbai. The sheer madness of it all :((
ravishingravi Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 This Indian love for soccer is so embarrasing ever since I stumbled upon that Indian man united fans video. I really cringe for you brahs. Vee areee Man United, Veeee never give up, lololol. Imagine what it is for us.
ludhianvi Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 Oh noes, I missed the match. Hoping to catch a 're-run' Anybody watched it? How was the atmosphere? Messi Messi Messi Messi Messi :yay: Kolkata, or Buenos Aires? City so engrossed with Messi that for the last few days it has been difficult to distinguish it from the Argentina capital Dileep Premachandran in Kolkata Posted On Friday, September 02, 2011 at 08:44:19 PM During the 2010 World Cup, Argentina’s team coach was emblazoned with the slogan: “Última parada, la gloria (Last stop, glory).” You have to go back to a time when Lionel Messi was a pint-sized kid zipping about on Rosario’s pitches for when the Albiceleste last tasted any. Since that Copa America win in 1993, Argentina has seen one golden generation — Batistuta, Veron, Ortega, Ayala and Redondo — fail to live up to expectations. On Friday night, inside a heaving stadium half a world away from El Monumental and La Bombonera, another group of supremely talented players, spearheaded by Messi, began their quest to emulate the achievements of Mario Kempes and Diego Maradona. India’s cricket team are currently playing in England, and Kolkata hosts some games in the Champions League a fortnight or so from now. But while Kolkata Knight Riders hoardings dot the landscape, no one cares about willow and leather at the moment. With Messi here, this is a one-sport town that appears to be pinching itself with excitement about hosting football royalty. The Hyatt Regency, where Argentina are staying, is just a javelin throw from the venue, and hundreds of hopeful fans maintained a vigil outside the gates, even though there was little chance of seeing the kit man, leave alone Messi. Kolkata has never seen anything like it. One of the gatemen at the hotel remembered being a teenager when Pele visited with New York Cosmos in 1977. But that was an exhibition game against Mohun Bagan, and Pele was long past his best. It was a bit like going to watch a 60-year-old Mick Jagger belt out ‘Satisfaction’. Messi mania centres on the fact that most of the teenagers wearing replica shirts with his name and No 10 on the back have never seen a more gifted footballer. For generations, India rallied behind the Brazil flag, entranced by Samba football. But with Brazil struggling to produce a footballer that quickens the pulse like Messi, that tide is turning. “Better win the World Cup in Brazil in 2014” said one placard held aloft by a fan wearing Messi’s Barcelona’s shirt. When asked why he supported Argentina, he didn’t have an answer. Further along, three young boys had the Venezuelan flag painted on their faces. It drew the odd curious camera crew their way, but support for the underdog aside, they too were unsure why they weren’t part of the Messi army. If you weren’t buying into the Messi magic, you were in for a hard time. A young man wearing Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid shirt was relentlessly heckled by his friends till he moved away to stand on his own. As with Indian cricket’s Tendulkar obsession, there was little tolerance for dissension. In any case, voices were being drowned out by the local answer to the vuvuzela, ingeniously made with a plastic cylinder and a paper coffee cup. Those dealing in cheap replicas of the Argentina shirt and the sale of flags and headbands did roaring business. The likes of Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero may be stars in their own right, but looking for shirts with their name was like hunting for a Communist in the Vatican. You could spot the rare Maradona shirt and one or two with Riquelme on it — a legacy of the 2006 World Cup? — but otherwise it was hard to believe that there were 21 others due to take the pitch along with Messi. Inside the stadium complex, thousands of policemen milled around, some of them looking at least as excited as the fans in serpentine queues outside. A few Indian flags had been brought in, but mostly the terraces were draped with Argentine ones in many shapes and sizes. As the crowd filled up, you could hear periodic chants of “Messi, Messi”, and there was also the slightly incongruous sight of pitch-side hoardings flashing ads for Argentine products, including Quilmes beer. More than 20 percent of the tickets sold were snapped up by those outside Kolkata and plane loads have arrived from both the Middle East and the orient to catch a glimpse of a man whose form in national colours has yet to match his Barca displays. Bagan and East Bengal, who’ve sold out this famous venue before, were in attendance, as were Bhaichung Bhutia’s United Sikkim, but the Jumbo-Jet roar that greeted Messi as he stepped on to the turf made it amply clear that on Friday night, the Yuba Bharati Krirangan was a cathedral meant for the worship of just one icon.
urbestfriend Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 Shame that the match was played in half empty stadium..so much for Kolkotan's love for football
Andy Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 Shame that the match was played in half empty stadium..so much for Kolkotan's love for football Half empty stadium? Pass me some of what you are on at the moment. It was 90000 crowd. http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=sep0311/sports05
Andy Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 This is what happens when your Ranji team sucks and nobody from your state makes it into national team.:giggle: There are other states too who suck in cricket,Its not necessary that every state has to be good in cricket. Go and take digs at them.
Andy Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 This Indian love for soccer is so embarrasing ever since I stumbled upon that Indian man united fans video. I really cringe for you brahs. Vee areee Man United, Veeee never give up, lololol. Why? we have a national team and is Ranked somewhere around 150 mark. So In your opinion give up on Football and let the ranking get worse?
Mariyam Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 Andy did you go? How was it? Two of my friends went. They said that their part of the stadium was not filled to capacity. They also said that Messi is not that great, or at least didn't play too well yesterday. Not even paisa vasool level. :((
bulbul Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 Messi is a great Club player...But when it comes to Argentina his play is mostly messy... I read in Papers approx. 80000 people watched match in a stadium of 120000 strength where Bengal derby between East Bengal and Bagan fills stadium easily..
Serani Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 Why? we have a national team and is Ranked somewhere around 150 mark. So In your opinion give up on Football and let the ranking get worse? You dont care about your own national team, you have cricket for that. However you lap up all the EPL and support maaaaaaan Uniiiiiiiiited etc, its a joke.
Sachin=GOD Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 This Indian love for soccer is so embarrasing ever since I stumbled upon that Indian man united fans video. I really cringe for you brahs. Vee areee Man United, Veeee never give up, lololol. Ok, so if a nation is not good in a particular sport then the people are not supposed to like that sport :hmmm: p.s. by that logic, the English fans must have started liking cricket only after 2005 (because whatever little the English team has achieved in cricket, it has done mainly after 2005) :phehehe:
Andy Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 You dont care about your own national team' date=' you have cricket for that. However you lap up all the EPL and support maaaaaaan Uniiiiiiiiited etc, its a joke.[/quote'] Why dont you tell that to other BPL Viewers, Not just BPL , La Liga viewers too. Football is more Popular than Cricket over the world and it has fans all over the world irrespective of the Fact the national team sucks or Rules. If You think clubs only have fans from the country they belong then :facepalm: Your Logic is plain Naive.
Andy Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 Andy did you go? How was it? Two of my friends went. They said that their part of the stadium was not filled to capacity. They also said that Messi is not that great, or at least didn't play too well yesterday. Not even paisa vasool level. :(( They dont look like that to me.
Andy Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 Ok, so if a nation is not good in a particular sport then the people are not supposed to like that sport :hmmm: p.s. by that logic, the English fans must have started liking cricket only after 2005 (because whatever little the English team has achieved in cricket, it has done mainly after 2005) :phehehe: Yeah he atleast started watching cricket from 2008-2009 so he thinks its the way to go. :hehe:
Andy Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 Fifa to help set up five academies in India. Moar Power to Football in India. :aha:
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