DOHA, QATAR
Javier Maluf, Kenny D’Souza and Matias Freije share a few things in common. They are all Argentinian fans and are based in Qatar. All of them wish to see Messi and company hold aloft the FIFA World Cup trophy on December 18 when the grand finale of the football showpiece event takes place at the Lusail stadium.
The trio have spent varying times in Qatar and know the host country by the back of their hands. Javier and Matias are Argentinian citizens while Henry is from India, the country according to some accounts which has the largest number of fans apart from all who will be backing Argentina.
Javier is one of the high profile Argentinian fan in Qatar. Records speak for him. Of the 17 years he has spent in the Middle East country he had been taking forward his passion of collecting football jerseys of some of the legends of the game. His house in Qatar has more than 400 football jerseys of different players and of different periods, including the ones worn by his all-time favourite player late Diego Maradona. The prize possession is the one worn by Maradona from the 1986 World Cup match between Argentina and England.
Asked him about his World Cup plans he grins a wide smile and says: “Yes, I want Argentina to win, no doubt and no second thoughts on it. Yes, I will be very keen to meet some of the Argentinian players and add to my jersey collection during the World Cup.”
For the records, Javier is not new to the members of the blue and white brigade having met them and collected the jerseys of some of the key players when they have been in Qatar to play friendly matches. He also travelled miles and miles to see his home country in action and some of the Argentinian clubs.
Kenny on the other hand has been a die-hard Argentina fan since his birth and has not changed a bit over the years. He was fascinated by Maradona’s display on the football field and it has been a dream for him to watch live Argentina’s match.
“It has been my dream to see Argentina in action and that will become a reality during the World Cup. I am quite excited and eagerly waiting for the World Cup,” Kenny, who grew up playing football in India’s commercial capital Mumbai and has since kept his touch with the game by playing with friends and colleagues on weekends in Doha.
Kenny too is hoping that Argentina wins the World Cup and the same feeling is shared by Matias who has spent the last seven years in Qatar working as an equine veterinarian.
The troika have not been members of any fan group based in Qatar but are waiting for their friends from Argentina and India to come over to Qatar. They are not averse to the idea of helping, guiding and providing accommodation to their friends in the days ahead during the football extravaganza.
They are in the know that some Indian fans from Kerala have started a fan group - Argentina fans Qatar - but they do not know anyone from the group and also said no one has contacted them. They are hoping to join the group in the near future.
“During this World Cup hosted by Qatar, we intend to help the Argentina football team whatever way we can and deploy members in a way that will contribute to the success of the team,” said Aboobackar Sidheeq.
“We have three WhatsApp groups of around 1,500 members and we are making all the noise on social media channels like facebook, Tiktok, Instagram, etc. The numbers are increasing of people who are following us on social media,” said Junaid, about the organisation which has 10 core team members and is supported by a 15-member coordination team.
“This group, Argentina Fans Qatar, was formed by Hakeem and Zaman and thereafter Junaid, Shahid, Suhail, Shaheem, Siddique and Muneez joined and are part of the core team and are coordinating the activities of the Argentina Fans Community, as a team,” said Suhail Dohakkaran, while emphasising that Messi or Maradona was not the reason for the love of Argentina football team.
“The magic and beauty of Argentinian football was the attractive factor,” he added.
