MARGAO
The despair over Brazil’s defeat at the hands of Croatia on penalties in the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals Friday night is not limited to the South American country. It also shocked and disappointed Brazil fans in Goa, who have learned to believe that Selecao are synonymous with football.
“I want to remove these boards now itself,” said Edu Fernandes, a driver by profession. “The more I see images of Brazil team, a burning feeling is produced inside me. I never expected this result. I never expected it to be this bad,” he said with tears in his eyes.
The Brazil disaster ” as one fan put it ” disappointed not just the youth and regular football-crazy fans of Goa. “Defeats are normal in matches. But this should not have happened,” said Kiran Prakash, a grocery shop owner. “All names connected to Brazil are irrelevant now. I don’t want to hear any of those names, particularly that of coach Tite," fumed Vithu.
In the football villages of Chinchinim, Benaulim, Curtorim and Nuvem, where football is the second religion of the people just like in Brazil, the scenes were even more expressive of the despair. Nobody wanted to talk about the World Cup anymore and nobody seemed interested in the other matches.
The student community was a picture of sorrow on Friday after the Samba Boys crashed out of the World Cup. Angelee D'Silva, a student of Damodar Higher Secondary School, Margao, said, "I am sad about Brazil crashing out of the World Cup. It is very disappointing. I knew the team would have to work hard and I was also a bit anxious about the outcome," she said.
Santosh Naik, a businessman said he spent the day in solitude, keeping his mobile phone switched off for a long time. "The World Cup has lost much of its charm with Brazil's exit," Naik said.
