Kochi soaks in soccer

KOCHI: ISL finale at the jam-packed Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Sunday evening could not expect a brighter stellar lineup than the pride of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguli, now masters of Kerala Blasters and Athletico de Kolkata respectively, and the iconic Amitabh Bhachchan. The stadium blazoned yellow as Kerala Blasters supporters turned up in their favourite jersey and booed and cheered every move, though in the end there was a crestfallen silence as the outsiders won the game.

Outside the stadium and on the ring road surrounding the stadium even at the late hour past 7 pm there were youths enquiring whether there was any scope to get into the stadium to have a glimpse of the dream match. Fifteen minutes to 7 pm, Nikhil, a 10th standard student from Kumbalam, had given up his chase for the ticket and was rushing back home wearing the yellow jersey screaming "God knows if I will be able to reach home in my bicycle in half an hour to see the match on TV."

Blasters fans have conferred honorary Malayali status to the their team manager Steve Koppel

Nazir and his friend who had come from Malappuram had another story to tell. When the police flashed lathis to disperse the unruly crowd at the entrance to the stadium, they had just given the ticket to the gatekeeper, but they had to run from there to escape unhurt. "When the melee was over and we returned, the gatekeeper did not recognize us and was not willing to allow us in. We are the most unfortunate as we are not able to see the match despite having tickets," rued Nazir.

West Bengal native Roshan, who stood beside a heap of mineral water bottles, was seen screaming in Malayalam 'oru kuppi pathu roopa' (Rs 10 for one bottle). When asked why, he said "it is already 7 pm and it is tough to sell all these in one go and it is even more difficult to take this back to the shop on SRM Road in the town, so I am disposing of this at half the price." Unscrupulous elements tried to refill bottles and sell not so clean water in some corners without being noticed by police. Groundnut sellers and ice cream wallahs, did brisk business as if to recoup from demonetization blues.

One difference for this football match was the presence of women spectators in sizeable numbers both inside the stadium and outside. Those outside made it a point to stand near the VVIP gate, obviously to have glimpse of the stars, descended on the stadium. From Mollywood, Nivin Pauly was the star attraction while a latecomer TV anchor and actress Pearle Maaney was mobbed by the fans on the ring road. They cheered her to the stadium, overcoming their disappointment of failing to get tickets.