Brazilians become Croats for a day

On Thursday's white night at the Saint Petersburg Fan Fest Zone, not many fans in white and sky blue were in attendance during Argentina's World Cup game against Croatia. It was understandable because Argentina were playing their game in Nizhny. The fan zone, located just behind a church, was actually dominated by Brazilian fans who flocked here ahead of their national team's Friday fixture against Costa Rica at the Saint Petersburg Stadium. 

An Argentina fan is inconsolable after his team's 3-0 defeat to Croatia. Photo: AFP

They were not rooting for Croatia, but the Brazilian fans in yellow clearly enjoyed the Croat masterclass against Messi's helpless Argentina in the 3-0 thrashing. They cheered every Croatian goal and reserved the best accolade for Luca Modric's absolute beauty, a curling right-footer that swung back into the right-hand post.

Players were overjoyed by the stirring display, much of which was down to the fact that they kept Argentina superstar Lionel Messi down during the 2018 World Cup Group D match at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on Thursday. Photo: AFP/ Reuters

The pet object of hate for the Brazilians was understandably Argentina's football legend Diego Maradona, the sight of his huge figure on the giant screen during the game was greeted with jeers by the fans of Argentina's great American rival. They also reserved hate for Lionel Messi. After the game as the Brazilian fans were singing and dancing, they sang 'ciao Messi' (goodbye Messi). The Brazilian fans did not however hesitate to console a brave Argentina fan in the mix. They hugged him and patted his back. There is quite a rivalry between the fans of the two great South American neighbours, but seldom does the flow of emotion get out of proportion.

Photo: Reuters