What am I doing here, travel diary, day 24: neither dogs nor clouds nor Europeans

This is the second World Cup in history to be played in Asia. The first to be held in the Middle East. And also It is the first, in a long time, that European fans seem to turn their backs on. And that their teams are not only the majority in the quarter-finals, but also excellent candidates to win the cup that everyone wants.

A week ago, Comrade Maximiliano Uría wrote a very interesting note which spoke of this glaring problem. The article said that there are three motifs that ended up forming an explosive combination.

The first is a question of the calendar – it is played in the boreal winter, when few have holidays and young people are in the middle of the school year; the second has to do with a logistical difficulty, given that a trip to this emirate cannot be improvised; and the third is related to complaints about it alleged human rights violations which the host country strongly denies.

The concrete thing is that very few Europeans are seen walking the streets.

They are a huge minority compared to the almost 100,000 Mexicans who, according to the media in that country, were in these lands until the end of the misadventure of the team led by Gerardo Martino.

The number does not seem exaggerated. They were found everywhere. And they were noticed at all stadiums. “We are locals again”, they sang in the games in which Mexico was the protagonist. And also in which he didn’t play. It was strange, but that was it.

Runners-up, in the eye of a good cubero (and we are not talking about Fabián, who is here as an analyst for a sports network), the Argentines appear. In the first round, according to official estimates, there were about 35,000.

Many have already left, but there has been a replacement in the last few hours. And more are expected if, in the words of Alejandro Sabella, the national team crosses the Rubicon and reaches the semi-finals.

And the Brazilians? On Monday evening, in the 4-1 defeat against South Korea, stadium 974 was tinged with yellow-green. However, beyond the rowdy group that was based in one of the newspapers – the same one in which there was a double tribute to ask for Pelé’s health -, the Doubts about the origin of twisters.

Eye, this is not an accusation. Something similar happens with the Argentines. In the distance you can see the biancoceleste shirt or Messi’s number 10 on the number, but zooming in, the ethnic traits and language are completely different. Not to mention when they appear piranha mode the group of supporters from Qatar, with their army of Indians from Kerala, who achieve the impossible: to be more fans of the national team than of the Argentines.

Of course, yesterday it was a lot of fun to listen live to the hit of the winter, born as a revenge for “Brazil, tell me how it feels…”. It is “Messi tchau”, which plays to the rhythm of Bella Ciao, the song that became popular thanks to the great success of La Casa de Papel. “O Di María, o Mascherano, o Messi tchau, Messi tchau, Messi tchau, tchau, tchau. E o argentino is chorando e essa Copa eu vou ganhar” the original twisters sang while the others clapped rhythmically. They say they have been using it since 2018. I would have abolished it for esoteric reasons. But here they are

Even on the streets of Doha I came across large groups of Moroccans and Tunisians. They also came en masse to watch the World Cup. Impossible, due to my ignorance, to distinguish between Saudis and Qataris, but in the games in which the executioners of Argentina played it was evident that they had arrived in droves.

What is this story about? They insist. Europeans, incredibly, are a minority. It is noticeable in the streets because isolated groups can be seen visiting, for example, the Souq Waqif market. And it is also noticeable in stadiums. On Sunday night in Al Bayt, where England and Senegal played, there were holes in the stadium. And not only in the stands, but also in the press boxes. very rare

Let’s add, then there isn’t a third party in this travel diary: there are no dogs, there are no clouds and there are, exaggerating a bit, no Europeans in this exotic World Cup in Qatar.

Doha, Qatar. Special delivery.