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Brazil and Argentina fans in Bangladesh: a ‘rivalry’ in an unlikely location
A presenter of the Bangladeshi news channel Somoy News appears on air with an unusual piece: an Argentina national soccer team shirt.
The image, which was aired on Saturday (26/11), may seem strange even to the Argentines themselves, who rarely see their presenters wearing the selection’s shirt in front of the cameras.
For the 168 million inhabitants of Bangladesh, however, it is part of a kind of ritual that has been repeated in recent decades every time Argentines play.
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History of South American football fans in the small Asian country begins with the 1986 World Cup
The reason? The small Asian country brings together a crowd of fans who support Argentina, which is 17,000 kilometers away, on the other side of the world.
For the game against Mexico in the first phase of the Qatar Cup, which started at 1 am local time, millions of people crowded the squares where there were big screens broadcasting the match.
But it’s not just about Lionel Messi’s team. Many of the Bengalis also root for Brazil.
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Messi is also an idol in Bangladesh
In this story there is also room for rivalry between Brazilians and Argentines – a dynamic that ended in confusion among fans in the city of Brahmanbaria, 120 kilometers east of the capital, Dhaka, on the eve of the 2021 Copa America final. .
Where does the passion come from?
Although cricket is the national sport of this former British colony, every four years the focus turns to the men’s soccer World Cup.
The passion for the Argentine national team began at the World Cup held in Mexico, in 1986, when many Bengalis were enchanted by the performance of Diego Armando Maradona, who led the team to the title.
The memorable match against England in the quarter-finals, with the episodes of the “hand of God” and the “goal of the century”, marked a generation in the country.
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The 1986 World Cup quarterfinal match between Argentina and England marked many Bangladeshi fans
“The ‘hand of God’ also sparked debate here, although most chose to ignore the controversy because the memory of the Falklands War was still fresh in the minds of Bangladeshis,” says a column in the Dhaka Tribune newspaper.
The conflict between England and Argentina to which the text refers took place in 1982. The Argentine victory in 1986, four years later, was seen by many as a position against British power.
A feeling that would end up shared also in Bangladesh, which for almost 200 years, until 1947, was under British control.
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Fans wearing Argentina’s jersey at the 2018 World Cup: passion started at the 1986 World Cup
Once her passion for Argentina had settled, she also ended up finding the Brazilian rivalry in Bangladesh.
“As a ‘third world’ country, Bangladesh is very well connected with Latin American countries, which have also suffered the same economic damage and exploitation as the West,” adds the Dhaka Tribune article.
dangerous rivalry
If the predictions are correct and Brazil and Argentina advance in the Qatar Cup, the two teams could face each other in the semifinals.
It is a clash that has drawn the attention of the Bengali police, who already had to act during the 2021 Copa America final to calm the spirits of fans on both sides.
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Argentina and Brazil have fanatical fans in Bangladesh
During the 2018 World Cup, a 12-year-old boy was electrocuted when he attached a Brazilian flag to an electrical pole.
In another case, a man and his son were seriously injured when fans clashed in Bandar sub-district in the central region of the country.
Due to problems like these, it was decided that in this case the game, if it actually happens, would not be broadcast on giant screens in some provinces of the country, to avoid crowds.
