REAL MADRID, ZAIN

Why Real? I asked. “I like Ronaldo.” More and more young people I meet wear a jersey because of a player and not the team. It must be good for economy – if not for football – since today’s stars change teams easily and fans follow them. Zain came to Montreal only two months ago from Karachi, Pakistan. A smart young man, he is a … Continue reading REAL MADRID, ZAIN

AC MILAN, BRANG SENGLI

Why Milan? I asked. “Because I’ve got this shirt at the lucky draw organized by our church before we played football.” At about the same time as Baptist missionaries started harvesting souls in the northern Kachin state, a journalist George Scott introduced the game of football to what was sometimes known as “the Scottish colony”, the great country of Burma. Besides being a reporter for … Continue reading AC MILAN, BRANG SENGLI

MANCHESTER UNITED, JONATHAN

Why Man United? I asked. “Because I’m half Japanese and the best Japanese player Shinji Kagawa plays for Man United.” When I spotted Jonathan walking down the street I debated if I should approach him since he is not wearing a jersey. But there was something about him so I couldn’t let him pass by. Jonathan was born in Montreal after his father came from … Continue reading MANCHESTER UNITED, JONATHAN

THAI PORT, LILLIAN

Why Thai Port? I asked. “Well, the stadium is only five minutes from where I live. That’s how all started.” The rest is a long and ongoing story. On her twitter profile (worth following for some thoughtful and funny observation about football and Thai society) otherwise very cool Lillian describes herself as “Artist/Photographer. Dirty Liberal Feminist. Apathetic Gooner. KlongtoeyArmy Conscript”. There @TheLilyfish mentions two football … Continue reading THAI PORT, LILLIAN