Why Real Madrid? I asked. “Because of Ronaldo. He is the best. I watched him on TV in Myanmar many times”, said a very shy Mohammad Alam, the cutest footballist ever. Mohammad Alam is a 10 year old Rohingya refugee. In the picture above he is waiting, with thousands other hungry kids for cooked food to be distributed at Tengkhali refugee camp near Cox’s Bazaar, in … Continue reading REAL MADRID, MOHAMMAD ALAM
It could have been any other of over twenty original shirts from different countries he owns, but gods of coincidence decided it’s going to be a Buriram United’s dark blue Tao will wear that day, almost a year ago between protesters in Hong Kong’s Admiralty. The protest colours, yellow was the most dominant, exploded over central Hong Kong in October 2014 and I was practically colour … Continue reading BURIRAM UNITED, TAO
Why Raja Casablanca? I asked. “Best, best, best” The initial enthusiasm of someone who thinks he is a pinball wizard quickly deflated after a machine, accustomed to someone’s else hands, hungry swallowed my coins. With great regret I made conclusion that my magic somehow vanished (I blame digital world) so I moved to the next room where local boys were attending what looked like a … Continue reading RAJA CLUB ATHLETIC, HASSAN
WTF?, I asked. “You know, Bird loves Liverpool”, said one of his friends. The idea and and rule of Footballists, simple and never-changing, is to talk and take pictures of people wearing shirts of their favourite football teams. This is, obviously, a special edition on our blog so let’s make an exception. If Khun Bird would be wearing his favourite shirt today the gods would … Continue reading LIVERPOOL, KHUN BIRD
Why Italy? I asked. “I’m from Italy. Actually not from Italy, I’m from Brazil. But my ancestors are from Italy” At Tutty’s, sovereign behind a cashier he operates, Luciano smiles. Italy just won against England in an unexpectedly entertaining match and Andrea Pirlo, a football genius in the body of priest, or vice versa, is on TV. The largely empty restaurant in a small street … Continue reading ITALY, LUCIANO
Why Man united? I asked. “I’ve been watching football from when I was very young. This is when Cantona played, and I fell in love.” Okay, that is possibly the most normal of all the answers to a question asked but, honestly, I didn’t expect to hear it. If not made clear, Ling’s bright red shirt, one of about a thousand at Aqsa road just … Continue reading MANCHESTER UNITED, LING
Why Liverpool?, I asked many times and got always the same answer in a language I don’t speak with the attitude I understand perfectly. There is no need for translation – a raised eyebrow and a pose of someone who will never give up speak volumes. I know Khun Suarez for many years. He is one of tough motorcycle taxi drivers working in my … Continue reading LIVERPOOL, SUAREZ
Why DDR?, I asked. Instead of the answer, I will copy here a few verses from Ahmed’s book The God of Transition. The poem is called “Ulf Kirsten, a star man” (the star here is a five pointed one, symbol of the revolution) and it’s obviously about the legendary player from East Germany who would raise his arms and spread legs making it look … Continue reading Deutsche Demokratische Republik, AHMED
Why Roma? I asked. “My husband found this shirt in between destroyed houses of San Jose district.“ In ruins of Tacloban, thousands of zombie-like survivors loiter. The super typhoon hit the coast and people’s lives were pulverized to the smallest bits from which they would have to rebuild everything. I’ve seen it before, I know the pattern – to have their old lives back, the high … Continue reading ROMA, MAIMAI
Why LA Galaxy? I asked. “I know nothing about football. I’ve got this shirt from a friend”. Locked behind the bars of a cage made of bamboo sticks, 23 year old Taung Lon shivers under his filthy blanket. It is his first week at the Youth for Christ centre for heroin addict and tropical heat is not enough to make him warm in a moment … Continue reading LA GALAXY, TAUNG LON
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