Why Saint-Étienne? I asked. “I’m from there.” When I was a kid, falling for the irresistible Liverpool team of that time, there was another team that was hard not to like. From a small town in France, with Yugoslav international goalkeeper Ivan Ćurković, winger Dominique Rocheteau and Argentinian fullback Osvaldo Piazza among other great players, Saint-Étienne played some great football and became the most successful … Continue reading SAINT-ÉTIENNE, ÉTIENNE
Why Liverpool? I asked. “When I realized that Yossi Benayoun plays for Liverpool I became a fan. You know, I’m Jewish.” Lev’s answer further complicates what’s already complicated; he provided yet another reason, first of this kind on this site, to fall for a club. We met in a pub one early Sunday morning and shared the experience of watching, on TV, Liverpool beat Man … Continue reading LIVERPOOL, LEV
Why Manchester City? I asked. “Mancini! Because of him.” Wait a second! Did he really say Mancini, Roberto Mancini? Will someone, please, stop this ferry – I’m afraid otherwise very smart and beautiful boy is not feeling well and he might need some assistance. I asked again, he said “because of Mancini” again. I know, Myanmar is just waking up from decades of isolation and can … Continue reading MANCHESTER CITY, NAING
Why Liverpool? I asked. “Born red, always red.” John was born in Liverpool so I inquired further: Why not Everton, why Liverpool? His father was a Liverpool fan and one of John’s earlier memories is of the 1971 FA Cup final between Liverpool and Arsenal at Wembley which his father attended. Liverpool lost the game but John became a fan. In all of his family only … Continue reading LIVERPOOL, JOHN
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
Why Italia? I asked. “I love the country and their soccer team.” Ameer is the first person I met wearing Italian national team jersey. He comes from Saudi Arabia but is in love with all things Italian. He is in love with its history, people, soccer, culture and architecture. I thought he’s been to Italy many times but it turned out he’s never been. It … Continue reading Italy, Ameer
Why Liverpool? I asked. “What is Liverpool?” I suspected that would be the answer even before I asked the question we usually ask for this blog. Nurul Amin simply doesn’t know Liverpool nor does he know much about other teams and players. However, he knows football and loves it. Nurul Amin is a Rohingya refugee and that is as bad as being a Bosnian but … Continue reading LIVERPOOL, NURUL AMIN
Why PSG? I asked. “Why? That’s my team since 20 years ago. I love PSG.” Today, my heart was broken. I met a guy in a Senegal national team jersey. All excited, I explained what I do and showed him the pictures on my phone. He said he would be glad to pose for me. But when I took my DSLR camera from the bag … Continue reading PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN, SEUDU
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
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
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