City football fans gear up for Euro 2012 kick-off tonight

The World Cup is the biggest stage, but this Euro Championship is going to be no less of a football spectacle. The buzz around the 2012 edition has been like never before.

The World Cup is the biggest stage, but this Euro Championship is going to be no less of a football spectacle. The buzz around the 2012 edition has been like never before. For once, the South Americans will not be missed — after all, both the world champions and runners-up are in the fray. Does anyone play a more beautiful kind of football than the Spaniards? Beginning Friday, till July 1, the world’s eyes will riveted on the action in Poland and Ukraine, and the odd hours will not matter.

HT Image

There will be a marked change in the daily routine of many a football fan for the next three weeks as Euro 2012 kicks off at the National stadium in Warsaw on Friday. Spain are the reigning world champions and Euro champions. If they win this year, it will be an unprecedented hat-trick, which no team has performed yet.

While all eyes will be on Spain, Germany has the quality and history, and Netherlands the depth and style to put up a show; France has turned itself around into a formidable unit that no one can dismiss, and England has the names that can help it clinch the title.

In Mumbai, the sleep pattern of football fanatics is bound to be affected, considering that there are two matches in the league stage every day, and the second match kicks off past midnight. But that hasn’t deterred the dedicated lot, more so because of the rising popularity of the beautiful game in India.

“Everything else takes a backseat for me when the Euro will be on. I have bought Germany’s jersey to lend my support to the team,” says Asmit Gavaskar, 21, an engineering student at DN Sanghvi, Juhu.

The girls aren’t far behind, and a number have vowed to brave those late nights in order to catch the games.

“The Euro gives us a chance to see the best in the world. While I’ve seen them play for their respective clubs, turning out for the country is a matter of pride. So they give it their best, and this is the time to watch their brilliance in a short period,” says 18-year-old Sahitra Ghurge, who turns out for top Mumbai outfit, Kenkre Football Club.

Bars and restaurants, too, are gearing up for business with live screenings and discounted prices on offer to draw patrons. “We will be telecasting all the games and have reduced our prices on the menu,” said a representative from Manchester United Café Bar at Palladium, Lower Parel.