FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017: Brazil find second home in Kochi; all they need is to rediscover jogo bonito

“Why was the Samba missing in the first 15 minutes?” The question sounded almost accusatory. But it brought a smile to Brazil coach Carlos Amadeu’s face. “As you can imagine with youngsters playing in their first ever World Cup, we started nervously. But we got better,” he told journalists at the post-match press conference after his side’s narrow 2-1 win over Spain in their FIFA U-17 World Cup opener. The journalist’s poser was understandable. [caption id=“attachment_4121785” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Brazil’s Lincoln (C) celebrates his goal against Spain with teammates during a group stage match in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Kochi. AFP[/caption] There is a magic you associate with Brazilian football. You expect it each time the Brazilians take the field. You look for it even when they are training. You demand it each time the players touch the ball. That magic didn’t work as powerfully as you would expect against Spain, but the Brazilian team still held the 21,000-odd spectators at Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium spellbound. The supporters, many of them sporting Brazil’s canary yellow jersey or wearing bandanas with ‘BRAZIL’ written on them, had been milling around outside the stadium since four hours before kick-off. As trumpets blared and fans chanted in Malayalam, a surreal carnival-like atmosphere reigned. No one was immune from the excitement, which has hung around in the air from quite some days now. The guards frisking you at Kochi’s metro station want to know who Brazil are playing. The bellboys at hotels ask if they can get their hands on any tickets, which had become scarcer than love for Neymar in the city of Barcelona. Once the match began, each attack from the Brazilians which went awry elicited a groan from the fans, some of whom had made four-hour journeys from places like Trivandrum to watch an U-17 team. There was some amount of table thumping and sighing in the press box too. “The atmosphere was perfect. We could feel the energy of the crowd supporting us,” Brazil’s goal-scorer Lincoln said after the match. [caption id=“attachment_4121459” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Brazil’s goal-scorer Lincoln (left) was mobbed by television journalists in the mixed zone after the match. Firstpost/Amit Kamath[/caption] Since the Brazilians landed here a week ago, it has been evident that they have captured the imagination of the city. Brazil-mania has gripped Kochi. It was writ large in the Vinicius jerseys fans sported during the match. It manifested itself when thousands of fan turned up to watch Brazil’s first training session in Kochi. It’s not an exaggeration to say that there were more fans at the training venue in Kochi to watch the team train than there were watching them beat New Zealand in a training match at the Mumbai Football Arena last month. “We’re feeling like we’re at home here. We felt really welcome here in India, especially in Kochi. We could feel the crowd shouting for us ever since we walked on to the pitch to start our warm-up (against Spain). “Whenever I came here for technical visits after the World Cup draw, I could see this synergy with Brazil from the fans of Kerala. I also realised this coincidence of the local team Kerala Blasters also playing in yellow jerseys,” Amadeu said. Brazil have been made to feel like the home team at Kochi. And as with every home team, there are huge expectations from this Brazil team. “If you compare our game against Spain to the South American competition, you will see that we didn’t start the tournament there too at our best. We know that today we didn’t play our best football, but as in the South American championship, we’re going to get better as the competition progresses. We’re going to raise our level,” vowed Amadeu before sending a message to the fans: “It’s really important for us to have the crowd on our side. We want to give something back to you. We want to give back the love that we received from you.” Whether Brazil rediscover jogo bonito (beautiful game), also known as the mesmerising Samba football, during their stay in Kochi or not remains to be seen. But for now, they have the whole city of Kochi in their thrall.