Art of cheering, Mexican style, has fans talking

IN MOSCOW

While winning the first match of the Fifa World Cup can send fans into a delirium, doing so against reigning world champions is sure to send fans into a frenzy.

It did to Mexican fans after their team’s 1-0 win over defending champions Germany in the first match of Group ‘F’ at Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday.

The story of the travelling Mexican fans and the great lengths they go to support the team stands out. Last week, tens of thousands of Mexico fans descended on the Russian capital to give their beloved “El Tri” the much-needed support and when the moment came on Saturday, they turned out in style.

Sunday’s match attendance stood at 78,000 people, with Mexican fans accounting for nearly half of that number.

Knowing that their team, ranked 15th globally, would come up against the top-ranked team in the world, Mexican fans rallied behind their team by creating an atmosphere in the stadium that made their team dare to dream of beating fancied Germany for the first time in the team’s history.

Time and again, Mexico caught Germany off-guard with quick counter-attacks and when PSV Eindhoven winger Hirving Lozano scored the only goal of the game of the match in the 36th minute after breaking down the left and cutting inside past Mesut Ozil to fire past Manuel Neuer at the near post, in many respects it was the realization of a dream that was harboured by coach Juan Carlos Osorio.

Two hours before the kick-off, I met Horacio Hernandez, a Mexican travelling fan who has brought his wife and three children here for the tournament.

He spent a total of 58,000 dollars (Sh5.8 million) in purchasing air tickets to Russia, paying for accommodation and meals, and to move across European capitals and Russian cities for the World Cup with his family.

“This team is close to my heart. I’ve followed it throughout the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean) qualifiers,” he told me before the match kicked off.

After the match, I caught up with Hernandez and his family, and the Mexico City-based clearing and forwarding agent is dancing among thousands of Mexican fans in front of Luzhniki Stadium.

The fans have composed a song infused with popular Mexican song Cielito Lindo in praise of their hero Lozano.

In the fan viewing park the size of three football pitches, tens of thousands of fans gulp down mouthfuls of beer punctuated with the sound of drums and chants of ‘El Tri campeones!’ (we are champions!). More sombrero-wearing fans clad in Mexico jerseys and faces painted green and red are singing in a procession that leads to the metro station outside the stadium.

“We have beaten the reigning champions, so we are the world champions,” Hernadez explains to me.

“We left Mexico City a week ago and travelled as a family to Rome, Venice, Budapest, Berlin, and finally we are in Moscow,” he tells me in broken English.

“When Horario took over as coach, he tried many things and we did not support him, partly because he is Colombian but now he is our hero,” he tells me. “We will travel to Rostov on June 23 to watch out game against South Korea. We spent a total of 1,200,000 Mexican Pesos for the whole trip,” his wife Angie adds.

The same story of following the team to wherever it plays its matches is repeated by many other Mexican fans. The party goes on. It is half past midnight and fans are in no hurry to leave the fan viewing area.