Thrissur: Argentina and Brazil may be fighting it out in faraway Russia for the World Cup that kicks off on June 14, but their fans have already organised an exhibition match between their favourite teams here. Wearing the jerseys of the rivals, 'Argentina' was led by former India captain I.M. Vijayan and 'Brazil' by C. V. Pappachan, former star of Kerala Police team, who also played for the country.
Vijayan has been a hardcore fan of Argentina ever since he witnessed the team lifting the FIFA World Cup in 1986 led by legendary footballer Diego Maradona. Pappachan is an admirer of Brazilian players like Pele and Zico. The match held in view of the World Cup was organised by Veterans' Football Club and Banerjee Club, Thrissur, at the synthetic grass turf of the corporation on Saturday.
The match ended in a tie with both the teams scoring two goals each. Veteran players T.K. Chathunni and Peethambaran acted as coaches of 'Brazil' and 'Argentina' respectively. The oldest among the players was former international Victor Manjila, 69, who played for a few minutes for 'Argentina' braving the rains. India player C.D. Francis also took to the field wearing Brazil's colours. A replica of the golden FIFA World Cup was presented to the joint winners.
