Who are the fans of this unlikely crowd?
José Mescias Cavalcante, resident of the city of Mari, in the interior of Paraíba, is an unconditional fan of Argentine football and Lionel Messi, the current best player in the world. He even has a tattoo of the Argentine striker on his shoulder.
According to the Brazilian, his love for the brothers' team comes from a long time ago: “I've watched Argentina play since I was a teenager. It was the time of Maradona and Batistuta. I'm an Argentina fan from the heart, and I'm Messi's number 1 fan here in Brazil!”, he commented in an interview with Betfair. “I support Argentina in all categories, not just the main one, no. I get criticized a lot, but everyone has their right to support. I will be Argentina for the rest of my life,” declared Mescias.
Osvaldo Armiento, resident of Buenos Aires, is an unconditional fan of the five-time world champion Brazilian team. The Argentine, who knows the Brazilian team led by Zagallo in the 1970 World Cup by heart, does not hide his passion for Brazil, a team he has followed since 1969. “I love the ball and there is no one better to handle it than the Brazilians. At World Cups, I can’t watch with my Argentine friends, but over time they understood me.”
“The difference between Argentine and Brazilian football is simple: they are different styles. Brazil would be the beach and Argentina would be the cement, that's the difference! For example, Ronaldo and Messi are two phenomena, but they are different, and I like Ronaldo more,” said Argentine Osvaldo.
Big surprise for fans
To make the fans' experience even more unforgettable and put passions in check, Betfair brought together none other than Rivaldo and Ronaldo, ambassadors of the bookmaker, to participate in a fun chat.
The five-time champions surprised fans by crashing the video call in which fans were being interviewed. “These two guys are monsters. Rivaldo is almost a fellow countryman of mine - he's from Pernambuco, and I'm from Paraíba. Ronaldo, my God in heaven, I don’t even have words,” said Mescias, moved. Osvaldo, an Argentine with a Brazilian way, responded practically in the following: “They are two of the greatest players I have seen. Ronaldo and Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (full name of the midfielder). There is only one word: Football. A phenomenon next to another phenomenon!”
Betfair ambassadors spoke to the unlikely fans about the World Cup won by the Brazilian team in 2002, which became a real football review between the four. Check out the full video on Betfair's YouTube.
Rivaldo wanted to know if Mescias was saddened by Ronaldo's two goals in the final. “I'm Argentine, yes, and I was very sad about this guy (laughs)”. But he added praise for the football of R9 and R10 in 2002. “Individually you two were brilliant. I support each one of you individually, for the gesture you made during that World Cup. You are on another level,” said the native of Paraíba about the team’s idols.
Osvaldo spoke a lot about the stars in Brazil's history and compared national idols with historic players from Argentina. “Brazil has a very different football, Argentina doesn’t,” he said.
Ronaldo tried to defend Argentine football, but the passionate fan of the Canarinho team went ahead, arguing that Betfair ambassadors and other Brazilian idols are incomparable against the Argentines. “You two in 2002, you had a strong team, Ronaldinho, Kaká… You can’t compare. Batistuta would not play for the Brazilian team. I'm not even going to talk about Socrates! The only Argentine who could have played for Brazil was Maradona.”
Challenge worth dreams
Rivaldo and Ronaldo presented the fans with the great challenge of the “Improvable Fan”. “On behalf of Betfair, we want to propose this challenge. We invite you to watch the game between Brazil x Argentina at Maracanã, but under one condition,” commented the Phenomenon.
The condition, explained the Betfair ambassador, is simple: “return to the origins”. Which means that Mescias will need to wear the Brazilian team's shirt while Osvaldo will wear the Argentine team's shirt on the 21st.
“My fear is that I'll be wearing the Brazilian team's shirt and Argentina will score a goal and I'll start to cheer,” joked the Brazilian. As for Osvaldo, the problem is different. “I don’t even have an Argentina shirt. You’ve never seen me with one!” After much conversation, the two fans agreed to take on the challenge.
But after the fun came the emotion. Osvaldo stated: “Today is the happiest day of my life. I talked about football with a lot of people, but I never had the opportunity to talk to two phenomena like you.” For Mescias, the penny hadn't yet dropped when the call ended - coincidentally, the Brazil x Argentina game will take place on his birthday, November 21st. “I have goosebumps all over. It’s the greatest gift I’ve ever received in my life”, he concluded.
One of the largest online sports betting providers in the world, Betfair is an official sponsor of the Cruzeiro and Palmeiras teams. The company, founded in London (ING) in 2000, pioneered the offering of peer-to-peer betting (Betfair Exchange) and manages a complete suite of sports betting, entertainment events and online gaming products for more of four million customers over the age of 18 worldwide.
Thanks to its cutting-edge technology, the platform offers a wide catalog of products that allow you to bet with your own odds and odds offered by other users. Betfair is licensed to operate online betting and other games in 19 countries, including Spain, Italy, Malta, Colombia and Great Britain.
Source: GMB
