JEDDAH, 1 July 2006 — Life came to a standstill in the land of sun, sea, sand and soccer for two-and-a-half hours last night as the entire nation and its expatriate population were glued to TV sets both in homes and cafes watching a ballet with the ball between Germany and Argentina in the World Cup quarterfinal.
“Don’t call it a quarterfinal. It was the final,” said Sameer Abdul Rahman, an elderly Saudi who watched the pulsating encounter in a café in Jeddah’s Al-Faisaliya district. He coughed intermittently and was unable to breathe as “shisha” smoke wafted through the air. “I hate shisha but I love football,” he said trying to keep out the rising smoke from getting into his system with the help of the trademark Saudi “ghutra” (head scarf).
He stayed put, although on the edge, throughout the marathon encounter, cheering for the Germans. He seemed alone in his support for the German team. The majority of those present at the café, Saudis, Syrians, Egyptians and Lebanese, were rooting for the Argentinians. Every move that the South Americans created sparked cheers. And every German attack was met with eerie silence.
And when Argentina’s Roberto Ayala scored in the 49th minute, the decibel levels in the café went through the roof. “Shoof, shoof, shoof,” they erupted in joy as they made circles of smoke in the air. The atmosphere within was as charged as the burning coals that topped the “shisha” pipes. Many hearts, at least in the café, were broken when Miroslav Klose came up with a brilliant equalizer in the 80th minute. “Helwa, helwa,” screamed Abdul Rahman, drawing daggers from those present.
“Wait, wait, the Argentinians are coming,” said Ahmed Bashata, a young Saudi, who was sitting next to Abdul Rahman. “It is going to be their night tonight,” he said, punching his fist in the air.
Abdul Rahman kept his cool, occasionally blurting out “tch, tch, tch” when the Argentinians came anywhere near the German goal. “You know,” he told Arab News, “I don’t want the Germans to cry tonight. If they lose, the whole fun will be lost. Nobody will be interested in the World Cup anymore. You see the packed stadium… It is because of the Germans. ‘Haram’ if they lose tonight,” he added.
He acknowledged, however, that the Argentinians are a far superior team. “What do you expect from the South Americans. They have only three things in life: Drinking, dancing and playing football. It is in their attitude, it is in their blood. It is part of their life. It is part of their culture. The Germans, on the other hand, are engineers. Their game is nowhere near that of the Argentinians. They are a class apart. But I want Germany to win tonight,” he said.
And when the game went into extra time, the café attendants sported big smiles. It meant more orders and more money for them and their owner. “It is good for business,” said one of the many attendants in between serving his customers. Perhaps for the first time, cafés continued their business despite the call for prayers. “I will combine Maghreb and Isha and pray later. I know it is not done, but I just want to have some fun. Can’t miss this match, can I?” asked Ragheb Taha Hussain, an Egyptian national, apologetically.
The café was shuttered twice for prayers but everybody remained seated inside. Hussain was on the Argentinian side. He was seen holding his head in despair as the Argentinians missed twice in the penalty shootout. “I thought the pressure will be on the home side and the chances of Germans missing were higher than that of the Argentinians,” he told Arab News later.
For Nail Al-Zahrani, the outcome was not important. “It was a fantastic match. Argentinians were great in dribbling. They were enjoying every moment of the match. The Germans were laborious. They play a very clinical game. They are not stylish. Argentinians are,” he said.
