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Journalism of Courage
From the day then FIFA boss Sepp Blatter announced Qatar as the hosts for the 2022 World Cup, on a wintry evening in Zurich, the country had to soak ceaseless criticism of every hue. Ranging from corruption to exploitation of migrant labourers and totalitarianism to stringent regulation, the heat that it faced might have been harsher than the harshest desert summer. Not that country flinched or froze, but with a cold detachment, it repelled the stones flung at it.
But stones shall continue to be flung. From the topics off the pitch, it has spilled onto the country’s fate on the field. The bookmakers have wagered +50000 if the maroons win the World Cup. Such an eventuality is unlikely, but to dismiss them straightway and predict that they would limp out of the winless, is entirely disrespectful. They could be ranked just 50 in the world, and when they were awarded the greatest sporting spectacle on the planet, they were struggling to break into hundred. The presumption is that it’s the fate of South Africa in 2010 that they would be tempting in this edition. South Africa were buoyed by their golden generation and vociferous supporters. But they limped out of the group stages.
Apart from South Africa, all other host nations have reached at least till the quarterfinal stages. But rather than dwell on South Korea, Germany, Brazil and Russia, the obvious point of comparison is South Africa, the failed team, though Germans and Brazilians would consider their incapacity to win the trophy at home as a grand failures. But the dream run of South Korea, who reached the semifinals after beating Italy and Portugal (rather dubiously some would wince and cannot be repeated because the eyes of the VAR cannot be escaped), should offer hope.
It’s not like Qatar are no-hopers who are playing the World Cup as a bonus for hosting the event, or the common tease that because Qatar could not buy a World Cup, they brought the World Cup itself. While they might not have the heritage of European and Latin American powerhouses, they do possess a team that won the Asian Cup in 2019, they are the defending Asian champions and three time Gulf Cup winners. There is passion for the game in the country. Thousands flew to Dubai for the AFC Cup final. There is an emotional connect with the footballers.
The most ubiquitous Qatari footballer is Afif Ali. At the West Bay Qatar Energy Metro Station, there is a giant poster of him in his country’s maroon away jersey, waiting with still, cold sniper eyes, lurking in the shadows to seize the ball and thread a killer pass onto the chest of the opponent. He is the most sought-after entity for advertisements, appearing in commercials as diverse as shampoo (understandably) and energy drinks. Local channels frantically queue up behind him for at least one interview a month. On Qatar’s match-days, his name thundered in the stadium and fans came with Afro-wigs like their hero.
A collection of his skills in Youtube would explain the reason he is so deified. In one, he snatches the ball from his opponent’s feet, just half a heavy touch was all he needed to twist the ball onto his right foot and scorch through the left wing, leaving all the opponents stupefied. Then he viciously cuts into the box and unleashes a thunderbolt through the legs of the goalkeeper. In another, he nutmegs one player after the other, spins away from another and slots in a delicate pass to his forward Almoez Ali, who nudged the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper.
The blinding pace once made his former club manager Xavi Hernandez liken him to Arjen Robben. Xavi was his guiding light, the man who harnessed his wind, and anointed him as the best player in the Middle East. “He’s an unbelievable talent, a big player. I have told him many times that he’s an amazing player. He is the leader of a generation,” Xavi said after winning the league title in 2020. Their relationship allegedly soured, but Afif continues to be the team’s creator in chief. His national manager Felix Sanchez calls him a jewel.
There are others too, like Almoez Ali, the top-scorer at last year’s Gold Cup? The powerful striker who could bully and barge his way through goal-boxes and a silken finish. He has a knack of scoring important goals too, like the overhead kick in the 3-1 win over Japan in the Asian Cup final that put him past the legendary Ali Daei for the most number of goals scored in a single edition of the tournament. At 24, he is already his country’s highest goal-scorer. The locals call him Qatar’s Sadio Mane, for his ability to be direct as well as tricky.
Then there is the captain Hassan al-Haydos, the most capped player of the country. The midfield enforcer, who could launch quick counterattacks with a deft pass or tenaciously grab the ball from the opponent’s feet, is 32, but he has compensated for his loss of pace with his quickness of thinking. There are others like midfielders Karim Boudiaf and Salem al-Hajri as well.
No other team might have prepared as elaborately as them for the World Cup. None of them played any league game this season and were on the road for much of the last three years, playing 32 friendlies in that time, the most by any team. In terms of quality, their ranking (50) reflects their level, there’s much catching up to be done. But they play an attractive brand of football, and could even be the tournament’s dark horse. Three other factors are decisive. A) The familiarity with the weather, 2) the support of the crowd, 3) The motivation to prove the world wrong, as mentality they harnessed during the Asian Cup triumph, coming as it did when its relationship with its neighbours had soured.
As the country has shown in staying unflinching in the face of relentless criticism, the team has a sense of defiance and a knack of punching above their weight.
