More than 17,000 kilometres separate Argentina from Bangladesh. They are two countries located in different hemispheres of the planet, in literally opposite extremes of the world. Their climates and geographies have no point of comparison, and their historical ties are basically non-existent. These two societies also do not share any cultural similarities.
However, quite unexpectedly, now more than ever before, they are united and share the same passion, the passion for football and the Argentinian national team that brings them together as one nation.
I knew about this love of Bangladeshis for Argentina (well at least of half of the Bangladeshi population) because I was lucky enough to make great friends from Bangladesh while living overseas. However, most people in Argentina do not know about this affection.
It is clear to me that we are together, in joy and suffering, behind the same football dream, but most Argentinians do not know of this, which I believe is a shame. There is not much information in Argentina about this connection between the people of these two great countries, but this has started to change very recently before the beginning of this edition of the World Cup in Brazil.
Some Argentinians first noticed the Bangladeshi fanaticism for Argentina when the Argentinian national team came to play in Dhaka with Nigeria in September 2011. But still, a match of Argentina with a full stadium overseas is not something that surprises many, so it was very difficult to understand the dimension of the connection between Bangladesh and the national team based only on that match.
The main surprise for Argentinians came up right before the World Cup started when “La Nación,” one of the most popular newspapers in Argentina, published an article informing that Messi fans in Bangladesh were more than 10% above the average of the world, including Argentina itself!
Information about the connection between Bangladesh and Argentina is starting to flow among Argentinians and a feeling of friendship is now developing stronger than ever before. Argentinian fans are starting to show some gratitude towards Bangladeshi support, and that could be seen in some of the matches of Argentina in Brazil. In one case, a group of Argentinian supporters improvised in creating a Bangladeshi flag and took some pictures holding it before one of the games in Belo Horizonte.
It is a small gesture, but it is full of symbolism. Differences between our two countries are significant, but no difference in this world seems to be able to stop Argentina and Bangladesh from coming together as one people behind a common dream, to see Argentina as the World Champion in Brazil this year.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
