Numbers down but World Cup hopes still high

WHILE the vuvuzela may be the sound of World Cup 2010, four years ago in Gort, sports enthusiasts were more likely to hear the samba drum echo through the town as Brazil progressed through the finals of the competition.
Of course, 2006 was different. Construction was booming. House prices were rising. The numbers of people employed in the State reached over two million for the first time in the country’s history and four out of 10 Gort residents were not Irish.
That year, Brazil was knocked out in the quarter-finals, a fate its football fans hope to avoid this time round.
Gort resident and Brazilian woman Rosa DeSilva doesn’t call herself a football fan but hasn’t stopped her showing her support for her fellow countrymen and it won’t stop her watching her team take on the world in South Africa.
“I have a big flag, which I am putting up,” she tells The Clare Champion.
For her country’s opening clash on Tuesday against North Korea, she and her friends met in Linnane’s pub.
“There has been a big dip in the number of Brazilian people here. There were maybe 1,200 last time around and if there are even 300 now, I’d be surprised. It is a big change. The craic should still be good though this time, we’ll still make it a party,” she says.
While it was disappointment for her four years ago, this year, however, Rosa is confident things will be different.
“I hope Brazil will win the World Cup. There is always Argentina to form a stumbling block if they meet them later but I am reasonably positive. It is the power of positive thinking,” she claims.
Gort woman Lorraine Harte is also following Brazil in World Cup 2010. Lorraine is a regular visitor to the South American country and claims to have a number of Brazilian football jerseys and not a single Irish one.
“There doesn’t look like there is any other team out there to touch them. It is great to have someone to support when your country couldn’t get in to the World Cup finals over a handball,” says Lorraine, angrily.
“There are a lot of people in Gort who wouldn’t have a team to shout for who will be following Brazil to support people in the area. Poland isn’t in it either and there are a lot of Polish people here so they will be shouting for Brazil too,” she adds.
If Brazil go on from the group stages of the competition, Lorraine and Rosa could be in the country for their later games, something both are anticipating with excitement.
Barry McCarry of local soccer club Coole FC is also keeping a watchful eye on Brazil.
“I would fancy them to win it. I have a few pounds on them but the World Cup is really not the same without Ireland in it,” he believes.
Coinciding with it is Gort’s own version of the competition. On Saturday, June 26, Coole FC is holding a six-a-side soccer tournament for over-16s and a free one-day soccer camp for players from six to 14 years of age given by FAI coaches, see Coole FC’s Facebook page for more details.
Barry hopes to see some South American style at Gort Community Centre on the day. He is also eager to see the skills of Kaka, Baptista and Robinho rub off on his soccer protégés.  
“We would have up to 25 Brazilian kids in the club from U-11 up to U-15. All the kids are watching the World Cup, and it is great for them to see what the best players are doing because they learn. You can teach them so much in the club but when they are watching the best players in the world, they might pick something up,” Barry hopes.
While the number of Brazilian people in Gort may be down on the 2006, those that remain have high hopes for this year’s final on July 11.