By Anne D’Urso-Rose
With the World Cup being held in North America and in full swing, the Boston area is getting a close-up look at what soccer really means to fans around the world. Here in Malden, one of the most diverse cities in the Commonwealth, the global soccer tournament takes on special significance.
“My sister and I are both Brazilian,” said Fricya Silva, who grew up in Malden. “My parents are Brazilian, and so we grew up watching soccer at home, and it was a big deal. All the family got together, and we’re all wearing our Brazilian jerseys and our Brazilian gear, and you know, I think it’s just such part of our culture.”
Silva says that watching the World Cup makes her feel very proud of her native country, not just for soccer but for the culture itself.
“We’re known for our personalities, our culture of being open-minded and very welcoming to everybody, because we’re like a mosh pit of all sorts of color,” she said. “We all look different in Brazil, and I think that that’s just really inviting to others, so we like to celebrate that.”
Silva said that a typical watch party is usually at a family member’s house “but it’s not just family in there, it’s friends, it’s somebody else’s neighbor, it’s my aunt’s friend, a friend who had nowhere to watch it. So we’re just inviting everybody over, it really doesn’t matter. We go around and we just invite everybody.”
Loyalty to both countries
Abdessamad Zouhir has two teams he’s rooting for: his native Morocco and, of course, the U.S.
“I was born and raised in Morocco, but the time I’ve spent here in United States is two thirds of my age,” Zouhir said. “But you never give up that feeling, you take your home country with you in your heart, no one can take it away from you.”
Zouhir’s wife, Souad Akib, is President and Zouhir is an advisor for the American Association of Arab Women, a local nonprofit that assists the Arab community in assimilating to America and promotes cross-cultural awareness in the larger community.
“I will always, if Morocco is playing, I support Morocco, but if United States are playing [any other team], I’m always 100% behind United States.
In Morocco, Zouhir recalls, you are either watching soccer or playing it.
“It’s not only a sport, it’s not a passion — it’s a culture,” he said. “We used to play it in the street, used to play it in school, in our terrace, in the top of the house, in our bed, the living room, garden, anywhere, name it, anywhere you play soccer. When you go to the beach, everybody’s playing soccer.”
Zouhir got the thrill of a lifetime when he found out he was going to a World Cup game in Foxborough. Although it was a dream to go to a World Cup game, he had written off the idea because he felt it was too expensive. But his two adult daughters, Nidale and Manale, had a surprise for him.
“My birthday and Father’s Day are always in the month of June, so my girls always give me one gift for both. I was always spoiled, seriously, with my daughters. So now, as they grow up and they’re making some money, they put in a little bit more money.” Zouhir attended the game against Haiti with his younger daughter, Manale.
Malden’s Irish pub attracts fans from around the world
Hugh O’Neill’s Pub and Restaurant on Pleasant Street is fully embracing the World Cup.
“We’re an international bar,” said Oisin Traenor, manager of Hugh O’Neill’s Pub in Malden. “My parents are immigrants, they opened it, so we wanted to be the spot where everyone from different countries could come together.”
“I’m rooting for France,” said Rostislav (Rost) Vavrick, sitting on a barstool at Hugh O’Neill’s. “Ever since I was a little boy, [when] I saw them play, I was rooting for France.” He affirmed that soccer is big in his native Ukraine “just like it is everywhere else in the world, except the U.S.”
“My team is Morocco,” said Najib, who is proudly from the first African and first Arab country to make it to the World Cup semifinals. “And they’re one of the best, I think. I hope they’ll go all the way. They’ve been to the semifinals four years ago in Qatar, then I hope they’ll be to finals this year,” he said. “And my best place to watch soccer is O’Neills!”
Traenor is definitive about his team.
“United States of America,” he said. “Ireland didn’t make it, but I was born in America, so I like USA. My dad would be Ireland, my mom would be Ireland, but they’ve moved on to the USA because Ireland didn’t make it.”
He’s hopeful for the U.S. team and its impact. “If we can get to the quarterfinals, semifinals, I think it would change soccer forever in America, and Americans will pick it up and hopefully, the MLS will grow and kids will start playing more soccer, and we can become a soccer powerhouse.”
Traenor adds, “Honestly, it’s been really good so far. And it’s kind of been a melting pot for all these countries, and [if you’ve] been downtown, you’ve seen all the kilts from Scotland. I think Americans will start to realize how big of an event it is for the entire globe. It brings the whole world together, and hopefully Hugh O’Neills will be at the center of it all.”
For Haiti, a moment of arrival
Chris Philius a Malden High School graduate (class of 2013) who recently moved to Woburn, has family roots in Haiti.
“I’m rooting for Haiti. I have red nails and blue nails for my country,” he shows them off on the Zoom interview with Neighborhood View. “This is the first time in over 50 years that they’re in the World Cup. So this is a momentous occasion… For sure, it’s touching mainly because I feel like Haiti itself has just been going through a lot, and to have some type of joyous occasion where we’re no longer trying to pick up the pieces per se. We’re not being an afterthought, we’re being a part of the crowd, part of the sport, part of the celebration that is the World Cup.”
Philius works as a bartender in two restaurants, one in Allston and one in Boston’s Seaport. He says he hasn’t been able to watch the games as closely as he’d like because of work. He’ll be working at the Allston restaurant, which doesn’t have a TV, the night Haiti plays Brazil. He said he’ll be checking his phone and will find a way to be part of it that night.
“Whoever we end up playing, I think the one thing that I would more so want or expect is a good game, you know, despite the outcome, despite who wins . . . it’s definitely nerve-wracking, to say the least.”
Bringing the world together
Malden resident Zayda Ortiz, whose parents immigrated from Mexico, writes on her Facebook page, “I am happy to see some of my fellow Americans are leading with curiosity about the World Cup . . . It’s a really big deal everywhere but here. I have always found it brings people together from around the world in wonderfully unexpected ways that create bonds that last for generations.”
Ortiz recalls becoming a fan of the Brazilian team as a girl watching the player known as Doctor Sócrates‘ elegant style of “jogo bonito.” She points to the unlikely bond between Mexico and South Korea born out of an upset win by South Korea against Germany in 2018, which allowed Mexico to advance to the World Cup.
“If I could have one wish it would be to watch just one more game with my dad. He was excited to have both Mexico and USA hosting. I can almost hear him laughing that the Scots invaded Boston [with] bagpipes and drank all the bars dry!”
Ortiz’s father passed away two and a half years ago.
More pictures from around Malden
Maria Yulikova, Kim Brookes and Lorna Garey assisted with this article.
Corrections note: The original story stated that Abdessamad Zouhir and his daughter attended the Haiti-Brazil game in Foxborough. The article was corrected to say it was the Morocco-Scotland game.
Be the first to comment