As the FIFA World Cup nears the semifinal round, the buzz around it has only grown. It has been engulfing even our cinema celebrities. After returning from three live World Cup matches in Qatar, Kollywood actor Thalaivasal Vijay shared his experience. He shared candid memories in a recent interview.
“I love sports, and follow football, Wimbledon and hockey, as I played for the Madras University when studying in Guru Nanak College. Though I’m not into club football, I’ve been a huge fan of the German football team since 1988. I had performed along with Chandralekha in Stuttgart, Leverkusen and Frankfurt that year. I had the privilege of watching the UEFA. Since then, I became crazy about the German team.” says the actor, whose favorite German players are Franz Beckenbauer, Lothar Matthäus, Jürgen Klinsmann, Rudi Völler, Thomas Müller and Oliver Kahn. He added that he could not gather sleep after Germany lost the match.
Vijay added that it was a treat to watch the matches live. “It was one of the top things on my bucket list. But sathiyama nenachu paakala that I’d be going to this World Cup. My cousin, who is in Kolkata and is an ardent football fan. He asked me if we could go to the World Cup, and I told him I was ready if he got the tickets. He somehow managed to get a couple of tickets through the Bangladesh Football Association. This was in September, I think. Luckily, I only had one film commitment — RJ Balaji’s Singapore Saloon — that needed to be rescheduled. So, I requested the team, and with Balaji being a cricket fan, he was quite understanding,” he recalls.
