Even without Italy, Vancouver has caught World Cup fever
Not since 1958 has Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup but Commercial Drive, usually Metro Vancouver’s hub for the soccer team, still hosted plenty of international fanfare on Saturday.
Outside Toscani Coffee Bar, Peru supporters in red shirts waved team scarves with pride despite having just lost to Denmark 1-0. Ana Maria Tsougrianis and her husband Nick joined a dozen more Peru supporters for the 9 a.m. match, outnumbering a handful of Denmark fans. Despite Peru’s 1-0 loss, everyone had a great time, Tsougrianis said.
“We had noisemakers, we were jumping up and down,” she said. “It was really cool.”
Toscani owner Cyrilla Conforti said she has been opening at 5 a.m. since the tournament began Thursday to accommodate Vancouver’s nine- to 12-hour time difference with match start times in Russia.
Conforti said she knows her customers miss Italy this year but she’s done her best to turn the café into an international hub where people can grab a $6 breakfast and make some noise. It’s her first World Cup since buying Toscani three years ago but she believes Italy’s absence isn’t hurting business much, with many fans up at 7 a.m. to watch Argentina and Iceland’s 1-1 tie this morning.
“This morning I was surprised,” Conforti said. “So many women come to see soccer. You won’t believe it. Half of my place, they are women.”
Up the street, a sea of red and white checkered shirts filled the Croatian Cultural Centre as supporters of the country’s team attended the third annual Croatia Days Festival — with the added bonus this year of a Croatia-Nigeria match.
When Croatia notched its first point in the 2-0 game, dozens of fans hollered with joy as they stampeded into the main ballroom from an outdoor beer garden to watch the replay.
Petar Glavacic was there celebrating with friends and wearing a sheepskin herder’s coat, a symbol of his pride. He said the venue is always packed when Croatia is in the World Cup or European Championship.
“From a cultural aspect, from Canada being a multicultural country, this is an opportunity to see who were are,” he said.
Michael Kovac, president of the King Tomislav Branch of the United Croats of Canada, said the centre run by his organization is hosting more non-Croatians each year for big soccer events. While Italy is out this year, there’s still plenty of soccer excitement to go around, he added.
“Croatian pride is still out here,” he said. “Just like Europe, we’re neighbours to them, we’re neighbours on The Drive as well.”
Sunday’s matches include Costa Rica vs. Serbia (5 a.m.), Germany vs. Mexico (8 a.m.) and Brazil vs. Switzerland (11 a.m.).