An evening in London to remember

I am currently on work in London and was invited by a friend to watch the FC Chelsea vs Spartak Moscow game in the UEFA Champions League at Stamford Bridge last night. But getting to Stamford Bridge turned out to be a 'no go' as London's transport system was suffering from a one-day tube strike, which severely crippled public transport in London. Be it by the underground, overground train or busses it just wasn't possible to get close enough to just walk across into Stamford Bridge.

At the time of the kick-off I just had to give up and started to make my way back to my hotel, then I started to fear that that could also turn out to be a difficult journey. It wasn't that bad, but still I was not in the mood for anything then having the chance to watch a Champions League match live at a ground where I have been to a number of times, but never for a live game is just bad. I just love watching live football, then there is nothing better then this. You can feel the atmosphere, which can't get across on a television.

I wasn't really in the mood, so I wanted to quickly grab something to eat and then get back into my room or maybe the sports bar down in the hotel to watch the game. I ended up in McDonald's and the guy at the counter was good, he got me my food and then suddenly asked me where I come from. I told him Germany with parents hailing from Kolkata and suddenly the guys says, me to and asked me if I spoke Bengali. I said yes and we started talking in Bengali, when the guy asks why my mood is the way it was. So I told him the story of not getting to Stamford Bridge and out of the blue he tells me, he is also a big football fan and that 'we' have a big football culture back in Kolkata. No one needs to tell me that...

So while I was eating, the guy takes a break and we chat about football. He tells me that he is a big Mohammedan Sporting fan, but the club hasn't done well over the last few years. He hoped they could regroup and get their act together. I then told him what I do in regard to Indian football and the obvious question came, if I knew any of our Team India players. I said yes, actually some of them are good old friends. As he had to return to his work and I wanted to watch the match on television, he said in the end, "Hopefully India do well in Qatar. 'We' need it!" Very well said...

I never thought that I would speak Indian football with a complete stranger in London after missing to see a live Champions League match. It was one of those experiences of talking football somewhere in the world, which I just love. And I didn't know that McDonald's now have staff working for them, who are able to read the minds of their customers, then I forgot to ask why the guy started to talk to me about football and India in the first place.