It has happened to Hansi Flick and to Lionel Scaloni here. On Friday, it happened to us: a busload of media which got lost.
It is easy enough to do that in Doha. In-city traffic moves silently but at speed that is often 80km per hour or more and pedestrians are few and far between. Asking people for directions is also largely pointless because most shrug and tell you they don’t know. So, you zero in on media shuttles of which there are aplenty.
Barely had we caught our breath from South Korea’s last-gasp win, a group of journalists fetched up at the media parking area for a bus from Education City Stadium to the Lusail where Brazil were playing Cameroon.
There was almost two hours to kickoff and since these shuttles minimise time to get to the media centre — it usually takes longer around a venue searching for the media entrance than it does to get there — we were sure we would be well in time.
We were, but not well in time. By the time people in the bus began looking up from their phones and laptops wondering why it was taking this long, the coach driver had well and truly lost his way. The satellite navigation he was relying on kept up its staccato chatter but Lusail was nowhere in sight.
The gleaming date bowl of a stadium appeared briefly on our left and then disappeared behind highrises. Our driver was following instructions to a T, but most approach roads being closed meant Lusail seemed like El Dorado.
It didn’t help that by then, looking thoroughly flustered, he was being bombarded by instructions in different languages and which were often at cross purposes. Like many coach drivers, and most people here to help Qatar pull off a successful World Cup, the driver was not local and one hour into a drive that should have taken half the time, he had no idea where he was and how to get out of there.
It was then that a Lusail stadium supervisor took charge and directed him to the said place. Relieved that we had finally reached and in a rush to head to the media tribune, usually a 20-minute affair, we forgot to ask why the supervisor hadn’t stepped in earlier.
The drink of choice
There are many reasons why an Indian will not feel out of place in Doha. Hindi, Bengali and Malayalam are spoken nearly everywhere and most people are comfortable in English. But what better way for an Indian to feel at home away from home than a steaming cuppa. One that has a lot of milk, spices and sugar.
“Kadak” is served at breakfast and it can be the 4am friend accompanying your biriyani. And if you get talking to a local, chances are high that you would be offered a big glass — it is that and never in a cup, that is for coffee — with the promise that it was made “the authentic Indian way.”
Arnold’s drink
“Australian for beer,” used to be a tagline livening up the experience of cricket telecast from Down Under. Well, Graham Arnold is having none of it. The Australia coach was asked what would his spirit of choice to celebrate his team making the knockout round after 16 years be. He held up the bottle of water on the dais. “We are in the middle of a tournament and in a fantastic facility (The Aspire Academy) so we don’t want to go out.”
In the mixed zone, the final question to Jamie McLaren from an Australian journalist after the Socceroos had notched up their first win in 12 years was: “A few Bud Zeros tonight mate?” The journalist was referring to the non-alcoholic drink available for 30 riyals at stadiums. He got a laugh, not an answer.
Thank you, Bangladesh
Among the many things Scaloni was asked ahead of Saturday’s Round-of-16 game against Australia was on the support Argentina were enjoying in the World Cup. Scaloni acknowledged the role of Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi in making the Albiceleste shirt a thing to cherish across the planet. And then he made special mention of Bangladesh, possibly the country with the most Argentina supporters away from home.
“It makes us happy that there are people in Bangladesh and many other places standing up for us. Thanks to the people of Bangladesh,” he said.