From Football Passion to Heartbreak: My Journey as a Football Fan

I've always loved playing football from a tender age. My position is mostly defensive because of my size, and I am good at distributing distance passes. I started supporting a club during the finals between Arsenal and Barcelona; I wanted Barcelona to win. However, I'm not a strong fan, and it got worse when betting sites were introduced in Nigeria. I totally stopped fanning any club.

When it comes to national teams, my favorite has always been Brazil. The joy they give me with their samba football is extraordinary. My love for Brazil grew during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, with the likes of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, and the rest of them.

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With the new generation of players like super Vinicius Jr., incredible Lucas, and undefeated Rodrygo, I know Brazil is covered. My only fear is Argentina; those guys are brutal. I just hope Messi remains injured until Brazil wins the Copa América.

Anywhere CR7 is, that's where I go too. It's unfortunate he decided to hide himself in an Arabian club, but I'm happy he was selected for Portugal and is still the captain. I will get to watch him a few more times before he retires.

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"Portugal" is my favorite team for Euro Cup 2024. But their last game got me worried; I wasn't expecting them to lose to Georgia. That game brought back memories of how they messed up in the last World Cup. I hope they have learned and will give a better performance against Slovenia.

When I go to watch my team, I go to a nearby hangout with my friends. We get a very cold bottle of beer. My friend always tells the bartender that the drink should be as cool as "mortuary standard." My favorite brand is Heineken.

If I'm not watching it there, the next place I go is a match hall, where we pay some money at the door to gain entrance. It's a big hall filled with televisions showing all the matches.

I hate watching the games alone; it's so boring. There's no one to argue or quarrel with. But in the match hall, watching games is intense and very exciting. You can see the frustration on the losers' faces and all manner of insults being thrown at each other. It's a war zone, but no one fights. After the game, everyone kisses and makes up. No grudges; it's all part of the fun.

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For the Euro Cup, I believe Spain is more likely to win. They have put up a better performance compared to other teams and won all three matches.

Today, they are playing against the host country, Germany. The German machines are not ones to back down easily, especially at home. Anyone who wins this match is likely to win the Euro Cup, but my money is on Spain.

For the Copa América, I believe Argentina will win again. So far, they have done well, but I’m not really impressed with their performance because the teams they have played are not strong title contenders. Let's see how they perform in the quarter-finals.

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I can never forget the match between Madrid and Real Betis last year. That match almost made me faint. I was just on my own, watching the Manchester United match that day. A friend of mine came with a game he bought from punters and decided to share it with me.

The game ran for one week with odds of 250+. Reluctantly, I decided to risk it with the beer money I was holding because the games looked promising. I staked 2k to win 3 million plus. The games were going well, and only Real Madrid vs. Real Betis was left.

I saw a cash-out of 1.8 million, but greed wouldn’t let me take the money. I was 101% sure I was going to win because there was no way Madrid wouldn’t beat Betis. The game kicked off; I wrote my betting code on a piece of paper and put it inside a Holy Bible, wrapped it around with a rosary, and backed it up with prayers, hoping to win the 3 million naira.

By half-time, it was still 0-0. I started sweating. I rushed to look for a cash-out, but there was none. I encouraged myself that Madrid would win. Madrid did all the playing, but it was as if bad luck was following them. By the 75th minute, it was still 0-0. My body was burning all over. I couldn’t concentrate on the match; my eyes were on my phone in case the cash-out would show up.

There was no kind of prayer request I didn’t make that day. I told God if He made this come through for me, I would stop drinking, chasing after ladies, and even move to a church to become a pastor.

The match ended 0-0. I thought a broken heart was overrated until that day. I felt my heart leaving my body. I started running a fever that night. My temperature was so high the next day; I did a test and found out I had malaria and typhoid. I was too embarrassed to tell my friend that I didn’t cash out.

When I fully recovered, I told myself I would never gamble again because I don't think my fragile heart can take such a loss anymore. Since then, I deleted all the betting apps from my phone. Somehow, writing articles on Steemit gradually removed my mind from gambling.

That's me with a Barcelona jersey. Since I know I will no longer see Ronaldo play again, I had to move to my next favorite club, Barcelona. But I was angry with the way they treated my coach, Xavi. They sacked him after begging him to come back.

I will be inviting @bossj23 and @emmy01