panaji every time the world cup kicks off peter vaz cannot take his mind off italythe sporting clube de goa boss was in germany for the fifa world cup in 2006 when he found himself at a sports bar teeming with fans there were television cameras all around and one particular channel wanted to know what was on everyones mind it was the first semifinal and as hosts germany were clear favouritesninety eight percent of the fans backed germany they thought nothing could go wrong for the hosts said vaz who was among the two percent who didnt go with the flow vaz picked italy from his understanding of previous games he even put his money where his heart was and had the last laugh it was shocking for the hosts as italy struck twice in the last two minutes of extra time it was goalless during 90 minutes but vaz and his friends were gifted with a lasting memoryfor the final everyone backed italy laughs vaz who missed out watching the match live at the stadium after failing to procure tickets for his friends had he been at the olympiastadion in berlin vaz could have had a memory of a lifetime zinedine zidane headbutting marco materazzi never mind that miss the world cup always provides something for everyonethe world cup is a surreal experience its like a confluence of artists in one place you meet people from across the globe there are fan parks theme songs the streets are decorated its a festive atmosphere said vaz who is now in russia along with family and friends for his fourth world cup pilgrimagefootball is the biggest attraction for many fans who travel for the world cup but like solon furtado discovered there is so much elsewe go there for the football of course but its also a fantastic place to meet people of different nationalities the memories last a lifetime said furtadosolon was in russia this month for the early stages of the world cup and returned home refreshed the image of russia that we had was completely different to what we saw there its such a welldeveloped country on par if not better than most european nations but more importantly the people are so warm and friendly its quite unlike what we had heard before said furtadoamong the lasting memory that he carried back home from russia was about five sternlooking cops who went out of their way to make the goan tourists comfortable in rostovondoninitially it looked like we were ambushed by cops and questioned but when we got on to google translators on cellphones we discovered that they wanted to help us they showed us directions hailed a taxi and ensured we had a smooth journey said furtado who experienced his second world cupirineu gonsalves is a veteran at the world cup having attended five editions since 1994 in the united states ever since his playing days with vasco sc and salgaocar sc he followed