Ronaldo fever hits Toronto ahead of Portugal vs Croatia World Cup clash
The last time the football icon was in Toronto was August 2009 when Real Madrid played a friendly against Toronto FC. Toronto, Canada – The
The last time the football icon was in Toronto was August 2009 when Real Madrid played a friendly against Toronto FC. Toronto, Canada – The year was 2009, and a sculpted, spiky-haired, 24-year-old Ronaldo was greeted by hundreds of adoring fans in Toronto dying to catch a glimpse of the newly signed Real Madrid superstar as he graced the city with his presence for the first time. Fast forward 17 years, and the visuals are almost identical, give or take a few differences. Hundreds of Toronto residents took to the streets on Wednesday, lining highways, thronging downtown intersections, climbing onto each other’s shoulders and peeking out of high-rise buildings, all to get a 10-second glimpse of Ronaldo passing by, as Portugal arrived in the city ahead of their World Cup round of 32 clash with Croatia. The last time the football icon was in Toronto was August 2009 when Real Madrid played a friendly against Toronto FC, coincidentally at the same stadium where Portugal will take on Croatia on Thursday evening. Wednesday being a public holiday increased the chances of fans catching a glimpse of the 41-year-old football legend at what is likely to be his last ever World Cup, and potentially last World Cup match if Portugal are knocked out of the tournament. The city was buzzing with Ronaldo fever right from the minute Portugal landed at Pearson airport early Wednesday afternoon. Biker groups lined Gardiner Expressway to escort the Portuguese team bus to the Delta Hotel, where hundreds of fans gathered to get a glimpse of Ronaldo as he exited the bus, and then again when the team headed to Centennial Park for their training session.
Even at the grounds in Etobicoke, dozens of starstruck fans sporting red #7 jerseys stood outside the field as Ronaldo and the Portugal team warmed up on what was supposedly the hottest day of the year in Canada. The fan frenzy was valid; for most Portugal fans in the city, this was the closest they would get to seeing the one and only Cristiano Ronaldo in person. Sky-high ticket prices for the match, some as ludicrous as $30,000 Canadian dollars ($21,000), were unaffordable to the average football fan. Tickets to the sold-out game have averaged $2,500-3,500 Canadian dollars over the past week on resale platforms, even though Ontario laws forbid third-party sales above face value. “I’m a dad and a husband, and I couldn’t justify spending that kind of money on a ticket no matter how much I want to see Portugal play in Toronto,” Joey, 33, told Al Jazeera, as he closed out his shift at Bairrada Churrasqueira on the fringe of Little Portugal in Toronto. “But it still feels surreal that Portugal is playing here in Toronto, who would have ever thought that,” the restaurant worker beamed, as he flipped chairs onto the tables before mopping the floor. Worlds collide Joey, who declined to share his surname, was one of tens of thousands of Portuguese-Canadians who have called Toronto home for several decades now. The first wave of immigrants arrived in the 1950s seeking better opportunities for themselves and their families. Just last year, the city inaugurated the Azores Parkette in the heart of Little Portugal to honour the 18 “pioneering men” who departed Sao Miguel, Azores, and landed on the shores of Halifax to build a new life.
The BriefWire