Soccer fan the city found an excuse to plunge into the frenzy on Thursday even before the 2018 FIFA World Cup was off to a colourful start in Russia in the night when the century-old arch rival football clubs in the city clashed at Indira Priyadarshini Stadium.
The city-based clubs—Sportsmen Club and Polar Star—which have a history of stellar performances and producing noted players in bunches chose to lock horns, marking the inauguration of the soccer World Cup on Thursday.
“Be it the English Manchester United meeting the Italian acre Juventus or Sportsmen Club taking on Polar Star, the adrenaline rush is obvious. And when it comes to Sportsmen Club and Polar Star, they are arguably the oldest football clubs in Andhra Pradesh after all,” said AP Football Association president K. Gopalakrishna.
‘Legacy still on’
Both the clubs have been the arch rivals since the last 100 years and both have produced stalwart footballers such as Appalaraju, Varahalu and Veerababu.
The clubs have contributed immensely to the game and their legacies are still on, added Mr. Gopalakrishna.
Both the teams fought keenly and match went into the extra time.
Finally, the penalty shootout was the decider and Polar Star drubbed Sportsmen Club with a 5-4 margin .
Visakhapatnam District Collector Pravin Kumar, Mr. Gopalakrishna and other officials were present during the match.