Queno de Fritas’s bar sits at the end of the block on Willemstad’s busiest street. From the outside, it looks like any other ramshackle restaurant that dots the streets of Curacao’s capital. There are no doors, and there is no air conditioning. The inside smells like the Amstel from the night before, and there are guys bantering at the bar. It’s before noon, and this place has a few morning patrons.
Look a little more closely, though, and it becomes a tiny mecca of soccer. Plastered around the walls is a who’s who of legends: Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mo Salah, Neymar, Ronaldo Nazario.
And then, thrown in, is a 14-year-old boy, expressionless, adorned, head to toe, in the kit of Inter Willemstad – a top local club. He’s De Fritas’ son, Diego, who now plays for the PSV academy in Holland. De Fritas thinks he could make it pro someday.
“Just give it time,” he told GOAL with a chuckle, sweat dripping down his forehead. “He needs a few years. Then he’ll be good.”
De Freitas will be busy this summer. World Cup fever has spread in the past, and he is expecting no different this year. His bar was so rowdy during a Colombia game at the 2018 World Cup that police had to shut down a major road in the city. Workers at the airport showed off selfies with star players. Talk to anyone, and they can hold conversations about the minutiae of Dutch football. Brazil are immensely popular. Baseball is big here – there are murals for that, too. But soccer? Every single kid plays it growing up. Now, more are sticking with it.
The watching culture is significant, too – as is the food, drink and music that comes with it. This place parties when other teams are playing. That party will increase exponentially this summer. Curacao is hosting a fan fest in Houston. There will be 4,000 fans on the streets of Texas.
As for results? Well, those don’t really matter all that much. In the eyes of many, Curacao have already won just by qualifying.
“I hope they’re in the semifinals, but that’s delusional. The most important thing for us now is playing a good tournament. It doesn’t matter if we win, lose or draw, because either way, we’re going to celebrate it,” Balentien said.
And for a place once fighting itself, but brought together by soccer, that might be enough.
“Whatever happens, we’re going to celebrate. If we have a corner, we’re going to celebrate. A red card, a yellow card, the first penalty, the offside. We’re going to celebrate everything and enjoy the tournament,” Balentien said.
