Tears follow history as tiny Curacao earn first World Cup point

KANSAS CITY – Having rode the Blue Wave from when it was a mere ripple, a grown man is in tears at the press box now that it has well and truly crashed onto the shores of the World Cup.

When this bespectacled Curacaoan reporter, 39, started following his national team, there were only a few thousands in the stadium in their capital Willemstad, and he could count the total number of reporters on one hand.

You can understand that it is hard for Carl Ruiter from Extra Curacao, the island’s biggest newspaper, to not be overwhelmed by emotions at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 20.

Surrounded by scores of reporters and media personnel from around the world, and 68,598 spectators, including royalty in the form of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, his country conjured up a football miracle in regal fashion.

The smallest nation to ever qualify for a World Cup, the 82nd-ranked side held world No. 23 Ecuador to a 0-0 draw in the Group E encounter.

A population of about 156,000 matched a nation of over 18 million.

Ruiter and his people owe it to a band of brothers in the Curacao squad who fought tooth and nail for the point and threatened to even take all three.

They also owe it to goalkeeper Eloy Room, who matched a World Cup record by making 15 saves, before later joking: “I think I need a statue in Curacao.”

There are grown men crying in the locker room too.

Curacao forward Gervane Kastaneer, who went onto the pitch in the 83rd minute, described the result as “crazy” as he spoke to The Straits Times after the match.

Noting that he has never seen so many of his teammates cry, he added: “They’ve cried so much on this trip already.

“And that says enough how big this is. Even the big guys were crying.”

Jean Francisca, former president of both the Netherlands Antilles football federation and Curacao Football Federation who started the Road To The World Cup project, was emotional too as he spoke to ST.

After all, The Arrowhead may represent the crest of the Blue Wave, but he had established its beachhead over two decades ago.

Francisca said: “This journey started 23 years ago, to look for players who could play for Curacao from around the world. And now we have a point at the World Cup.

“This was not a dream for us, this was an opportunity. We made use of that opportunity. Now we are there. The people of Curacao, we are one, and you saw it in the stands. I am very happy.”

Their fans were outnumbered as tens of thousands of yellow-clad Ecuador supporters had turned the stands into a vibrant replica of home an hour before the 7pm (US time) kick-off.

But, while the Curacao support in blue was no more than 2,000, they certainly made waves.

Even if the script appeared already written, especially after their World Cup debut began with a 7-1 thumping by Germany on June 14.

Three points for the South Americans seemed inevitable. The only question was how many times the ball would find the back of the Curacao net.

But football does not bend to pre-match predictions. Not always.

The sport always has room for the unthinkable, the stuff that proves difficult even in video games.

And here, the minnows dream of history. Cape Verde did it with Spain by holding the former champions to a goal-less draw and now Curacao showed they can do the unthinkable too.

So for the second straight match at the Arrowhead, a football miracle unfolded.

Lionel Messi’s hat-trick here against Algeria on June 16 will go down in World Cup history, but this moment will be remembered by an entire country and its people for ages to come.

This tiny Curacao had put on a big-hearted performance.

At the end, their fans were in delirium.

On the field, some of the players dropped to the turf, before they all got together and ran towards their fans behind the goal and others who were behind the bench.

Ecuador had thrown everything into the match, but their efforts got thwarted time and again as Room proved unbeatable.

The South American side’s fans jeered their team off the pitch, incredulous at the fact that their talented team could not find a cutting edge against Curacao.

After all, this Ecuador side boast Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie, Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League-winning centre-back Willian Pacho, Chelsea’s £100 million (S$170.8 million) man Moises Caicedo, among other established stars who ply their trade in Europe.

Their post-mortem has begun.

Meanwhile, there will be a party back in the tiny Caribbean island, which is better known for producing top baseball players.

Formerly known as the Netherlands Antilles, that nation dissolved in 2010 when Curacao and Sint Maarten became autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, just as Aruba had in 1986.

Here, they have not just made the World Cup but also earned a point.

Ruiter said: “We are on the big stage. Now the world sees us, they literally see us as a nation, they respect our growth. We’re in the beautiful game.”

Curacao will face Ivory Coast in their final group-stage game on June 25, looking to create even more history.

Kastaneer said: “We were dancing in the locker room. This is a big present. Against Germany, that one goal was enough for it to feel like a win for our tiny island. And today, this one point now feels like a win too.

“The fans are so happy and proud and that makes us happy. This is the biggest stage.”