A one-storey house in Narayanganj city's Golachipa area with its walls and boundaries painted with the Argentina flag might not have caught the same attention as the much-talked about Brazil House in Fatullah, which is only three kilometers away from the city. But it has its own story to tell.
The owner of the house is Awal Sheikh, who is not a die-hard fan of Argentina football team compared to his only son-in-law, Mohammad Afzal Munshi.
Being a contractor by profession, Afzal painted the whole house by his own, utilising the leisure times from his regular job and it took him more than half a month to paint the whole walls of the building and the boundaries. It was finally completed on the second day of the 2018 Fifa World Cup.
Standing at the doorstep, Awal's daughter and Afzal's wife Anjuman Akter told Dhaka Tribune that she is also an Argentina fan but not like her two sons, who started to follow the footsteps of their father's craziness for the Albiceleste. Afzal has been an Argentina fan since the 1986 World Cup.
The Argentine fans are apparently bigger in number in the locality. A Brazil fan, who was also found in the household, though claimed the stat to be opposite.
Afzal however, experienced bitter reactions from the rival fans after both of Argentina’s matches. The white and blue colours of the boundary walls were seen damaged after paints were thrown following Argentina's shocking defeat against Croatia Thursday night.
"I also painted the house partially during the last World Cup but not like this time. We have more Argentina fans in our area but there are also some Brazil fans, a few of them always look out for occasions to damage the painting of the Argentina flag," said Afzal while pointing out the series of Argentina banners in the front street of the house.
