FUJAIRAH // The familiar bubble of the pipes at the emirate's oldest shisha cafe was drowned out by the din of vuvuzelas emanating from the TV screen as Paraguay took on Slovakia yesterday.
While most of Fujairah took an afternoon siesta, Al Saher Coffee Shop's patrons cheered on Paraguay - and, to a lesser extent, Slovakia - shouting jokes over the smoke and football commentary.
During the World Cup, the cafe's PlayStation and 17 decks of cards are untouched. The backgammon boards remain stacked to the ceiling.
On this quiet afternoon, Essam Abdelazziz, 34, the cafe manager, announced the opening of the match on his microphone to the cafe's 16 patrons.
In the mornings, Mr Abdelazziz prepares for the World Cup celebrations with thick Turkish coffee and saloom shisha in his office, a tiny room divided from the cafe with coloured plastic windows.
The cafe's doors open at 6am so his dedicated customers can have a shisha between morning prayers and work.
By afternoon, Mr Abdelazziz is settled amongst his patrons, who will stay until closing at 2.30am.
"If you come after 10pm you haven't a chair," said Mr Abdelazziz, who quit his job as an accountant in Egypt to manage the 22-year-old cafe.
Ahmed el Zeiny, 30, was among the early few. He came directly from his job at Abu Dhabi National Bank to support Paraguay.
"Latin America is very, very good in football," said Mr el Zeiny. "They make you enjoy watching the match."
Mr Abdelazziz favours Italy in the tournament. In addition to a flag with the Italian coat of arms, he had also hung the jerseys of Argentina, Brazil, Spain, and the flags of Portugal on Al Saher's orange walls to placate his Emirati patrons.
"I love Italia because you know, Italia is like Alexandria in Egypt, the same characteristics," said Mr Abdelazziz. "Here in the Emirates, they like too much Brazil and Argentina."
Mr el Zeiny was dismissive of the boys in blue. "Italy are always playing defence," he said. "The best ones in football play attack."
As for Mr el Zeiny, his football career ended at the tender age of five when he lost his temper and whacked an opponent on the head.
His father promptly forbade him from playing football and enrolled him in swimming.
It was an act of love, insisted Mr el Zeiny, "to control my power".
After moving to the UAE four years ago, Mr el Zeiny returned to football. He says he is strong defender, which he attributes to his grandmother, who used to feed him broth made from the bones of cow's legs when he was six-months-old. His parents once gave him a birthday present of two litres of milk because he had such a tremendous appetite.
Today his indulgence is altogether less wholesome. He takes a shisha mix of lemon and orange, a mix known at Al Saher as "el Zeiny".
When Vera scored the first goal for Paraguay - they eventually won 2-0 - the applause of the small crowd transported Mr el Zeiny back to the rivalry in his household, between Egyptian clubs Al Ahly and Zamalek. "In Egypt people express themselves, but by jokes only," he said. "In my family, my father and I support Al Ahly sports club. My brother and my two younger brothers support Zamalek. When you see this match, it is like fire in my house."
During the second half the cafe slowly filled but there remained one solitary supporter for Slovakia.
Ahmed Abdul, 24, a Palestinian who graduated in dentistry from Ajman University last week, pinned his hopes on Slovakia to boost Italy's chances.
"I've liked Italy since 1994," he said. Friends from Al Saher know of his love for the Azzurri and phoned him when Italy drew with Paraguay.
"But you know you cannot judge from the first game," he said.
And nor from the second one, apparently. As night fell over the Fujairah mountains, the cafe's seats filled with customers to watch New Zealand's remarkable 1-1 draw with Italy, armed with jokes and strong shisha, ready to pass judgment of their own.
azacharias@thenational.ae
Election pledges on migration
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SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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Sunday Granada v Huesca (5pm), Osasuna v Real Betis (7.15pm), Villarreal v Elche (9.30pm), Alaves v Real Sociedad (midnight)
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