PTI

Kolkata, Jul 4: With their favourites Brazil making an unceremonious exit from the world's greatest football show, the World Cup seems to have become meaningless for lakhs of Kolkatans who have been staying up till the wee hours to watch the rivetting action in Germany.

India's soccer capital, which was in the grip of a soccer fever for the last one month with bleary-eyed denizens animatedly doing post-mortems of every match at offices, tea-stalls, college canteens, roadside gatherings and buses, seem heartbroken.

"I did not mind the not-so-bright performance from the likes of Ronaldinho in the earlier matches. I thought they are preserving their energy for the tougher battles. But I could not believe my eyes the way they played against France. It was the worst display I have seen from Brazil," said T P Dutta, a bank executive.

For Abhijit Banerjee, who had organised pujas regularly at a roadside temple praying for the success of the soccer super power, the abrupt end of the Samba dance was "The end of a dream. I will not watch any more matches in the ongoing Cup".