GOAT India Tour: Lionel Messi delights Delhi with his language of football

NEW DELHI: It’s time for reels, memes and thrills. Finally, Lionel Messi graced the Capital with his friends, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul, and entertained a 30,000 odd gathering of the city’s elite fans at the sun-soaked Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday.The next most-popular word the city is breathing these days, AQI, hovered around 451 which is marked severe. Braving the unhealthy air, parents escorted their children to catch a glimpse of the Argentinian superstar, who glided into the stadium at half past four in the afternoon, wrapped in a cloud of security personnel. Thankfully, they weren’t over bearing. They allowed the three musketeers from Inter Miami, the MLS Cup winners in football in the US, to take a lap of honour, kick around two dozen footballs into the crowd that went delirious, and enjoy a kickabout with kids.

Perhaps, no one alerted them about the Delhi air.

Divyansh and Manik travelled all the way from Ludhiana and managed to catch one of the balls that landed in the terraces. They walked out clutching it like a baby. “Cannot frame words to how happy we are,” breathless, they could barely blurt.Academy boys and girls, who got the opportunity to pass the ball to Messi, would remember forever the late afternoon of delight. Something they will share with their grandchildren some 60 years on.

The delegates and the fortunate ones who managed a close look at the football legend in a pink tee, were starstruck. Messi, too, regaled them with his boyish grin. Never for a moment, since he landed in Kolkata on Saturday, did the smile leave his face. The unseemly Kolkata incident seemed a distant memory. On Saturday, irate fans ripped up seats and invaded the Salt Lake Stadium pitch after feeling duped by poor organisation where they could barely get a glimpse of the eight-times Ballon d’Or winner despite paying a bomb for tickets.

Events in Hyderabad and Mumbai followed without any sore points and the Capital proved no different.However, two serious Messi fans did point out, “The organisers could have arranged something for the kids on the ground rather than keep them waiting for two hours.” Messi’s arrival was delayed by an hour, but one can guess that the children won’t complain. What followed was a photo session with the Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta and chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Jay Shah.

Shah presented Messi, Suarez and de Paul with T20 World Cup tickets, a cricket bat, and Indian team jerseys. Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia also shared the stage with the trio and former India goalkeeper, Aditi Chauhan, got her jersey signed by Inter Miami mates.Ranked 142, India’s struggles on and off the football pitch were a constant source of comparison as Messi walked the stadium waving at the fans. Does he know the dark state of Indian football where the leagues cannot start because there is no one willing to sponsor it? Unlikely.

A score or more miles away, across town, the Football House wears a desolate look, frustrated by court hearings and paucity of funds. Dusk descended gently on the stadium. Messi took over the microphone and served the parting shot. “It was beautiful to receive all the love and support. I knew it was there, but to receive it first hand was, well, amazing,” Messi told the crowd, in Spanish. “I will definitely be back.” The crowd cheered, grasping the essence of the words even though the language was alien.Messi spoke the language of football. Everyone present understood it — one and all.