Kolkata: Lionel Messi ended his five-day Kolkata sojourn on Sunday, mesmerising a thousand-odd crowd which had sneaked in during Argentina's 'closed doors' practice session at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan.
The Argentine superstar did not interact with the Indian media nor did he take part in any promotional programme during his stay in Kolkata for their one-off FIFA international friendly against Venezuela on September 2.
But in his last appearance at the sprawling 120,000 capacity stadium, Messi enthralled the handful crowd by not only scoring a goal during a practice match, but also dispatched three footballs to the stand with his powerful left-footer before entering the players' tunnel, waving his last goodbye.
It was quite an emotional moment as the spectators stood up, giving an ovation to the Argentine magician as cries of 'Messi, Messi' reverberated in the gallery.
There was no let-up in their practice session either as Alejandro Sabella's boys geared up for the Nigeria challenge in Dhaka on September 6 with a rigorous session lasting more than an hour.
After routine stretch-ups, Sabella divided the squad into two equal groups as Messi and his first-team partners, including the likes of Angel Di Maria, Javier Mascherano and Gonzalo Higuain, registered a 2-0 win.
Messi scored the first goal dribbling from the midfield with a solo run in the first half, while Higuain struck in the second session.
The Lionel Messi-captained Argentina, after their 1-0 win over Venezuela on September 2, take on Nigeria for a second FIFA international friendly in Dhaka on September 6.
The Argentines are scheduled to fly out of Kolkata at 9.30 AM on Monday.
Earlier, on the last day of their Kolkata sojourn, Messi gave the media and fans a miss by confining himself to his hotel room, but the others, including the duo of Nicolas Burdisso and Jonas Gutierrez, went on a shopping spree.
Newcastle midfielder Gutierrez bought a silver ring from a curio shop inside the hotel, while a few others were seen coming from outside carrying shopping bags.
Gutierrez, along with Burdisso, were quite impressed with the scarfs and Indian idols of Lord Ganesha and Shiva and told the store incharge to keep them ready.
"They scanned through various idols, handicrafts, mats and multi-coloured scarfs. They told me to keep the things ready and said they will take it when they return from the evening practice," store manager Ramesh Ahuja told PTI.
He said Messi, however, did not come for any shopping.
In fact, the Argentine journalists, too, had no clue about Messi, as fans gathered outside the star's hotel in which he was lodged.
Messi's visit to Kolkata was marked with security concerns as the Argentine did not even visit Mother Teresa's House, the headquarters of Missionaries of Charity, even as his teammates paid their homage.
There was a buzz that Messi may interact with the Indian media but that fizzled out after Venezuela's post-match conference, which was aborted mid-way after a two-minute power blackout.
The Argentines did come for the post-match interaction on Saturday, but apprehending security issues, they presented coach Sabella before the media instead of Messi.
Messi, though, spoke to a handful Argentine journalists as the Argentina Football Association did not allow entry to the Indian media.
Comments
0 comment