Harrowing time for paying fans post Messi sudden exit
KOLKATA: All for a glimpse of Messi. For a Messi fan, it’s all that matters. As soon as I reached the gates of the Salt Lake Stadium at 8.30 am, fatigue from overnight journey just disappeared. The stadium was draped in Argentina colours, with people in jerseys with Messi written on their backs. There were giant cutouts and paintings of him as well. Fans from across the country were there. My ticket allowed me to one part of the stands.
More than 60,000 fans would have gathered inside by 10.30 am. There was a cultural programme highlighting India and Argentina, followed by a friendly football match between Diamond Harbour Club and Mohun Bagan. Fans were kept engaged, but as soon as the announcer hollered in stadium PA system that Messi would be entering, at around 11.30 am, excitement quickly turned into a frenzy. Fans began climbing the barriers placed in front of the stands to catch a glimpse of the World Cup winner.
As Messi entered the stadium in a car, accompanied by his Inter Miami teammates Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suárez, things started getting out of hand. Fans were delirious.
However, the scenes turned chaotic after guests in the cordoned-off VVIP area crowded around Messi, blocking his view. The event organiser was heard repeatedly urging them to step aside.
All of a sudden the situation went out of control and Messi and his entourage were escorted out of the stadium. We in the crowd did not know what was happening. Word spread that Messi had left. This sparked anger.
Bottles were hurled onto the field, banners were violently torn down, and the situation deteriorated. Fans began breaking chairs and throwing them in the stadium. Several people breached barricades and entered the ground. Makeshift tents were overturned, chairs smashed.Even the goalpost was damaged.
Eventually, exhausted and disillusioned, fans began leaving the stadium. Shah Rukh Khan and Sourav Ganguly who were part of the event cancelled their appearances.
Atmosphere electric as city salutes soccer royalty
HYDERABAD: Hyderabad put its best foot forward on Saturday by ensuring that the visit of Lionel Messi to India was a resounding success. While the football was limited to an exhibition match between Team Revanth Reddy Singareni and Aparna All Stars, playing for Messi, the atmosphere was electric at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal.
The stadium and its vicinity turned into a roaring cauldron of song, colour and belief on a night Hyderabad came to salute football royalty. First, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy stepped onto the pitch with his team, drawing loud cheers.
A while later, Messi appeared, first watching quietly from the sidelines, smiling at the noise he had summoned without touching the ball. When he finally walked onto the field, the stadium erupted. Phones went up, voices cracked, and the stadium shook. Messi waved, took in the scene, and soon offered flashes of the touch that has defined a generation.
He was joined by Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, with Revanth alongside them, a tableau that blurred lines between sport, spectacle and dream. For the record, Revanth found the net once and Messi twice.