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Kolkata Friday September 2, 2011
www.thebengalpost.com SPORT I
Let’s dance with the happy prince
Sudeshna Ghosh
Kolkata: You may have to scale the same potholes on your way
to office, wait for the same number of minutes for your conveyance
or once again be delayed for your destination by the
ever-increasing traffic. Yet it is a great day to be in the City of
Joy. Pop icons like Bryan Adams or rock-n-roll legends like The
Metallica may overlook the city on their list of concert venues
or a certain Angelina Jolie may warn her good friend Johnny
Depp against shooting in these parts but the crown prince of
world football — Lionel Andres “Leo” Messi — is in the city to
erase the petty grievances and mesmerise us with his football
skills.
Battered by India’s World Cup-winning cricket team’s dismal
performance in the Test series in England and coupled
with our senior footballers’ very poor show against Trinidad &
Tobago and Guyana on their Caribbean tour, people here can
find solace in being witness to the football artistry between
two of the best Latin American teams in the world — Argentina
and Venezuela.
When Messi, along with his Argentine compatriots and
Venezuelan rivals, takes the field at the Salt Lake stadium on
Friday, holding hands of kids from an NGO, he will be the object of
admiration for 80,000 eager fans — including top-notch celebrities
from all over the country like Ranbir Kapoor, Anurag Kashyap,
Dino Morea as well as a huge number of local who’s who.
Vital Stats
Full Name: Luis Lionel Andrés “Leo” Messi
Date of Birth: June 24, 1987
Home Town: Rosario, Argentina
Nationality: Argentina and Spain
Height: 5ft 7inch
Weight: 67 kg
Position: Striker/ Winger
Clubs: Newell’s Old Boys (1995-2000); Barcelona
‘B’ (2004-05); Barcelona FC (2000-2004, 2005-)
Team: Argentina U-20, Argentina U-23, Argentina
Senior Team
Debut (for Argentina): June 2004 (in a friendly
against Paraguay)
Club Honours: La Liga (2004-05, 2005-06, 2008-
09, 2009-10, 2010-11); Copa del Rey (2008-09);
Supercopa de Espana (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010,
2011); Uefa Champions League (2005-06, 2008-
09, 2010-11); Uefa Super Cup (2009, 2011); Fifa
Club World Cup (2009)
Country Honours: Fifa U-20 World
Cup (2005); Olympic Gold (2008)
Individual Honours: Fifa Ballon
d’Or (2010); Ballon d’Or (2009);
Fifa World Player of the Year (2009); Fifa Team of
the Year (2008, 2009, 2010); U-21 European
Footballer of the Year (2007); La Liga Player of
the Year (2009, 2010, 2011); La Liga Top
Goalscorer (2010); Copa del Rey top
goalscorer (2011); La Liga Foreign
Player of the Year (2007, 2009, 2010);
La Liga Ibero-American Player of the
Year (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011);
European Golden Shoe (2010); Uefa
Champions League Top Goalscorer
(2009, 2010, 2011); Uefa Best Player in
Europe (2011); Uefa Club Footballer of
the Year (2009); Uefa Champions
League Forward of the Year (2009);
Uefa Champions League Final ‘Man
of the Match’ (2011); Uefa Team of
the Year (2008, 2009, 2010);
Footballer of the Year of
Argentina (2005, 2007, 2008,
2009, 2010); Fifa U-20 World
Cup Player of the Tournament
(2005); Fifa U-20 World Cup
Top Goalscorer (2005); Copa
América Young Player of the
Tournament (2007);
World Footballer of the
Year (2009); World
Football Young Player of
the Year (2006, 2007,
2008); Fifa Club World
Cup Golden Ball (2009);
Uefa Best Goal of the Year
(2007)
However, even a few months back, it would have looked
nothing less than a miracle to imagine that the Argentine protégé,
just like his icon Diego Maradona, would oblige the lovers
of the game by working his magical feet in the football-crazy
city of ours. In fact, Messi’s visit, in certain ways, is more mesmerising
than Maradona’s 2008 engagement as we have a
chance to experience his genius at a time when the 24-year-old
is at the top of his game.
Born on June 24, 1987 in the small town of Rosario in
Argentina, Messi has risen to the zenith of world football in a
comparatively small frame of time. The 5’7” striker, who
moved to Barcelona from his local club — Newell’s Old Boys —
in 2000 after the European club promised him treatment for
“growth hormone deficiency”, made his debut for the
Barcelona B team in 2004-05 and, in no time, became the
team’s youngest footballer to score a League goal. And then,
more and more honours followed along with a place in the premier
Barcelona team, the latest being the inaugural Uefa Best
Player in Europe award last Thursday, finishing ahead of
Barcelona teammate Xavi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi, who has been likened to the legendary Maradona,
even by the God of football himself, has won five La Liga titles,
three Champions League titles with Barca, scoring in two of
those finals, against Manchester United in both 2009 and 2011.
Yet the undeniable fact is that Messi simply does not score
as prolifically for his country as he does for Barcelona. Stats
indicate that his goal-to-minute ratio for the Spanish giants
worked out to be, almost precisely, a goal per game in 2010-
11, as the Catalans collected the La Liga and Champions
League titles.
The striker arrived at 53 goals in all competitions after netting
47 times in 53 appearances in 2009-10, and a further 38 in
51 in his triplete-winning season of 2008-09 at Barcelona.
Since Pep Guardiola’s arrival at Camp Nou, Messi has been simply
insatiable in front of the goal.
The same cannot be said for his spells under a variety of
coaches for Argentina. From World Cup 2006 in Germany,
where he was used sparingly by Jose Pekerman, until
Argentina’s fresh failure at this year’s home Copa America 2011,
Messi’s average in major competitions is over 500 minutes, and
significantly, his last tournament strike was his wondrous lob
against Mexico in the 2007 Copa America semi-final. Two
showpiece events, with the attacker barely missing a minute,
have passed since without the net being rippled.
So, the significance of this friendly to Messi, if not on the
euphoric plane of the spectators at the Salt Lake stadium, is
well enough for us to expect that the wonder boy will not miss
this opportunity to show semblance of his form at Barca, but
this time for his country. This may not be the first time that
Kolkata will host celebrity football stars as football legends like
Pele, Maradona, Branco, Romario, Diego Forlan and Oliver Kahn
have played friendlies in the city. But this time around, the
stakes are even higher not just for the striker, who will also
captain his side, but a variety of people as it may just prove to
be the highest-grossing match in India.
The organisers — Celebrity Management Group — have sold
the broadcasting rights for crores of rupees. ESPN has bought
the rights for South Asia, Eurodata for Africa and the rest of Asia
and Swiss-based Kentaro has bought the rights for Europe,
North and South America with live telecast in 150 countries.
The organisers expect $2.5 million (`11-12 crore) from ticket
sales with huge interest from cities like New Delhi, Mumbai,
Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Trivandrum and Goa. They
have also sold eight corporate boxes for `7.5 lakh each with
bookings by corporates like UB Group, film stars and other
celebrities.
However, a stray match like this cannot change the pathetic
condition of the game in our country. But what any football
lover will hope for is that “Leo” Messi will inspire some kids in
the Friday crowd to take Indian football to a respectable position
on the international stage.
10 things you need to know
about Argentine Wonder Boy
� Messi shares his birthplace with Che Guevara. Both
were born in Rosanio
� Now 5 feet 7”, doctors say if he did not receive
growth hormones his growth would have stopped at
4 feet 7“
� His nickname is La Pulga Atomica (The Atomic Flea)
� He is also called Maradonita, while Spanish press has
christened him Messidona
� He never watches his highlights on television
� His two cousins Maxi Biancucchi (Mexican side Conz
Azni) and Emanuel Biancucchi (German side TSV 1860
Munchen) play football too
� A life size choco idol weighing 115 kg was made of
Messi this Easter at a Catalonian bakery
� Messi’s favourite music genre are Samba and Cumbi
� He grew up playing for Pro Evolution Soccer and now
features on their cover
� He was announced Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF
in 2010