Lionel Messi kept his date with India and unfolded his magic when he led Argentina in a FIFA international friendly against Venezuela in Kolkata even as the euphoria of one of the most high-profile matches in the country reached a crescendo.
The Argentine captain curled in a corner in the 67th minute and Nicolas Otamendi, unmarked at the near post, nodded the ball down and into the net before rushing off to lift the Barcelona playmaker.
The Argentine captain curled in a corner in the 67th minute and Nicolas Otamendi, unmarked at the near post, nodded the ball down and into the net before rushing off to lift the Barcelona playmaker.
On the outside,looking in
Although almost every man, woman and child in Kolkata wanted to get a glimpse of Lionel Messi and the rest of the Argentine squad, the euphoria outside the stadium didn’t quite reflect inside the Yuba Bharati Krirangan (YBK). Although reports claimed that the 110,000 capacity arena was sold out, the first half witnessed just about 65,000 spectators — a shade more than half. Fans thronged the streets outside the complex as early as five hours before kick-off, making large queues outside the gates, but excessive security ensured that many, if not most, missed the first half. “I have a Rs 2,500 ticket, but I’ve already missed the first 30 minutes,” said 28-year-old Aritro Mukherjee, who had a 2km long queue ahead.
The price of a Messi jersey
Move over vendors selling tri-colour on the eve of India’s cricket matches, the footballing variety have taken over. On the streets of Salt Lake, and within the peripheries of the stadium, Argentina jerseys sold like hot cakes. Priced at a reasonable Rs 100 well outside the stadium, and Rs 300 inside, the ‘Argentina fans’ outnumbered the Venezuela maroon by a massive margin. Despite being priced at Rs 400, Messi’s number 10 jersey did the most business, while the Rs 50 Venezuela tee-shirts remained untouched. Even before the match, it was Argentina 1, Venezuela 0. 
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