Lionel Messi to visit Kolkata on Day 1 of his GOAT India Tour (Screengrab and PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: “Maath theke beriye jaan, aapnara please maath theke beriye jaan (Leave the field. Everyone please leave the field now),” pleaded Satadra Dutt into the microphone as loudly as he could.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Dutta, the key man behind bringing Lionel Messi to India and Kolkata on Day 1 of the football legend’s ongoing “GOAT Tour”, was desperate to regain control at the Salt Lake Stadium.
Fans throw objects, destroy stadium after Messi leaves early | Another Hyderabad
But as his demands fell flat and people, understandably uninvited on the pitch, kept piling up in an attempt not only to see the 38-year-old up close but also to click photos with him and even touch him, Messi’s entourage decided to take matters into their own hands, bringing a premature end to the poorly organized proceedings. They left the stadium, which by then had turned into a circus, much earlier than they had originally planned.If we look at the clock, Messi’s stay at the Salt Lake Stadium, also known as the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan (VYBK), lasted less than 25 minutes.What happened next is on the internet. Mentioning it again will not soothe broken hearts; it can weigh them down quite a bit.Before Messi arrived at VYBK, it was a pleasant, sunny Saturday morning in Kolkata, the perfect time when every Bengali heart begs for a trip. And when offered a glimpse of what many consider to be the greatest footballer of all time, who dares say no?The Salt Lake Stadium thus recorded an onslaught of people. It all started smoothly with singing and dancing performances followed by an exhibition match between Mohun Bagan Messi All Stars and Diamond Harbor Messi All Stars, with all the players wearing Messi’s name and number 10 on their backs.Former Indian international Mehtab Hossain played for Diamond Harbor, for whom the performance on the occasion of the Argentine legend’s visit became a kind of ritual. He had earlier played a friendly during Diego Armando Maradona’s visit to Kolkata in 2017.His love for football once again led him to the Salt Lake turf. But this time, unlike Maradona’s visit, Mehtab was horrified by the commotion the City of Joy had to witness.“The friendly match was great. I shook Messi’s hand afterwards. He signed my shirt,” Mehtab told TimesofIndia.com during an exclusive interaction on Saturday evening.“First of all, Messi is a very innocent, humble, good human being. You can tell by his body language. He comes from a different culture. After seeing the response he got here, he was excited. The crowd didn’t come to see Luis Suarez or Rodrigo De Paul. They just came to see Messi.”According to Mehtab, things started to get out of hand when “influential people” repeatedly breached security protocols to get close to Messi.“Come on, it’s Lionel Messi. Everyone wanted to get close to him, everyone wanted to take a selfie,” said Mehtab, one of the few players who got the chance to have their jerseys signed by Leo on the ground immediately after the exhibition match.However, it was not in his destiny to keep her for long.“After the chaos, a kid ran up to me. He was crying because he wasn’t able to see Messi at all. I felt bad. He was crying so much that I gave him my signed jersey. I told him, ‘Don’t cry, boy. Take this jersey with you,'” revealed the former East Bengal midfielder.While others went home, hugging their jerseys in their sleep and framing them the next day, Mehtab went home without his jersey but with a wider smile and a heart full of contentment.Summing up the mood, Mehtab added, “Influential people only wanted to take pictures with Messi, but those who came after paying Rs 10,000 were middle-class fans. They really love Messi from the bottom of their hearts.”“Powerful people just wanted to take a picture to prove their status. When people saw it, it made them even angrier because they didn’t come to take pictures but just to catch a glimpse of Messi.”
