Buenos Aires was gripped by Messi mania on Thursday as the Argentina national team, led by Lionel Messi, beat Panama 2-0 in a friendly match that essentially celebrated their World Cup victory last December.
Despite dominating the game, the world champions did not score until the 78th minute, when Thiago Almada netted a goal after Messi’s free-kick hit the goal post. Ten minutes later, Messi took his turn and perfectly executed a free kick, scoring the 800th goal of his professional career. With this goal, he is only one away from reaching the 100-goal milestone for the national team.
The Celebrations and Leo
Following the game, the celebrations kicked off and Messi was the center of attention. He smiled from ear to ear as he received awards and accolades, taking center stage in the festivities.
“I want to thank you for all the love we’ve been receiving . . . We told you we were going to do everything possible to win this,” a visibly emotional Messi said as he was handed the microphone. “Let’s enjoy this because we went a long time without winning it, and we don’t know when we’ll win it again.”
When it was coach Lionel Scaloni’s turn to speak, the first thing he did was lead the packed stadium on a chant praising Messi.“ Eternally grateful to this group of players,” Scaloni said as tears streamed down his face and he thanked fans for their support.
The players’ families joined them on the pitch and proceeded to lift a replica of the World Cup trophy in celebration. The players then walked around the pitch waving to fans as fireworks illuminated the night sky. Earlier in the day, news channels showed live images of the players traveling to the stadium with a police escort as excited fans eagerly awaited the team’s first game since they beat France in a thrilling final in Qatar. Outside the Monumental Stadium, a party-like atmosphere prevailed from early in the afternoon as somebody impersonating Pope Francis blessed a World Cup replica, children almost universally donned Messi’s No. 10 jersey, and street sellers sold Messi dolls.
Amid the celebrations, many fans lamented that they had bought tickets for several times their face value from resellers that turned out to be fake, leading to frustration and scuffles with law enforcement officials who fired tear gas to disperse the angry fans. “We spent all we had for this, we spent $100 for each ticket,” said Marcelo Aguilera, 21, who traveled by bus from neighboring Paraguay for the game with three friends only to find out they had fake tickets.
Marcelo Saracho was dressed up like the pope, an Argentine, but with his cheeks painted in the light blue and white colors of the national flag.
Messi, the Paris Saint-Germain star who only last week was whistled by a group of fans of the French club that had been knocked out of the Champions League, received a massive ovation when he and his Argentina teammates entered the stadium filled with 83,000 fans.
When the anthem played the cameras zoomed in on Messi, who looked to be holding back tears as fans sang along triumphantly.
Sofía Clavero, 12, said with tears in her eyes, “I can’t believe I’m here,” while describing her eagerness to see her “idol” for the first time on the field.
The match concluded a week in which Messi, 35, received widespread celebration as a hero for helping Argentina win its third World Cup title, marking a change for the player who once faced indifference and even apathy from many Argentina fans who blamed him for the team’s previous championship failures.
It all began Monday night when hundreds of fans mobbed a steakhouse in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo upon hearing that Messi was inside having dinner. He required a police escort to leave but was all smiles as people shouted “Messi I love you” and “Thank you, Leo.”
The next day, a group of fans noticed that the car next to them on the highway was carrying the man often described as the world’s best soccer player. They immediately started shouting, “I love you, Messi!” and “Let’s go, Messi!”