NEW DELHI: "Maath theke beriye jaan, aapnara please maath theke beriye jaan (leave the field. Everyone, please leave the field now)," begged Satadru Dutta as loudly as he could over the microphone.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Dutta, the key man behind bringing
Lionel Messi to India and Kolkata on Day 1 of the football legend’s ongoing "GOAT Tour," desperately tried to regain control at the Salt Lake Stadium.
But as his requests fell on deaf ears and people, understandably uninvited on the field, kept piling on in an attempt not just 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 ill-organised proceedings. They left the stadium, which had turned into a circus by then, much earlier than originally planned.
If we check 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 after that is all over the internet. Mentioning it again won’t pacify broken hearts; it may well aggravate them.
Before Messi arrived at VYBK, though, it was a pleasant, sunny Saturday morning in Kolkata, a perfect time when every Bengali heart demands an outing. And if a glimpse of what many consider the greatest footballer of all time is on offer, who dares to say no?
Salt Lake Stadium thus saw an outpouring of people. It all began smoothly with singing and dancing performances, followed by an exhibition match between Mohun Bagan Messi All Stars and Diamond Harbour Messi All Stars, with all players wearing Messi’s name and No. 10 on their backs.
Mehtab Hossain leads the line for Diamond Harbour Messi All Stars against Mohun Bagan Messi All Stars (PTI Photo)
Playing for Diamond Harbour was former India international Mehtab Hossain, for whom featuring on the occasion of an Argentine legend’s visit had become something of a ritual. He had earlier played a friendly match during Diego Armando Maradona’s visit to Kolkata in 2017.
Love for football took him to Salt Lake’s turf once again. But this time, unlike during Maradona’s visit, Mehtab was appalled by the ruckus the City of Joy had to witness.
"The friendly match was great. After that, I shook hands with Messi. He signed my jersey," 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 that from 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 began to spiral out of control when “influential people” repeatedly breached security protocols to get close to Messi.
"C’mon, it’s Lionel Messi. Everyone wanted to go near him; everyone wanted to take a selfie," said Mehtab, one of the very few players who got the opportunity to have their jerseys signed by Leo on the ground right after the exhibition match.
However, it was not in his destiny to keep it for long.
"After the chaos, one kid came running 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, kid. Take this jersey with you,’" revealed the former East Bengal midfielder.
While others would go home, hug their jerseys while sleeping and frame them the next day, Mehtab went home without the jersey, but with a broader smile and a heart full of satisfaction.
Fans surround FIFA World Cup winning captain Lionel Messi at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)
Summing up the mood, Mehtab added, "The influential people only wanted to take photos with Messi, but those who came after paying Rs 10,000, they were middle-class fans. They truly love Messi from the heart.
"The powerful people just wanted to take pictures to prove their status. Seeing that made people even angrier, because they didn’t come to take photos; they came just to catch a glimpse of Messi."
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