New Delhi: He might have dodged the crowd at the Kolkata airport and given a miss to the press conference but when it mattered most, Argentine and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi made sure that the thousands that had gathered at the Salt Lake stadium for the Argentina, Venezuela friendly got what they deserved, a Messi master class.
Forget the national anthem bungle up prior to the start of the match or for that matter the presence of Paraguayan players on hoardings across Kolkata, the overwhelmed spectators were treated to a full 90 minutes of the Messi mania, and even though the most talked about footballer of today could not add to his tally of goals, it was through his flag kick that Nicolas Otamendi headed in the winner in the 67th minute as Argentina went on to clinch the contest by a solitary goal.
The match could so easily have fizzled out into an anti climax of sorts keeping in mind the commitments that Messi has towards his club Barcelona and the busy La Liga season ahead. The Argentine could have gone for the conservative approach and been substituted mid-way through the match or towards the closing stages of it. But players can sense a knowledgeable and passionate crowd and there are no two ways about the fact that the Kolkatans know their sport.
One corner kick after another and a wave to a section of the masses indicated that Messi was fully committed to the cause and determined to see out the entire duration of the game, and more importantly lead his side to victory against the Venezuelans.
Argentina went on to win, making it 18 wins from as many matches against their South American opponents but in the end everyone was the winner as Lionel Messi dazzled once again with his left foot.
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