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India Experiences Messi Magic!!
Messi magic mesmerizes Kolkata as Argentina beat Venezuela 1-0
KOLKATA: He danced and dazzled with his sublime skills, even powered his way through on a number of occasions as Argentina eked out a 1-0 victory over Venezuela under the floodlights at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday evening, helping coach Alejandro Sabella launch 'Mission Rio' on a positive note.
In Pics: Messi mesmerises Kolkata
The scoreline hardly did justice to Argentina for whom Lionel Messi pulled all the strings, much like a master puppeteer throughout 90 minutes. He was unlucky not to score but gave full expression to his vast repertoire of tricks before curling in a corner kick that his teammate Nicolas Otamendi headed home the winner with consummate ease in the 67th minute.
Eighty-five thousand spectators, who had packed the stadium terraces on Friday went home delirious with joy, having watched the world's best player work his magic at the drop of a hat.
Well, it was supposed to be a Messi show and it was - from the first kick to the last. When so much talent is packed in a single human frame, football at times almost ceases to be a team game.
True to his style, Messi was elusive and crafty as he switched direction effortlessly, leaving in his wake a host of befuddled Venezuelans, whose attempts at stopping him invariably resulted in a foul. Operating mostly from the right, Messi conjured up defence-splitting passes for his teammates, Gonzalo Higuain, in particular, but they went abegging. Venezuela survived, but was a matter of time before their citadel was breached.
It all started with Messi's jinking run down the right channel in the fifth minute when his agility and athleticism took him past three rivals before sending Di Maria clear inside the box. Only a nick-of-the-time intervention from Venezuela side-back Roberto Rosales denied the Real Madrid player.
Messi came alive again, leaving his challengers in a trance with another mazy run but Di Maria was again off target. Then came another pin-point pass which set Higuain completely free, away from the last line of Venezuela's defence. Higuain, however, failed to make the gilt-edged chance count.
On other occasions, Venezuelan custodian Rafael Romo remained the symbol of his team's resistance, producing some exceptional saves. Argentina's early ascendancy was a triumph of Sabella's tactics, which added more dynamism to team when going forward. However, in the attacking triangle of Messi, Di Maria and Higuain, the latter at the tip of the set-up, was the least effective. It explained the narrow margin of victory. Outplayed by Messi, Venezuela, however, showed why they remain a good bet for making their maiden appearance in the World Cup finals in Brazil. Drawing on their impressive show in the Copa America, they soldiered on, looking to provoke errors from the Argentine midfield and waiting for the chance to spring counter-attacks. Frank Feltscher missed a chance and Cesar Gonzalez scuppered another opportunity to play the party-pooper as the contest paused for a breather on level terms.
The climax came midway through the second half. When Di Maria passed the ball to Messi on the edge of the box, the crowd throbbed in anticipation. First came the touch to bring it under control, then the combination of speed and strength to escape the clutches of his challengers but only Romo's outstanding intellect in reading the magician's work delayed the inevitable.
Messi took the resultant flag-kick and Otamendi, lurking at the first post, leapt up to head home.
Messi magic mesmerizes Kolkata as Argentina beat Venezuela 1-0 - The Times of India
Indian fans await Messi magic | Sport | DAWN.COM
NEW DELHI: Skipper Lionel Messi will lead out Argentina against Venezuela in Kolkata’s 120,000-seat Salt Lake stadium on Friday as top-class international football finally comes to cricket-crazy India.
The FIFA-sanctioned friendly between the South American rivals, in the buildup to World Cup 2014 qualifiers, will be the biggest football match ever in a country where cricket’s dominance has long left soccer in the dirt.
But football does thrive in the match venue of Kolkata, formerly Calcutta.
The city has a rich tradition of club competition, and excitement in and around the Salt Lake stadium — the largest in India — is building.
“It will be a memorable day for Kolkata as it will witness a few great players live in action during their peak years,” said Bhaswar Goswami of the Celebrity Management Group, which brokered the deal to bring Argentina to India.
Thousands of fans waited at Kolkata airport for Messi’s arrival early Wednesday, but he slipped past the chanting crowds without being spotted.
While cricket is undoubtedly India’s first sporting love, the fast-developing country of 1.2 billion people is a huge potential football market with more and more middle-class viewers tuning into satellite TV.
English Premiership side Blackburn Rovers are now Indian-owned, and Liverpool are opening a coaching academy on the outskirts of New Delhi in October.
Bayern Munich stopped by in Kolkata last year to play a charity match with top domestic side East Bengal, the German side’s second visit in two years.
But India has never seen the likes of Barcelona superstars Messi and Javier Mascherano grace the field. After captaining the national side once at last year’s World Cup, Messi will be starting his tenure as full-time skipper.
“Messi is loved by millions of fans across the globe,” said Argentina’s assistant coach Julian Camino, after the striker was handed the captain’s armband by new manager Alejandro Sabella, in place of Mascherano.
“He’s aware that he will be well-received by his fans here too,” said Camino, a former Argentina right-back who had a brief stint as a player with East Bengal in 1988.
“He’s the captain of the side and he’s pretty excited about coming here. We hope the stadium will be packed and it will be a memorable match.”
Argentina, hoping to build up a loyal following across south Asia, head after Kolkata for a friendly on September 6 against Nigeria in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh — already a hotbed of football fever.
During the 2010 World Cup, Bangladeshi fans adopted either Argentina or Brazil. When power cuts hit television coverage, riots erupted and factories were ordered to close to avoid further blackouts.
While the 24-year-old Messi will be the centre of attention, his team will look to start afresh after a disappointing performance in the Copa America at home in July when they lost to eventual winners Uruguay in the quarter-finals.
The Copa failure cost Sergio Batista his job as national coach and led to the appointment of Sabella, who was assistant Argentina coach from 1994 to 1998 and led Estudiantes to the Copa Libertadores in 2009.
Sabella signalled he meant business by dropping Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez from the squad to face both Venezuela and Nigeria.
“It is an extremely important match both for me and the team,” Sabella said.
“There are huge expectations from us back home and it is a big responsibility. Venezuela are a good side and we will be approaching the match with utmost seriousness.”
Venezuela go into the contest on the back of their best-ever showing in the Copa America, reaching the semi-finals where they only went out to Paraguay on penalties.
The Venezuelans, ranked 44th in the world to Argentina’s 9th — India are 158th — will also be keen to avenge a 4-1 away friendly defeat to the former world champions in March.
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Football is getting more popular now!! I hope our national should perform better!
----------------------------------------
Video!!
Messi magic mesmerizes Kolkata as Argentina beat Venezuela 1-0
KOLKATA: He danced and dazzled with his sublime skills, even powered his way through on a number of occasions as Argentina eked out a 1-0 victory over Venezuela under the floodlights at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday evening, helping coach Alejandro Sabella launch 'Mission Rio' on a positive note.
In Pics: Messi mesmerises Kolkata
The scoreline hardly did justice to Argentina for whom Lionel Messi pulled all the strings, much like a master puppeteer throughout 90 minutes. He was unlucky not to score but gave full expression to his vast repertoire of tricks before curling in a corner kick that his teammate Nicolas Otamendi headed home the winner with consummate ease in the 67th minute.
Eighty-five thousand spectators, who had packed the stadium terraces on Friday went home delirious with joy, having watched the world's best player work his magic at the drop of a hat.
Well, it was supposed to be a Messi show and it was - from the first kick to the last. When so much talent is packed in a single human frame, football at times almost ceases to be a team game.
True to his style, Messi was elusive and crafty as he switched direction effortlessly, leaving in his wake a host of befuddled Venezuelans, whose attempts at stopping him invariably resulted in a foul. Operating mostly from the right, Messi conjured up defence-splitting passes for his teammates, Gonzalo Higuain, in particular, but they went abegging. Venezuela survived, but was a matter of time before their citadel was breached.
It all started with Messi's jinking run down the right channel in the fifth minute when his agility and athleticism took him past three rivals before sending Di Maria clear inside the box. Only a nick-of-the-time intervention from Venezuela side-back Roberto Rosales denied the Real Madrid player.
Messi came alive again, leaving his challengers in a trance with another mazy run but Di Maria was again off target. Then came another pin-point pass which set Higuain completely free, away from the last line of Venezuela's defence. Higuain, however, failed to make the gilt-edged chance count.
On other occasions, Venezuelan custodian Rafael Romo remained the symbol of his team's resistance, producing some exceptional saves. Argentina's early ascendancy was a triumph of Sabella's tactics, which added more dynamism to team when going forward. However, in the attacking triangle of Messi, Di Maria and Higuain, the latter at the tip of the set-up, was the least effective. It explained the narrow margin of victory. Outplayed by Messi, Venezuela, however, showed why they remain a good bet for making their maiden appearance in the World Cup finals in Brazil. Drawing on their impressive show in the Copa America, they soldiered on, looking to provoke errors from the Argentine midfield and waiting for the chance to spring counter-attacks. Frank Feltscher missed a chance and Cesar Gonzalez scuppered another opportunity to play the party-pooper as the contest paused for a breather on level terms.
The climax came midway through the second half. When Di Maria passed the ball to Messi on the edge of the box, the crowd throbbed in anticipation. First came the touch to bring it under control, then the combination of speed and strength to escape the clutches of his challengers but only Romo's outstanding intellect in reading the magician's work delayed the inevitable.
Messi took the resultant flag-kick and Otamendi, lurking at the first post, leapt up to head home.
Messi magic mesmerizes Kolkata as Argentina beat Venezuela 1-0 - The Times of India
Indian fans await Messi magic | Sport | DAWN.COM
NEW DELHI: Skipper Lionel Messi will lead out Argentina against Venezuela in Kolkata’s 120,000-seat Salt Lake stadium on Friday as top-class international football finally comes to cricket-crazy India.
The FIFA-sanctioned friendly between the South American rivals, in the buildup to World Cup 2014 qualifiers, will be the biggest football match ever in a country where cricket’s dominance has long left soccer in the dirt.
But football does thrive in the match venue of Kolkata, formerly Calcutta.
The city has a rich tradition of club competition, and excitement in and around the Salt Lake stadium — the largest in India — is building.
“It will be a memorable day for Kolkata as it will witness a few great players live in action during their peak years,” said Bhaswar Goswami of the Celebrity Management Group, which brokered the deal to bring Argentina to India.
Thousands of fans waited at Kolkata airport for Messi’s arrival early Wednesday, but he slipped past the chanting crowds without being spotted.
While cricket is undoubtedly India’s first sporting love, the fast-developing country of 1.2 billion people is a huge potential football market with more and more middle-class viewers tuning into satellite TV.
English Premiership side Blackburn Rovers are now Indian-owned, and Liverpool are opening a coaching academy on the outskirts of New Delhi in October.
Bayern Munich stopped by in Kolkata last year to play a charity match with top domestic side East Bengal, the German side’s second visit in two years.
But India has never seen the likes of Barcelona superstars Messi and Javier Mascherano grace the field. After captaining the national side once at last year’s World Cup, Messi will be starting his tenure as full-time skipper.
“Messi is loved by millions of fans across the globe,” said Argentina’s assistant coach Julian Camino, after the striker was handed the captain’s armband by new manager Alejandro Sabella, in place of Mascherano.
“He’s aware that he will be well-received by his fans here too,” said Camino, a former Argentina right-back who had a brief stint as a player with East Bengal in 1988.
“He’s the captain of the side and he’s pretty excited about coming here. We hope the stadium will be packed and it will be a memorable match.”
Argentina, hoping to build up a loyal following across south Asia, head after Kolkata for a friendly on September 6 against Nigeria in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh — already a hotbed of football fever.
During the 2010 World Cup, Bangladeshi fans adopted either Argentina or Brazil. When power cuts hit television coverage, riots erupted and factories were ordered to close to avoid further blackouts.
While the 24-year-old Messi will be the centre of attention, his team will look to start afresh after a disappointing performance in the Copa America at home in July when they lost to eventual winners Uruguay in the quarter-finals.
The Copa failure cost Sergio Batista his job as national coach and led to the appointment of Sabella, who was assistant Argentina coach from 1994 to 1998 and led Estudiantes to the Copa Libertadores in 2009.
Sabella signalled he meant business by dropping Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez from the squad to face both Venezuela and Nigeria.
“It is an extremely important match both for me and the team,” Sabella said.
“There are huge expectations from us back home and it is a big responsibility. Venezuela are a good side and we will be approaching the match with utmost seriousness.”
Venezuela go into the contest on the back of their best-ever showing in the Copa America, reaching the semi-finals where they only went out to Paraguay on penalties.
The Venezuelans, ranked 44th in the world to Argentina’s 9th — India are 158th — will also be keen to avenge a 4-1 away friendly defeat to the former world champions in March.
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Football is getting more popular now!! I hope our national should perform better!
----------------------------------------
Video!!
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