Lionel Messi wasn’t there, Emiliano Martinez was. Still, Messi dominated the discourse on a Tuesday afternoon reserved for Martinez, who was happy to play along.
As one of Messi’s most trusted deputies during Argentina’s victorious season at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Martinez didn’t mind his legendary teammate’s interest and curiosity about his legendary teammate’s future in the sport and decided to go with the flow on Matchday 2’s visit to the football-mad city .
Before that, scenes of unbridled joy swept the streets all the way to the Mohun Bagan tent, where the star goaltender engaged in a range of activities including the inauguration of the Pele Maradona Sobers gate and the opening of the Kolkata Police Friendship Cup in front of packed stalls .
‘Dibu’, as he is affectionately known, was blown away by the welcome he received from thousands of fans wearing the colors of the Albiceleste and Messi’s No.10 shirt.
“It’s a pleasure to see so many people cheering for you and Argentina,” he said.
Amid cheers of “Messi, Messi” echoing through the stands, 30-year-old Martinez promised to bring Messi back to Kolkata and play football in the colors of Argentina.
“It’s not the end, I hope to return to India to play with Argentina and Messi,” he said, sparking loud cheers.
“Now when I get to places like this, I realize how important it is to win the World Cup. make people happy.
“I said I would come to Kolkata to see the culture and the beautiful city of Kolkata. I’m really proud to be here today,” he said.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup Golden Glove winner thanked Messi for making him a ‘better goalkeeper’.
When asked if he ever saved a Messi penalty, he replied: “Yes, I did, in training matches.” “We practiced a lot before the World Cup. We had to be prepared for the penalty shootout. There is.” There is no better way to prepare than to stop Messi.
“That’s how I became a better goalkeeper. “It’s a mental game … I practice a lot. And we practiced a lot of penalties ahead of the World Cup final too, knowing that something like that could come into play.” The Aston Villa goalkeeper said he was aiming to win more trophies with Argentina.
“From a young age I had a dream of becoming Argentina’s best goalkeeper. I’m not going to relax now, I want to get better and win many, many tournaments for Argentina.” When the discussion turned to Indian football, Martinez said the key is to hire European coaches and develop the young players.
“The first thing you have to do is get European coaches, the best coaches who can teach the kids and instill the European style of football – how to move on the pitch.”
“I also teach Argentine goalkeepers European techniques to make sure they get better at a young age.
“Hopefully India would take part in the World Cup at a young age.”
Messi is the greatest
Earlier in the day, he was congratulated by Mohun Bagan and East Bengal clubs on the sidelines of ‘Tahader Katha’ talk show at Milan Mela, where he declared: ‘Messi is the greatest’.
“Messi is the best player of all time and there will be no Messi in the future. It’s hard to keep up with him. He’s the greatest player.
“We had to win the World Cup for him and we did that.” Messi had made it clear that the World Cup in Qatar would be his last and that he had no plans to don the Argentina shirt in 2026.
“Don’t worry,” Martinez said, adding that they were a team of “tigers” and would rise to the challenge again.
“I accept challenges wholeheartedly and with passion. “We have a group of tigers on the team and we’re ready to fight,” he said.
Sea of white and blue
The Maidan was a sea of white and blue with Argentinian fans wearing the jersey heading to Mohun Bagan’s stadium.
The posters of Martinez kissing his Golden Glove and the glittering FIFA World Cup Trophy hung on the wall of Gostha Pal Sarani on the way to Mohun Bagan’s tent.
The hustle and bustle in front of the Mohun Bagan gate was so great that there was not an inch of space left.
Fans were seen standing at the edge of an open drain or precariously on the cliffs of the stadium gallery to get a glimpse of Martinez.
The Argentine icon arrived an hour late and first inaugurated the Pele Maradona Sobers goal by cutting the usual ribbon.
He went straight to Mohun Bagan’s tent office, where club officials took him on a tour of the facility. This was followed, as usual, by a photo session with the club members in front of the club lawn.
The club also selected some school children whose “dreams came true”.
“A dream has come true for us. “We are a big fan of his goalkeeping and took selfies and autographs,” said Prachet Singh Chauhan, who was joined by Akshat Gupta, Aravan Bajpayee and Karan Chawla.
He later fell to the ground and, in a novel gesture, waved the Indian flag. He then got into an open-topped car, did a lap around the ground and kicked soccer balls to the fans in the stands.
(This story was not edited by News18 staff and is published via a syndicated news outlet feed – PTI.)
Not all messages on the site express the site’s point of view, but we automatically transmit and translate these messages through programmatic technology on the site and not by a human editor
2023-07-04 21:16:35
#hope #return #India #play #Argentina #Lionel #Messi #Emiliano #Martinez
