Messi mania grips Argentina in first match as World Cup champion
BUENOS AIRES: Messi mania gripped Buenos Aires as the Argentina national team led by Lionel Messi beat Panama 2-0 in a friendly match that was essentially a celebration of its World Cup victory last December.
Although the world champion dominated the game, it didn’t get a goal until the 78th minute of the second half, when Thiago Almada scored after a free kick by Messi hit the goal post.
Ten minutes later, it was Messi’s turn and he scored the 800th goal of his professional career with a perfectly executed free-kick. He is now one short of the 100-goal mark for the national squad.
After the match, the celebrations got into full swing and Messi took center stage, smiling from ear to ear as he received awards and accolades.
“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 later joined them in the pitch and each of the players proceeded to lift a replica of the World Cup trophy in celebration. The players then walked around the pitch waving to fans as fireworks lit the night sky.
Earlier in the day, news channels carried live images of the players travelling to the stadium with a police escort as excited fans waited to see the team’s first game since it beat France in a thrilling final in Qatar.
Outside the Monumental Stadium there was a party-like atmosphere 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 hawked Messi dolls.