Lionel Messi was once now not there, Emiliano Martinez was once. But nonetheless, Messi ruled the discourse on a Tuesday afternoon that was once reserved for Martinez, who was once satisfied to play ball.
As one in all Messi’s maximum depended on lieutenants throughout Argentina’s triumphant marketing campaign within the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Martinez did not thoughts the passion, the interest round his iconic teammate’s long run within the game, and made up our minds to glide on the second one day of his discuss with the football-mad town.
Earlier, scenes of unbridled pleasure swept in the course of the roads main as much as the Mohun Bagan tent, the place the megastar goalkeeper was once engaged in a slew of actions, together with inaugurating the Pele-Maradona-Sobers gate and stating open the Kolkata Police Friendship Cup in entrance of packedstands.
‘Dibu’, as he’s fondly referred to as, was once beaten through the welcome he won from 1000’s of lovers wearing the Albiceleste colours and Messi’s No. 10 jersey.
“To see so many people cheering for you, and Argentina is a joy,” he stated.
With cheers of ‘Messi, Messi’ reverberating around the stands, the 30-year-old Martinez made a promise to deliver Messi to Kolkata once more, and to play soccer in Argentina colors.
“This is not the end, I hope to come back to India to play with Argentina and Messi,” he stated, producing the loudest cheers.
“Now when I come to places like this, I realize the importance of winning the World Cup. Making people happy.
“I stated I’d come to Kolkata to peer the tradition, the gorgeous Kolkata town. I’m truly proud to be right here these days,” he said.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup Golden Glove winner thanked Messi for making him a “higher goalkeeper”.
Asked if he has ever stopped a Messi penalty, he said: “Yes, I’ve, in apply suits.”
“We used to apply so much sooner than the World Cup. We needed to be able for the penalty shootout. So there is not any higher method to get ready for it than preventing Messi.
“That’s how I became a better goalkeeper. By denying a Messi penalty I knew I could stop anyone.”
“It’s a mental game… I practiced a lot. And before the World Cup final too, we practiced a lot of penalty shootouts, knowing that something like this might come into play.”
The Aston Villa goalkeeper stated he aspires to win extra titles with Argentina.
“From a very young age, I had a dream to become Argentina’s number one goalkeeper. I’m not going to relax now, I want to become better and win many, many tournaments for Argentina.”
When the dialogue became to Indian soccer, Martinez stated the hot button is to rent European coaches and expand the children.
“The first thing you need to do is to bring European coaches, bring the best coaches who can teach the kids and bring European style of football — how to move on the pitch.
“I’m additionally bringing European tactics to Argentina goalkeepers to verify they develop into higher from an excessively younger age.
“By doing that from a young age, hopefully, India would play the World Cup.”
Messi is the best
Earlier within the day, he was once felicitated through Mohun Bagan and East Bengal golf equipment at the sidelines of a talk display ‘Tahader Katha’ on the Milan Mela flooring, the place he declared “Messi is the greatest”.
“Messi is the best player ever and there will be no Messi in the future. It’s hard to match him. He’s the greatest player.
“We needed to win the World Cup for him and we did it.”
Messi had made it clear that the World Cup in Qatar was his last and he had no plans to don the Argentina jersey in 2026.
“No worries,” said Martinez, adding that they are a team of “tigers” and they would rise to the challenge again.
“I tackle demanding situations with all my middle and fervour. We have were given a gaggle of tigers within the group and we’re able to struggle,” he said.
sea of white and blue
The Maidan was a sea of white and blue with Argentina fans sporting the jerseys and heading to the Mohun Bagan ground.
The posters of Martinez kissing his Golden Glove and the glittering FIFA World Cup Trophy dotted the Gostha Pal Sarani leading up to the Mohun Bagan tent.
Such was the craze outside the Mohun Bagan gate that not an inch of space was left vacant.
Fans were seen standing on the edges of an open drain, or standing precariously on the cliffs of the stadium gallery, to catch a glimpse of Martinez.
The Argentine icon arrived an hour late and first inaugurated the Pele-Maradona-Sobers gate by cutting the customary ribbon.
He headed straight to the Mohun Bagan tent office where the club officials took him on a tour of the facility. It was followed by a customary photo-op with the club members outside the club lawn.
The club also handpicked a few school children who had their “desires fulfilled”.
“It was once a dream come true for us. We are a large fan of his goalkeeping and took selfies and autographs,” stated Prachet Singh Chauhan, who was once accompanied through Akshat Gupta, Aravan Bajpayee and Karan Chawla.
Later, he headed to the bottom and waved the Indian flag in a singular gesture. He then boarded an open automobile, took a spherical of the bottom, and kicked footballs to the lovers within the galleries.