Tomorrow, Messi magic in Kolkata

Thousands of fans waving Argentina flags waited with bated breath as football’s favourite son, Lionel Messi, landed here early on Wednesday morning.

Messi, who starred for his club Barcelona in their first match of the Spanish League on Monday, made a quiet entry into India, dodging thousands of frenzied fans at the airport.

All eyes will be on the down-to-earth superstar when Argentina take on Venezuela in an international friendly at the refurbished Yuba Bharathi Kirangan on Friday night. By itself, the match doesn’t hold any significant import apart from bringing some of the best players in the world to India. The larger picture, however, dictates that it’s a match with plenty riding on it, and will not be only about the little magician.

The game will be an important step for both teams towards building up for the 2014 World Cup, scheduled for Brazil. It will be telecast live on ESPN at 7pm on Friday.

Keeping that in mind, Argentina have called up a full-strength squad that includes Real Madrid stars Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria, Messi’s Barcelona team-mate Javier Mascherano and Manchester City’s Sergio Aguera, the legendary Diego Maradona’s son-in-law.