Argentina beats Venezuela

KOLKATA: Lionel Messi weaved his magic though without scoring as he played full 90 minutes to enthrall the football-crazy fans in Argentina's 1-0 victory over Venezuela in a FIFA international friendly at Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Friday.


The 120,000 capacity stadium did not see a packed house, a common sight during the local Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal derby but it had enough Messi elements for a real treat for the nearly 75,000 spectators at the venue and many more on television across the country and abroad.

Messi sparkled throughout the match, though Venezuela kept the Argentines under pressure.

It was in the second half, a 67th minute goal by Nicolas Otamendi from a Messi corner that sealed the issue for the Argentines.

The Argentine approach was more restrained in the first half as new coach Alejandro Sabella, in his maiden appearance at the helm of affairs for the Albicelestes, gave more stress on the ball possession and passing.

They dominated the midfield, with some magical Messi footwork but failed to translate into goals as the final pass or the shot was lacking.

But the spectators had a lifetime of a treat with some real Messi moments.

Early into the start, the spectators were left mesmerised by a clever Messi footwork off a foul at the top of the box but the FC Barcelona talisman could only found the wall from his powerful left-footer in the fourth minute

Five minutes later, Argentina got the first real chance but the Real Madrid medio Agnel D'Maria nearly put it in the goal before an alert Venezuela defender averted the danger. It also had the Messi element in it as the little genius nearly had it through Di Maria but only in vain.

There were some real Venezuela sparks as well but their inexperience showed with some wasted efforts.

In the 16th minute, Jose Salomon Rondon wasted a golden chance inside the box as he failed to connect a fine pass from the wide without even testing Argentina goalkeeper Romer.

In the 34th minute, Venezuela had a real possibility as Feltscher nearly put them up with a solo effort from the right side of the box.

Messi's second real chance came in the 29th minute, in fact it was a better one. It was a grounder that went straight to the goalkeeper.

Messi kept squatted, regretting what went wrong. But the spectators knew there is more to come as cheers of 'Messi... Messi..." reverberated in the stands.

A little earlier, Messi stole the ball from Amorebieta in the box before a little dash towards the middle, but his low shot was stopped calmly by Romo.

Messi played for the full 90 minutes to enthrall the crowd though the football-crazy spectators could not see a goal from the world's current best footballer.

Messi magic set to unfold in Indian soil

Kolkata: Superstar footballer Lionel Messi is set to keep his date with India and unfold his magic when he leads Argentina in a FIFA international friendly against Venezuela on Friday when the euphoria of one of the most high-profile matches in the country reaches the crescendo.

History will be scripted at the 120,000-capacity Yuba Bharati Krirangan at Salt Lake when the two time world champions with the world’s best footballer in their ranks take on their South American rivals.

24-year-old Messi, the twice World Footballer of the Year and nicknamed ‘The Flea’, will be cynosure of all eyes for the football-crazy city that had in the past hosted the likes of Pele, Oliver Kahn, Diego Maradona, Gerd Muller and Diego Forlan.

The response of the football fans has not been as overwhelming as compared to Pele’s visit with Cosmos for an exhibition fixture against Mohun Bagan in 1977 or more recently the euphoria generated by Maradona.

But it will hardly matter to coach Alejandro Sabella who will debut as Argentina coach.

After their debacle in Copa America where they are champions 14 times but failed to get past quarterfinals this time in July, Argentina are in process of rebuilding their side under Sabella with an eye on 2014 World Cup.

From here the Argentines travel to Dhaka for a second friendly against Nigeria on September 6.

The former Estudiantes coach, who takes over the reigns of the national team after the dismissal of Sergio Batista, who was fired after their quarterfinal exit in Copa America in July, has already shown his eagerness to begin on a winning note.

Messi has been in the prime form of his career in FC Barcelona and notwithstanding the criticism over his dip in performance when he dons Argentina jersey, he will be the cynosure of all eyes.

There is also the Real Madrid duo of Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain, another FC Barcelona star Javier Mascherano who will will no more have the captaincy burden, besides other top players who will be seen in action.

In Copa America under Batista, a 4-3-3 formation was employed but with Sabella saying that he wants to give Messi a free hand it remains to be seen about the formation.

Three Argentina players – Lisandro Lopez, Cristian Ansaldi and Ezequiel Garay – have been ruled out of tomorrow’s match after suffering injury blows while playing for their respective clubs but Sabella has enough ammunition to make a winning start.

“My first game in command of the team. It’s very important to make a good beginning. Winning will give us confidence. Yes this is the beginning of a long trip ahead and hope it finishes with qualification to the World Cup,” Sabella said.

But Venezuela, who finished fourth in Copa America will definitely not be a cakewalk and an upset cannot be ruled out for the Messi and Co.

Incidentally, this will be the real dress rehearsal for both the teams who will lock horns again on October 11 in a 2014 World Cup qualifier.

Besides the big names, there are also quite a few to look out for in the Albicelestes ranks, including the home grown goalkeeper Esteban Andrada, the only player in the team who does not play in Europe.

Andrada, who was the first to reach here along with coach Sabella, had long goalkeeping drill and there is chance, though small, of him coming in place of the experienced Sergio Romero for a debut at the senior level.

Sabella, in his interaction to the media, had revealed his plans of bringing a playmaker to leave Messi in a comfort zone and the highly-rated Ricardo Alvarez, a lanky creative midfielder who joined Inter from Velez Sarsfield this summer, fits the bill.

Known for their beauty queens, Venezuela’s football was not known till 1967 when they first competed in Copa America. Straightaway, they finished fifth in the coveted Latin American tournament.

But football became more popular in the baseball-oriented country when the former Spanish colony hosted Copa America in 2007 and made it to the quarterfinals.

Coach Cesar Farias said they are no more the Cindrella football country and their fourth place finish in Copa America 2011 only affirms that.

“In recent years, we have able to been grow in the leagues. In Copa America we had a very good presentation. Results in Copa America showed that the teams are very close right now. We are obligated to be in the next World Cup,” Farias said about the 44th ranked side who have the dubious distinction of being the only South American country not to qualify for the World Cup till now.

Their recent rise definitely will be a threat to the Argentines who exited from the Copa America quarterfinals after losing to Uruguay.

Venezuela will bank on their talismanic captain Juan Arango. The 31-year-old midfielder, who currently plays for Borussia Monchengladbach, is the most capped player.

Getafe’s Nicolas Fedor and Salomon Rondon will be the ones to watch out for in the Venezuelan forward line-up and coach Farias will bank on the duo to bring their scoring touch in the battle against Argentina.

The Squads:

Argentina:

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero, Estaban Andrada, Mariano Andujar.

Defenders: Martin Demichelis, Federico Fernandez, Nicolas Burdisso, Nicolas Otamendi, Pablo Zabaleta, Nicolas Pareja, Marcos Rojo.

Midfielders: Angel Di Maria, Javier Mascherano, Ever Banega, Ricardo Alvarez, Fabian Rinaudo, Jonas Gutierrez, Javier Pastore, Luis Gonzalez, Jose Sosa.

Forwards: Gonzalo Higuain, Lionel Messi, Eduardo Salvio, Sergio Aguero.

Coach: Alejandro Sabella.

Venezuela Squad:

Goalkeepers: Rafael Romo, Renny Vega, Daniel Hernandez.

Defenders: Andres Tunez, Oswaldo Vizcarrondo, Cesar Gonzalez, Roberto Rosales, Rolf Feltscher, Fernando Amorebieta, Rohel Briceno, Josef Martinez

Midfielders: Franco Signorelli, Josmar Zambrano, Tomas Rincon, Yohandry Orozco, Raul Gonzalez, Gabriel Cichero, Juan Arango, Frank Feltscher, Julio Alvarez, Luis Manuel Seijas.

Forwards: Nicolas Fedor, Salomon Rondon, Mario Rondon.

Coach: Cesar Farias.

Match Commissioner: Col Goutam Kar

Referee: A Rowan; Assistant Referees: Biplab Poddar, Dinesh Nair and Franky Fernandes; Fourth official: Pratap Singh.

Kick off: 7 pm

Messi arrives in Kolkata

KOLKATA: Lionel Messi arrived in Kolkata on a silent, rainy night. His entry - in the wee hours of Wednesday - was far quieter than the one Diego Maradona met with during his visit here three years ago. That time, a crowd of a few thousand had waited patiently at the airport and lined the roads for over a good few hours, simply chanting his name.

Not that Messi would have minded this quiet entry at all. The attention-shunning little big star would have liked it that way, slipping in unnoticed like he does in opponents' territories on the football field. But imagine the tremendous physical strain on a global sport star. Where does he hide, when does he sleep? 

As dusk fell on Kolkata on Wednesday, he was back with the squad, ready for his first training under a new coach-smile on face, spring in step. This was after an emotionally-taxing Spanish League opener against Villarreal late on Monday-where he scored two and generally dictated the 5-0 demolition for FC Barcelona.

A remarkably fresh-looking Messi got off the bus in the hotel lobby after reportedly spending over a quarter of an hour obliging CISF personnel and their cellphone cameras at the airport arrival lounge. Accompanying him was teammate Javier Mascherano, who looked worse for wear, but then that is the same expression he carries to work too. Looking world weary is a part of Mascherano's job-description, just as it is Messi's to look like a happy puppy when there's the prospect of playing football in the near future-it's that crucial difference between destroyer and creator.

But then you can't wish away jet lag. Messi - after ordering a generous round of club sandwiches from the coffee shop at dawn - gave the noon press conference a miss. It left an entire 'world' which had arrived to see, hear, even touch the little genius, disappointed.

But they couldn't dwell on it for long as Alejandro Sabella, Argentina's new national coach, took it upon himself to fill two roles. In a long chat with the press that ranged over a lot of things, he summed up the Messi conundrum best. "Messi is a lot more important than me," he stated simply, and ahead of his first match in charge, Sabella, perhaps recognizing the magnitude of the task he has undertaken, went on to announce the little, big man as his new captain till the World Cup 2014.

Venezuela - who have had to pose as Paraguay in the posters that have lined the city - are enjoying the role of underdogs thrust upon them. A Latin American oddity - in that, they remain the only nation from the region to never have qualified for the World Cup - Venezuela will have to go that extra mile to win over the Kolkata fan, who swears by World Cup glory alone.

Yet, manager Cesar Farias, who joked that he always kept his luggage packed since the axe in South American football came with the job, insisted that the gap, barring Messi, between them and Argentina was decreasing, and it was only a matter of time before they would match them blow for blow.

In a world of non-stop play and ceaseless travel that are proving the demands of the modern-day global football industry, and Kolkata-with its rich traditional legacy of the game-is one of the once-distant outposts suddenly within touching distance. If India is the latest 'market' interest as the global football brands claim, then Kolkata is the first port of call.

This is a city going through its customary seasonal flux. The monsoon's retreating-making the sky a live canvas of crazy cloud play. The pujas are a month away and the pandals-all bamboo and coir skeletons-are already worming their way up. Tuesday was the last day of Eid fasting-and with the accompanying noise of an out-of-schedule Salman Khan release the next day-comes this impending prospect of a football carnival. Chants of "Messi, Messi" are already renting the air.

Salt Lake all set for Messi and Co.

With just 6 days to go for the kick-off, the Argentina-Venezuela friendly has become the talk of the town.

The hype surrounding the match can be mostly attributed to the expected presence of Lionel Messi, but there is more to this contest between two South American sides than the twinkle-toed sorcerer from Argentina.

Never before has the country hosted a FIFA-sanctioned match involving two of the world's top national teams.

The two contestants in the 'friendly' skirmish at the Salt Lake Stadium slated for September 2, being organised in association with The Times of India, belong to the higher echleons of world soccer.

As per current FIFA rankings, Argentina are No. 10 in the world, while Venezuela are 40th.

Fans can, therefore, look to a mouth-watering clash. There is also good news for Indian football which is sure to reap the fringe benefits from this international match.

The biggest beneficiary, of course, would be the Salt Lake Stadium itself.

Thanks to the 'big' match, extensive repairs have been carried out and the turf is back in pristine condition. The entire stadium, too, is being given a facelift.

The players' tunnel, too, has been done up. The stadium now boasts two new warm-up zones and medical and dope-testing rooms. The press box is now Wi-fi enabled and the electronic scoreboard has been replaced with a brand new giant LED screen.

The floodlighting system has been a source of embarrassment over the years as scores of matches have had to be halted following breakdown. Bhaswar Goswami of Celebrity Management Group - exclusive licensee of the match - however, is confident that the stadium is fit to host even World Cup qualifying matches.

According to AIFF vice-president Subrata Dutta, the successful hosting of the Argentina-Venezuela match will pave the way for soccer's national body to organise more international friendlies and AFC tournaments in future. Salgaocar coach Karim Bencherifa feels the September 2 friendly will no doubt help widen the fan base.

Lionel Messi wins UEFA Best Player in Europe award

Lionel Messi won the inaugural UEFA Best Player in Europe award on Thursday, finishing ahead of Barcelona team mate Xavi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

The vote, conducted by sports journalists representing each of UEFA’s member associations, was organized with the idea of reviving the spirit of the former European Footballer of the Year award which is now known as the Ballon D’Or and organized by soccer’s ruling body FIFA.



Messi, the overwhelming winner, collected his prize during the Champions League group-stage draw at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

The Argentine international hit 53 goals last season, including 12 in the Champions League where he finished top scorer for the third successive season.

Messi’s last European goal of the season was the second in Barcelona's 3-1 final win over Manchester United in May and he also helped his club to a third straight La Liga title.

The 24-year-old, already the World Footballer of the Year, said: “I keep all these awards at home and I still have some space for more ... thanks to my team mates for helping me achieve this.”

Barcelona meet Europa League winners Porto in the European Super Cup here on Friday.