By Staff Reporter
DUBAI_ As dawn broke over Kolkata on July 4, hundreds of football fans gathered in Amartya Sen Udyan, a modest park transformed into a sea of blue and white. The occasion was Argentina’s World Cup clash against Cape Verde, and despite rain-soaked ground and grey skies, supporters arrived hours before kick-off, determined to watch Lionel Messi lead the defending champions.
Giant loudspeakers blared commentary while life-size cutouts of Argentine players lined the park. Yet one face dominated the scene. For every image of Alexis Mac Allister, Emiliano Martinez or Cristian Romero, there were several of Messi. The park, regarded as the unofficial headquarters of the Kolkata Argentina Football Fan Club, became the centre of a citywide celebration of football and its greatest idol.
The match stretched into extra time, creating an atmosphere thick with tension and hope. When defender Lisandro Martinez fired Argentina’s winning goal into the roof of the net, the crowd exploded in celebration. Fans leapt into the air, hugged strangers and filmed themselves screaming with joy. Then came the chant that has echoed across the world during this World Cup, pronounced in a distinctly Bengali rhythm: “MAY-SI! MAY-SI! MAY-SI!”
For Kolkata’s football faithful, Messi is more than a player. At 39, he is seen as a footballing saint, still capable of deciding matches against the strongest opponents. This tournament has featured legends such as Luka Modric, Manuel Neuer and Cristiano Ronaldo, alongside stars like Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane. Yet in the imagination of many Kolkatans, Messi stands alone.
Argentina’s journey has only deepened that devotion. Messi scored all six goals that carried his team through the group stage and delivered crucial moments in knockout victories over Egypt, Switzerland and England. Even controversies surrounding Argentina’s comeback against Egypt did little to diminish his status among supporters in Kolkata, who celebrated both his late equaliser and the emotional tears that followed.
Sports photographer Debjoy Biswas, who recently returned from Argentina’s matches in North America, described watching Messi in person as a revelation.
“It’s one thing to watch Messi on television and another to see him from 10 metres away,” he said. “On TV, you notice the goals and celebrations. Live, you see his anticipation, his awareness of space, the way he moves before the ball arrives. It’s the closest I’ve come to footballing heaven.”
Biswas’s favourite photograph from the tournament captures Messi running away from goal after scoring, with defeated Austrian defenders sprawled behind him. For him, the image represents both footballing brilliance and the emotional power of fandom.
That emotional bond extends far beyond match days. In the Kolkata suburb of Nawabganj, tea-shop owner Shib Sankar Patra has turned his home and business into tributes to Argentina. His house is painted in blue and white stripes, and a giant Argentine flag flies above his “Argentina Tea Stall.”
Last year, Patra was selected by the West Bengal government to meet Messi during the footballer’s visit to Kolkata. The memory remains vivid.
“Messi stretched out his hand toward me,” he recalled, demonstrating the gesture with visible excitement. “Behind him was Rodrigo De Paul. It felt unreal.”
His wife, Sapna Patra, says the encounter changed her husband forever.
“Before, he considered himself a great fan of Messi,” she said with a smile. “After meeting him, he speaks of him as if he were a younger brother.”
The family celebrated Messi’s 39th birthday by cutting an 18-kilogram blue-and-white cake, distributing slices to neighbours and giving Argentina jerseys to local children. Their devotion has become a family tradition. Sapna’s daughter, a professional classical dancer, is such a passionate supporter that she named her son Leo.
“Sometimes she asks me,” Sapna laughed, “‘Why did you send me to dance school instead of football training?’”
As Argentina advances deeper into what may be Messi’s final World Cup, Kolkata continues to live each match with extraordinary intensity. In a city where football has long rivalled religion, the tournament has become a collective act of faith — and Lionel Messi remains its most beloved figure.
