Yadil M Iqbal, Lionel Messi’s die-hard fan from Kerala, India, who embarked on a 32-hour journey to Buenos Aires from Bengaluru with the dream of attending the Argentina icon’s farewell match without a match ticket, fought back tears on Tuesday night in the Argentinian capital after striking gold.
Tickets for Argentina’s match against Benin, the final international game of Messi, sold out within minutes last week.
Yadil was not among the lucky ones when online tickets went on sale for the match at the 85,000-capacity Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. But he did not lose hope and still started his epic journey from Bengaluru to Buenos Aires via London and New York.
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Having landed in Argentina barely 24 hours before the start of the match, Yadil shared a video on Instagram from Buenos Aires with a giant Messi mural in the backdrop, while holding a physical ticket.
Yadil, who owns three restaurants in Kerala, thanked his lucky stars for getting hold of a ticket after arriving in Argentina and dedicated it to all football fans in Kerala who also dreamt of attending Messi’s final match in Argentina colours.
The true-blue fan arrived at the stadium three hours before kick-off. Sharing a video on Instagram, a visibly emotional Yadil showed the half-empty stadium as fans slowly entered the arena.
He then posted a picture with a banner in his hand that read: “Please, please referee, don’t blow the final whistle, I am not ready for this. 32 hours, 15,000 KM, from home, lots of love from Kerala…”
Inter Miami playmaker Messi, 39, who announced his international retirement last month, scored from the penalty spot in the 71st minute after setting up two goals as Argentina won the match 3-0.
But this match was never meant for records. It was an occasion to celebrate one of football’s greatest players ever and a national icon in Argentina who now shares an equal space with Diego Maradona in the South American country’s public consciousness.
The stadium was roaring with Messi chants as Argentina fans and the country’s football association paid a moving tribute as the football legend struggled to hold back the tears during his speech.
Messi was surrounded by his 2022 World Cup-winning teammates and his family members as he waved to the fans.
Among those fans was Yadil, who had also received a ‘thank you, Yadil’ message from Messi last June on a birthday post for the football legend he shared on Instagram in June this year.
“Yadil is a huge Argentina and Messi fan. I’m so happy for him that he got to be there for Messi’s final match. He really deserves it,” said Asheem PK, a Dubai-based Indian expat from Kerala.
“He has always been posting about Messi and Argentina on social media. A lot of fans in Kerala used to troll him for it. There were even memes on him. But he continued to pay tribute to Messi on Instagram and then everything changed when Messi himself replied to one of his birthday posts for him.
“That thank-you comment from Messi was a life-changing moment for Yadil. Everything that he was doing paid off. And now, to actually be in Argentina and watch Messi play his final match for the national team — it’s an incredible moment for him.”
Remarkably, Yadil also attended all seven of Argentina’s matches at Qatar 2022 when the Messi-led team won the third World Cup title, and the first since the Maradona-inspired triumph in 1986.
Before the start of the 2022 World Cup, Yadil ‘promised’ that he would go for ‘Umrah’ if Messi’s Argentina won the World Cup in Qatar.
“So I went to Saudi for ‘Umrah’ after Argentina won. God has been very kind to me,” Yadil had told the Khaleej Times during an interview last year.
And on Tuesday, he became part of arguably one of the greatest and most emotional farewells in football history.
Having travelled 15,000 kilometres from Bengaluru to Buenos Aires in 32 hours, with long layovers in London and New York, Yadil’s journey was a poetic tribute to Messi, who himself had to wait until the age of 35 to finally lift the World Cup trophy in 2022.
Source: Khaleej Times