Kolkata, Dec 13: Lionel Messi's much-anticipated GOAT Tour in Kolkata may have descended into chaos and vandalism at the iconic Salt Lake Stadium, but for former India internationals Dipendu Biswas and Syed
Rahim Nabi, the brief encounter with the Argentine legend still became the moment of a lifetime.
Amid angry scenes that eventually forced the event to be cut short to just 22 minutes on Saturday (December 13), Biswas and Nabi were among a select few who shared the field with Messi during an exhibition match between the Mohun Bagan Messi XI and the Diamond Harbour Messi XI. For Biswas, the memory is now immortalised in fabric and ink.
"Messi signed on the left side of my jersey, Suarez on the right, and Rodrigo De Paul in the centre," Biswas told PTI, still overwhelmed hours after the event. "He was all smiles. I was blessed to touch his magical left foot. "
Interestingly, Biswas - who is a decade older than Messi - has collected autographed jerseys from Diego Maradona and Pele, yet he described this experience as uniquely special. "World champion team captain, such a player with such stature - it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He kept smiling the entire time he was on the ground. "
However, the former India striker did not shy away from expressing disappointment over the disorder that followed. "I've played football for so many years. Maradona, Pele, Valderrama came earlier, but never have I seen spectators behave so rudely," he said. "I feel Messi should have been taken out in an open jeep, like Maradona was. "
For Syed Rahim Nabi, the moment carried an even deeper emotional resonance. "This is the greatest moment of my life, no doubt," Nabi said. "Messi has wowed fans for so many years and inspired the younger generation. I feel this is a gift for my honest playing days. Honesty is very important in life. "
Calling Messi a divine presence in football, Nabi added, "Messi is the all-time great for this and the previous generation. He is like God to everyone. " Yet, even he found it painful to witness the scenes of destruction that followed the exhibition.
"What happened after the match was very sad. People who had no business there were crowding him," Nabi said. "Those guarding him must understand he is once in a generation. He pulls fans from everywhere - it's his charisma. If you see football's God near you, can you really walk away?"
Soon after Messi was ushered out, the stadium plunged into chaos. What began with whistles and angry chants quickly escalated into full-scale vandalism. Bottles and food packets were hurled at the VIP enclosure, fibre bucket seats were ripped out and thrown onto the pitch and synthetic track, and gates were battered.
Posters and hoardings were torn down, the players' tunnel roof was damaged, and two canopies erected for Messi and the Chief Minister's enclosure were smashed. Some sections of the crowd even attempted to set parts of the structure on fire before police intervened.
The rampage lasted over an hour, leaving the FIFA-approved stadium in a sorry state and raising serious questions about crowd control and event management. Yet, for 35 minutes, as chants of "Messi, Messi" echoed around the arena and former stars like Abhro Mondal, Mehtab Hossain, Mohammed Rafiq, Deepak Mondal, Shilton Paul, Dipendu Biswas, Rahim Nabi and Denson Devadas donned the iconic No. 10 jersey, it felt - briefly - like there were Messis everywhere.
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