Tireless followers, scams that ensured an unforgettable evening with the idol and even an immigration incident have marked the presence of Lionel Messi in Chinawhere the player arrived on June 10 in the middle of a ‘Messimania’ that has the city dyed white and light blue.
What could be a festive event for Chinese fans, devoid of high-flying soccer after years of draconian pandemic restrictions, has turned into a display of what many have called on the country’s social media “illegitimate supporters” of Argentinaand of Messi in particular.
In the four days prior to the match that will pit the Albiceleste against Australia in it Workers Stadium from the capital of China streets have had to be blocked, events canceled and scams reported, although others point out that “Messi He came to play an international match, not to meet supporters.”
landing on the wrong foot
The trip of the captain of the world champion did not start in the best way, since, after landing in beijinghad to wait more than two hours at customs to enter the Asian country.
The reason, according to various local media, is that Messi brought to China his Spanish passport and not the Argentine one, which was the document for which his entry visa had been issued.
Once the mishap was fixed, the star from Rosario was forced to enter the hotel where the team is concentrated through the back door when the building was completely surrounded by fans who were blocking the main entrance.
Such was the impetus of the Chinese followers that the organization canceled for security reasons a face-to-face event with Messialthough the fans did have the opportunity to get up close to Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martinez.
streaming war
Despite the cancellation of events in person, the main sales platforms rushed to announce different broadcasts with the seven-time Ballon d’Or.
The Kuaishou short video application announced an exclusive interview conducted by the sports media outlet Titan Sports and the first thing it offered was ten seconds of Messi in a 52-minute gathering in which only two Chinese presenters talked and which received more than five million views. live views.
The electronic giant Alibaba, through its online sales platform Taobao, brought together this Wednesday the captain of the Albiceleste with a famous ‘streamer’, Li Xuanzhuo, an expert in the sale of liquors, illustrating the fierce struggle to dominate the China’s e-commerce sector seizing on Messi’s claim.
The power of money
If this trip has shown anything, it is the importance of the Argentine number 10 among football fans and those who are not so much.
A supporter booked rooms in the same hotel where the team is staying – lodgings that quintupled their reservations the night of the game – and some young people waited for three hours hiding in crouching inside the bathrooms of the Olympic Stadium with the hope of being able to meet his idol in the training session.
The less friendly face was the proliferation of scams: the Beijing police denounced that on Weibo -similar to Twitter, censored in China- a dinner with the Argentine captain was offered in exchange for 300,000 yuan (41,875 dollars, 38,804 euros), in addition to fake tickets everywhere.
“Everything is for money”, affirmed some young admirers of Messi in an official Argentine product store, in which their star sale, a goat with the albiceleste shirt, was sold out (GOAT stands for, in English, the acronym for “el best of all time”).
“I came from Shanghai (east) hoping to see Messi, but the ticket price prevented me. I’ll have to settle for seeing him on TV now at Inter Miami,” said a young woman surrounded by dolls from 10 with his mythical goal celebration against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the last World Cup.
Diego Trenado, an Argentine soccer coach based in Beijing, told EFE that “the Chinese fan has wanted to show his affection for Messi for everything he generates on the field and outside,” although he admits that “the passion shown in the streets” by the fans of the Asian giant “has surprised the Argentines a lot”.
“Since the arrival of the national team, all my players ask me about it. Now I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s game, and I’m sure they’ll be looking forward to sharing my experience with them in the next training session,” said Trenado.
For now, the only lucky one who can boast of having a snapshot with the captain is a Chinese driver whose selfie with Messi inside the bus while waiting inside his car at a traffic light went viral on social networks and aroused the envy of fans. Rosario fans.
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