Hyderabad: The city is all decked up with hoardings, banners and posters to welcome Lionel Andres Messi, by far the greatest footballer to set foot in the land of the Nizams.
Leo, as he is affectionately called, will touch down at Shamshabad airport around 3.30 pm after a whirlwind tour of Kolkata.
The Argentina captain will be accompanied by his national teammate Rodrigo de Paul and former FC Barcelona partner Luis Suarez of Uruguay.
After siesta, he will spend 40 minutes — between 4.30 and 5.10 — in the meet-and-greet GOAT programme, where fans are paying Rs 12 lakh (Rs 9.95 lakh fees and Rs 2.05 lakh GST) for a photo-op with the legend and an autographed Argentina jersey.
Messi is scheduled to reach the Rajiv Gandhi stadium by 5.30 pm. Tollywood music director Devisri Prasad will host a concert in Messi's honour between 5.30 and 7 pm. At 7.15 a friendly match between Singareni RR9 and Aparna teams will be held for about 20 minutes. While chief minister A Revanth Reddy will play for Singareni, Messi will be part of the Aparna team. Organisers said that Messi and Revanth will feature only in the last five minutes of the match.
Former Indian captain Victor Amalraj was ecstatic. "Lionel Messi visiting Hyderabad is a historic moment, it is a message to the new generation that greatness is achieved through humility, relentless hard work and a passion that never fades. His visit is a reminder to every young footballer that dreams have no limits."
Goan Nicholas Fernandes, who is the coach of the Telangana sub-junior team, felt that tickets are expensive. "Thousands of children are eager to get a glimpse of Messi but the tickets are priced high. The organisers should have given some passes to clubs and teams," Fernandes said and added that Messi's visit is the much-needed boost for football.
Former junior India international and SBI circle coach ES Shyam will be watching Messi with his FIFA academy trainees. "We are all waiting to meet him. The game is picking up in the city. When we were young, only 30 to 40 boys attended summer camps but this year we had a record 135 boys and girls at the camp," Shyam said.
Messi's visit has also boosted the sale of football gear. Mohd Saleem, a salesman at a sports shop near Paradise said that there is a sudden rush for shoes and merchandise. "In the last few days, we have ordered several pairs of football shoes and jerseys," Saleem told TOI on Friday.
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After joining TOI in 2005, he has been predominantly covering bad...
Read MoreAfter joining TOI in 2005, he has been predominantly covering badminton along with other sports. He has reported all the exciting moments of the badminton revolution that unfolded with the exploits of the Indian shuttlers since 2008.
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