Messi-led Argentina national team to play in Kerala next year
World Cup-winning Argentinian football team led by iconic Lionel Messi will play in Kochi next year, Kerala State Sports Minister V Abdurahiman announced on Wednesday.
Heaping praises on Barcelona star forward Lionel Messi, former England striker Peter Crouch said that the Argentine is a living monument and everyone should see the 32-year-old playing at least once in their lives.
“Messi is a living monument; a footballer whom everyone should try to go to see at least once in their lives,” said Crouch to Daily Mail.
Crouch, a former Liverpool player, played against Lionel Messi on two occasions when the Blaugrana met the Reds in the last 16 of the 2006-07 Champions League.
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Feeling it a moment of pride, the 38-year-old Englishman said, “There will come a point when I am able to tell my grandchildren that I shared a pitch with Messi. It might have only been two minutes in the 2007 Champions League, but it is in the official register of the tournament.
“I will tell them repeatedly because he is the greatest footballer of all time. You try to think of new ways to talk about what he does.”
During a 1-2 win for the Reds at the Camp Nou in the first leg of 2007-08 Champions League, Crouch came on in injury time, while in the second leg, which Liverpool lost 1-0, he came on in the 89th minute.
Messi, who won best FIFA Player of the Year award in September, continues his impeccable form. On Friday night, the forward scored for Argentina to beat old foes Brazil 1-0 in a friendly at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh. He netted the only goal of the game in the 13th minute by tapping home the rebound after his spot kick was deflected by Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
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