ZCZC
BSP-04
FBL-ARG-ESP-BARCELONA-MESSI
Hometown left deflated but still hopeful after Messi snub
ROSARIO, Argentina, Sept 5, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Rosario had dared to dream
but was left disappointed after the Argentine city’s most celebrated son
Lionel Messi announced he was staying at Barcelona.
When Messi told the Spanish giants last week he wanted to quit the club,
some back in his home town and at Newell’s Old Boys, the club where he played
junior football, allowed themselves to imagine the 33-year-old superstar
returning home to play for his boyhood team.
Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a week ago hundreds of Newell’s
fans organized a joyous and colorful vehicle procession through the town
under the banner: “Your dream, our hope.”
But after 10 days of anxious waiting, there was to be no fairytale
homecoming.
Despite Friday’s deflation, many Newell’s fans still believe the prodigal
son will one day return home.
“No one in their right mind could imagine that he would come back now,”
Diego Schwarzstein, an endocrinologist who treated Messi as a boy, told AFP.
“I’m from Rosario, a Newell’s fan and I desperately want to see him here;
but for now, it’s wishful thinking.
“I’m not frustrated that he’s not coming now because it wasn’t realistic to
think about this.
“But if he retires from football without coming to Newell’s, then I would
feel great frustration.
“I hope that he will indulge himself — and also give us Newell’s fans that
pleasure too.”
The diminutive Messi left Newell’s at the age of 13 as his family emigrated
to Spain after Catalan giants Barcelona offered to pay for his growth hormone
treatment, among other benefits.
At the age of 10, he had been diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency.
“Every time there is talk of his contract renewal, we fans dream, even
though we know it’s very difficult because his reality is in Europe now,”
said Lisandro Leoni, a journalist and “Leper,” as Newell’s fans are known.
“But we also know that he’s a fan of this club, so we never lose hope that,
at some time and even if for only one season, he’ll wear our jersey.”
– ‘Doors always open’ –
“We’ve always got that hope that Leo will wear the Newell’s jersey, but we
have a lot of respect for his decision,” said Roberto Mensi, part of the
group that organized the vehicle procession.
“Last week’s event was a gesture of affection that we wanted to give Messi,
so he would know that we love him and the doors here are always open.”
As for the club itself — a hotbed of talent that includes the likes of
renowned coaches Marcelo Bielsa, Gerardo Martino and Mauricio Pochetino, who
all played for the team — it has remained tight-lipped over the issue.
Messi, known as “The Flea” in Argentina, has always said he would love to
return home to play for the club.
Although he left Rosario 20 years ago, he always returns for the New Year
celebrations with his family and that of his wife Antonella Roccuzzo.
Locals were delighted when the couple decided to celebrate their 2017
wedding in the city, bringing over several Barcelona stars with them.
A few weeks ago, Messi donated 50 ventilators to the city’s hospitals to
help treat patients suffering from Covid-19.
He owns several homes, a luxurious apartment, an iconic bar and an
exclusive country club in Rosario, the third biggest city in Argentina.
Messi also still owns his simple childhood home in a middle class
neighborhood that his friends have covered with murals that pay tribute to
Rosario’s greatest export.
Newell’s were founded in 1903 and named after Isaac Newell, an English
teacher who pioneered football in Argentina.
They have been Argentine champions six times, the last of those in 2013.
BSS/AFP/SSS/0922 hrs