Atmosphere electric as city salutes soccer royalty

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad put its best foot forward on Saturday by ensuring that the visit of Lionel Messi to India was a resounding success. While the football was limited to an exhibition match between Team Revanth Reddy Singareni and Aparna All Stars, playing for Messi, the atmosphere was electric at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal.

The stadium and its vicinity turned into a roaring cauldron of song, colour and belief on a night Hyderabad came to salute football royalty. First, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy stepped onto the pitch with his team, drawing loud cheers.

A while later, Messi appeared, first watching quietly from the sidelines, smiling at the noise he had summoned without touching the ball. When he finally walked onto the field, the stadium erupted. Phones went up, voices cracked, and the stadium shook. Messi waved, took in the scene, and soon offered flashes of the touch that has defined a generation.

He was joined by Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, with Revanth alongside them, a tableau that blurred lines between sport, spectacle and dream. For the record, Revanth found the net once and Messi twice.