Benin apparently they are ready to party Lionel Messi on Tuesday night with defender Tijani Mohamed admitting that the African side will “give everything to make this celebration go really well”.
Messi will bring down the curtain on his Argentine career in Buenos Aires with a special farewell match in front of an adoring crowd at the Estadio Monumental.
And it seems the adulation extends to the away dressing room too.
Mohamed said Argentine television station C5N: “There’s no need to mark Messi. Let’s enjoy this game. There’s no special plan to defend against Messi, we just have to enjoy this game, and that’s it. I’ll look at him like this: ‘Messi, you’re God.’
“For me it’s the best in the world.”
Benin wants to enjoy the celebrations with the hero Messi
Messi will make his 208th and final appearance for his country and looks a good bet to add to his tally which currently stands at 125 if Mohamed’s approach is anything to go by.
The centre-half, who is currently without a club after his contract with Swiss side Yverdon-Sport was terminated last month, says he is fully committed to making sure his hero gets the send-off he deserves.
He added: “Benin is a very, very good team to play, but I can’t talk about Benin right now because we have to enjoy this game and we will give everything to make this celebration go very well.”
Messi is irreplaceable: the Argentine coach Scaloni
It promises to be an emotional night with Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni admitting his team will struggle to replace the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, considered by many pundits to be the greatest player of all time.
“Leo is irreplaceable,” Scaloni said at Monday’s news conference. “We will seek to continue playing with the same identity, with the idea of being united and playing as a team. It is clear that without Messi everything changes, but the national team has an identity and the challenge is to continue playing like this, so that the boys who come join this cause.”
