Team Café
Tomorrow, June 30, 2017, marks the day
that footballing legend Lionel Messi will marry his childhood sweetheart,
Antonella Roccuzzo. The marriage will not take part in one of the more
picturesque locations in the world, but much rather, in Rosario, Santa Fe,
where he grew up and played for his first football club, Newell’s Old Boys.
Reports have it that the 30-year-old’s wedding will be covered by a team of 200
security agents led by a former Argentinian military official; and while 21
first team players at Barcelona are on the guest list, former coach Luis
Enrique and his coaching staff have not been invited for the occasion. Reports
also suggest that the entire Blaugrana backroom staff are on the guest list,
including all kit-men, doctors, physiotherapists and masseurs. A big screen is
expected to be erected outside the venue, so that interested fans can watch the
ceremony from a safe distance.
There is much buzz around the affair,
and fans from across the globe are tuned in to the goings-on. However, one
can’t help but wonder, while knowing how much happens in the lives of our
global sporting icons, how much do we know about those closer to home, and how
much are we really tuned in to?
Café asks a few locals fans for their
take on what causes this phenomenon:
I’m pretty certain not many people would
know of Messi’s marriage or his alleged tax evasion or anything about his
personal life if it weren’t printed in the newspapers or splashed across the
internet. It’s all about what the press decides to print and what not to. On
the other hand, a local star like Sunil Chettri’s personal life is not likely
to bring about as much viewership in the papers or hits on the internet as his
life hasn’t been blown out of proportion yet!
Uddhav Welingkar
There is minimal support and coverage to
our own people as compared to the support we show to the foreign players and
the foreign league. Local icons like Sunil Chettri have been Indian Football
superstars for quite a few years. He does get a lot of recognition from our
fans, but that’s about it. The team contains a lot of other players, but few
follow up on them.
Elroy Figueiredo
Football on the whole is a global sport, and the big stars’ every
single move is so well followed by paparazzi, that we are aware of most, if not
all, of their personal matters. Indian football is a sleeping giant that has
yet to be awoken and until then, I, as a football fan, would rather know more
about players with a global standing rather than our domestic players.
John Paul Fernandes
