What good will Messi do?

As Lionel Messi and his Argentina team amble back into the daily drudgery of club football they leave behind in their wake an adoring crowd of Bangladeshi supporters hopeful for another visit of football’s most famous star. If Messi had even had half an ear open during most of the game on Tuesday, he would definitely have been rewarded with screams of endearment that greeted his every touch. The

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Messi, Mikel bid bye

Nazia of Banani could not believe her own eyes as she met Lionel Messi in person on Tuesday night at the Ruposhi Bangla hotel’s lobby. The Argentina captain, who is usually very shy, was in jovial and friendly mood after he guided his side to victory over Nigeria.
Some twenty to twenty-five fans, mostly young, waited at the lobby till late in the night for

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Messi rocks big bowl

Lionel Messi dazzled in an otherwise under-whelming Argentina performance which still proved enough to negotiate an ultimately comfortable 3-1 victory over Nigeria in their international friendly match held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) in Dhaka yesterday.
Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain claimed two of the goals, at least one of which was

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Messi says…

“Se grande problemo.”
Lionel Messi uttered the phrase on way to his room after having lunch on the ground floor at the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel yesterday as the enthusiastic fans, photographers and cameramen gathered to capture his photo whenever he is seen in the lobby.
The sensational Messi’s conversation with his teammates was interpreted by a police officer

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Messi! Messi!! Messi!!!

Fans, players and organisers alike were awestruck by the sight of the inimitableLionel Messi as the two-time world player of the year set foot on Bangladeshi soil with his Argentina team on Monday.
The magical marksman was received with more than a dozen garlands at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport as he made his way to the VIP lounge with a distinct smile etched on his

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“Messi, Messi”

Lionel Messi put the ball down patiently, before taking three marked steps back. He wiped his brow and eyed the mass of players lined up jostling for position inside the penalty area a few yards away. He took a deep breath and around him, the ten thousand strong crowd at the Bangabandhu National Stadium all reciprocated.
Messi’s run-up was smooth, his delivery perfect. Inside the area, Nicolas Otamendi almost

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Messi mania grips Dhaka

The look of pure unadulterated joy in Mirza Ahmad’s face said it all.
“Can I hug you? Can I?” he asked repeatedly to the beefy Argentinean team member who had kindly volunteered to reward Mirza’s vigil by getting superstar Lionel Messi to sign Mirza’s Argentina shirt.
Mirza was the highlight of the fifty odd brave souls who tried out every perceivable trick in the

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Match sure, all else up in the air

A lack of a decisive decision from the Celebrity Management Group (CMG), the Kolkata-based event management firm that is brokering the Argentina friendly match in Bangladesh is threatening to put the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) in a real mess.
“At the moment the only thing that I can say is that the match between Argentina and

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Messi still amiss

With only a week left for the scheduled FIFA friendly between Argentina and Nigeria in Dhaka, the football authorities here made little progress till yesterday in terms of the schedule of the two visiting high-profile teams. The Argentina team are expected to arrive here on September 3 while the Nigerians are scheduled to arrive two days later, with the marquee match slotted for

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Sakib can’t wait for Messi

While the entire country is gripped by the Lionel Messi fever with the arrival time of the Argentine superstar looming close, national cricket captain Sakib al Hasan is also not an exception.
Sakib, currently Bangladesh’s biggest sporting icon, is a keen follower of Messi, so much so that he even recently switched his support to Barcelona from English football giants Chelsea

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BFF ball-boys cherish the special occassion

Abu Bakar Siddique never thought he will get an opportunity to see Lionel Messi from so close let alone being involved in a game played by the Argentine superstar in some capacity.
But his dream is all set to come true as Bakar, 14, is one of the 16 young footballers selected to work as a ball-boys and flag-bearers at the Bangabandhu National Stadium during the September

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National footballers to welcome Messi & Co

Bangladesh national team players will receive the Argentina and Nigeria teams at the airport when they arrive in Dhaka next month for an international friendly, the Bangladesh Football Federation said on Saturday.
The BFF has drawn up a detailed plan to welcome the high-profile international teams that boast some of the best known footballers, including two-time world player of the

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Messi to lead team in Dhaka

Want-away Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez was on Friday dropped from the Argentina squad for friendly games against Venezuela and Nigeria by new coach Alejandro Sabella but magical striker Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero have been included in the friendly squads.
The former world champions, to be captained by Messi, will play against Venezuela in Kolkata

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Dhaka ready to welcome soccer giants Argentina and Nigeria

Dhaka is all set to welcome the titans of world soccer, the Argentinean and Nigerian national football teams, for the FIFA friendly international match to be staged on September 6, at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka. Organised by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), the match was titled ‘Beximco Football Fest’, as the country’s biggest corporate house came forward to provide the all financial

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Deal is done to land Argentina

Bangladesh Football Federation finally signed a contract with the Celebrity Management Group (CMG) on Saturday which confirms Bangladesh as the hosts of Argentina’s friendly match against Nigeria scheduled for September 6.
CMG, an Indian event management group, is the rights holder of the two matches Argentina

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