Super-excited South Indian fans root for Lionel Messi's Argentina

As Argentina take on Saudi Arabia today their mercurial skipper has already garnered local hero status among a majority of the 700000plus Malayalee workforce in the host countryEven before Argentinarsquos mercurial skipper striker and seventime Ballon drsquoOrwinner Lionel Messi has stepped on to the pitch for the FIFA World Cup Group C match against Saudi Arabia here the anticipation among his South Indian fans in particular here is crazyThere is a strong Kerala workforce in Qatar roughly 700000plus out of a total population of 28 million as is the case across the Arabian Gulf So todayrsquos clash of their hero against one of their adopted countries of work offers a unique perspective Messi craze in MallapuramMansoor Mohammed 30 who hails from Mallapuram and is here for the FIFA World Cup explains the Messi craze back home ldquoWe local football club members have installed a giantsized 40foot Messi cutout in our village Unfortunately due to strong winds the cutout snapped and that lsquobackbreakingrsquo video of Messi became viral However we wasted no time in preparing a wooden frame placing it behind and reerecting the cutout within a matter of hours Thatrsquos how passionate we are about him He cannot fall He will only rise He will definitely score against Saudi Arabiardquo Mansoor who has a furniture business in Coimbatore told midday here on MondayFile photo of fans supporting Argentina at a waterfront in Doha PicAFPAnother Keralite Ali Anwar who works in a shopping mall here has mixed feelings as he has cousins work in Saudi ldquoTwo of my cousin brothers work in Saudi Arabia They are also diehard Messi fans but obviously they cannot support Argentina openly back home today so I feel bad for them But we are in touch on phone and they are confident that Messi will kick off his final World Cup campaign with a bangrdquo Anwar saidArgentine manager Lionel Scalonirsquos side are on a 36match unbeaten run having last lost 02 to archrivals Brazil in the 2019 Copa America Their last World Cup warmup match was a 50 rout of the UAEMansoor MohammedAdd to this the fact that Saudi Arabia could most likely be battling to avoid a bottomplace finish in their group which also comprises South American football powerhouse Mexico and superstar striker Robert Lewandowskirsquos Poland todayrsquos fixture should be a cakewalk for the ArgentinesHowever for the Indian fans here itrsquos not as much about Argentinarsquos result as it is about Messi performing at his best Anwar was part of the group of a few thousand again predominantly South Indians who gathered at the Corniche area here to root for Messi and Argentina a few days agoAlso readFIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar fans disappointed after 02 defeat to EcuadorCrazy party in DohaldquoIt was a crazy party There were chants of lsquoMessssi Messsirsquo all aroundrdquo he said Interestingly Mansoor informs that Mallapuram also has huge cutouts of Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazil striker Neymar ldquobut they are on either side of Messi Messi is the centre of attraction just like he will be here in his final World Cuprdquo Mansoor signed offItrsquos over to Messi now to deliver on the biggest stage once again