When Leo came to Lisboa and met his idol ‘El Payaso’

By Dominic Vieira, writing from Lisbon

Rarely do I have the time to travel midweek to watch a football match, but when I saw the Champions League group draw back in August, I knew where I’d be flying to at the end of September: Lisboa. A quaint, picturesque historic city which belongs to both me and Sport Lisboa e Benfica. Although I was returning to a place where my friends and family live, where the sun shines and the best charcoaled grilled seafood is widely available at a happy price, it was the Benfica vs Barcelona match that ignited the desire to return home and thus, the Estádio da Luz.

Watching a team like Barcelona is a privilege and this became the second time I saw them in Lisboa. The first was 6 years ago for the first leg of the quarter-finals which ended 0-0. On that occasion the focus was Ronaldinho, the world’s best and probably most entertaining footballer at the time. As that result terminated in a draw, Barcelona once again were unable to beat Benfica on Portuguese home soil.

Roll the clock 6 years forward and most of the Barcelona team has changed, alongside their mentality and adoption of ‘tiki-taka’, and - of course, a certain Argentine is now the centre of attention. This would be a different game, where another one of the best players of all time was set to make his debut at the Estádio da Luz, considered by some as the best ever. 63,000 roaring fans and I were there to witness another magical display from Lionel Messi.

I’ve written on numerous occasions on AFR about FC Barcelona and mentioning Lionel Messi with a unique perspective has become as difficult as defending him. Describing the boy from Rosario has become challenging and finding the right combination superlatives no longer exists. Furthermore, when I’m trying to be creative - it’s probably a cliché, everything and anything has been said about him, even the papers struggled the following day.

Since Vilanova began the continuation of Pep’s vision at the club, they’re achieving results but not playing or performing with the same conviction to which thousands were expecting; a spark is missing, perhaps its hunger, but that’s never a quality to question, everybody wants to win, especially at this club. Nonetheless, something is missing. It’s also evident that a more mature Messi has appeared; we saw glimpses of it last year, but now it’s clear that he’s no longer that small boy, with a slight innocent face and happy smile. A new personality has evolved and Messi’s certainly adapted a more aggressive and vocal personality. Although he’s already established himself as number 1, he’s still 25 and the next years will be his defining ones. On Tuesday night, Lisboa was waiting to write another chapter of his illustrious story.

And there I was, home again, sat in the prime seats in the centre of stand of Estádio da Luz, watching a superstar who represents football, a player who continuously smashes records and an athlete compared to the legendary Michael Jordan. I was there to see what Messi does best and his performance happend less than 8 metres in front of me.

My eyes were fixed on Barcelona’s number 10 and so was everybody else. He warmed up by the sideline alongside right back Dani Alves (who he shares a telepathic understanding with), Messi was calm and focussed, passing the ball with his team mate and occasionally practising some kick ups. He kept it conservative, preserved his energy and did not look for the cameras. Although he appears like an ordinary player at first glance, after a blink of an eye, I immediately acknowledged him; he’s the king but does not need to show it – the magic was saved for the game.

Despite a strong home record, the expectations for Benfica was to achieve a draw at best, which would probably perceived as a victory. But that did not happen, Barcelona, playing with a depleted defence, produced a vintage display and comfortably won the match 2-0. If Benfica had any strategy then it rapidly crumbled as their opponents were simply too good from them, they were from another planet. As Pablo Aimar said:

“There is only one ball and they [Barcelona] had it for 3 quarters of the game. It belongs to them.”

For the third time running Messi’s name did not appear on the score sheet, the last time this occurred was in May 2011. But this is certainly no crisis and nor can it be labelled as a goal draught. The 25 year old was class on Tuesday night and for the second consecutive match he produced 2 sublime assists. The first was a one-two pass combination with Alba down the left with Messi rapidly cutting inside to set up Alexis Sanchez with a cross in the 5th minute. The second goal was finalised by close friend Cesc Fabregas in the 55th, but all the credit went to Messi as he skipped past 4 players; he seems to always execute the golden pass to the former Arsenal midfielder.

The match revolved around the best player in the world; he dictated the game, playing deeper role than normal and certainly impressing Xavi, who’s the natural conductor of this symphony. Messi was the centre and it was no surprise to see him closely marked by at least two players, in particular by former Chelsea player Nemanja Matic. The defensive midfield endured a 90 minute headache but produced a positive performance which impressed fans.

Although Messi’s man of the match performance was widely and rightfully praised, the highlight was re-uniting with Pablo Aimar, one of football’s few remaining midfield ‘maestros’, Benfica’s brain. Moments after the game Jordi Alba ran to the Benfica player asking for his shirt, his response was a smile, followed by him placing his arm around the left-back and whispering into his here. Destiny had already written the outcome of his shirt.

Aimar, nicknamed 'El Payaso’ meaning clown due to the fact that he’s always smiling, is Messi’s idol; a player he’s followed and admired since his River Plate days. Following the final whistle they crossed paths - they simply had to - and Aimar immediately took off his shirt and handed it to Messi. Inside the media lounge with post-match interviews, Messi praised the former Valencia player once more: “It’s a pleasure watching Aimar play.”

Despite the financial difficulties affecting Portugal, it was a full house on Tuesday night and both teams played their best, but Barcelona dominated with an outreagous possession and Messi performance. It was his first game at this stadium and hopefully he shall return soon. Lisboa will always be waiting for Messi.