Panaji: It was a day Yadil M Iqbal did not want to see arrive, but when it did, he could not stay away, even if it meant travelling 15,000km for 32 hours, across four continents.Hailing from Kodungallur in Kerala’s Thrissur district, Yadil is a huge Lionel Messi fan, whose life took a massive turn when the Argentina superstar responded to his birthday post on social media a few months ago. There were just two words, ‘Gracias Yadil!’ and it meant the world to the super fan.So, when it was announced that Messi was calling it a day on the international stage, Yadil knew he couldn’t miss being there. The only problem was the match was being played in Buenos Aires, and tickets for the farewell game sold out within minutes.Yadil, however, did not lose hope and started his journey, first by road from his village in Kodungallur to Bengaluru, which took him 13 hours. Then there were long-distance flights from Bengaluru to Buenos Aires via London and New York, eventually culminating at the Estadio Monumental.“I know I took a big risk,” Yadil, who owns three restaurants, told TOI Wednesday. “I was looking for tickets when in India itself but knew I could be scammed. My best chance was to come here and look for a ticket. I found one, never mind that I had to pay three times the actual price. This guy has changed my life, my emotions. He has control over my heartbeat.”Yadil, who named his 2002-born son Lian Messi, paid Rs 1 lakh for a seat at the 85,000-capacity Estadio Monumental. On a chilly spring evening in Buenos Aires, he arrived at the stadium three hours before kick-off and posed with a banner in his hand that read: “Please, please referee, don’t blow the final whistle, I am not ready for this. 32 hours, 15,000 KM, from home, lots of love from Kerala…”The true-blue fan saw Messi’s farewell game from the fifth row at the stadium.“It was very close. I saw him from about 10m away. It will forever remain one of the best moments of my life. Of course, we can see Messi again in a legends game but never in a competitive match for Argentina.”In international football, Kerala divides its loyalties between Brazil and Argentina. Yadil belongs to the blue half and till 2021 was constantly roasted for Messi’s failure to lift a trophy with Argentina. There were losses in the final, penalty miss too, and his fans endured everything without saying a word.“The Brazil fans used to give us a hard time saying Messi is cursed, that he will never win a trophy for Argentina. Cristiano Ronaldo winning Euros (with Portugal in 2016) made it worse. In 2021, before the Copa America final, they said they’ll wear Brazil jerseys and come to my restaurant to have food. I told them I will provide free food to everyone wearing Argentina colours. Argentina triumphed, providing fans with a moment to savour,” said Yadil.After the Copa America triumph, Yadil had a Messi mural on the wall of his restaurant. In 2022, when Argentina won the World Cup, he made it unforgettable with a life-size statue.Remarkably, Yadil’s first foreign trip was in 2022, when he travelled to Qatar for the FIFA World Cup and watched all seven Argentina matches.“Argentina’s loss in the opener against Saudi Arabia invited taunts from opposing fans back home who said I was a bad omen to the team. But then, when Messi won the third World Cup title for Argentina, it was a moment to cherish.”On Tuesday night in Buenos Aires, there was another one to remember as Yadil witnessed, in person, arguably one of the greatest and most emotional farewells in football history.
