During his first visit to Montreal, Babe Ruth hit the two longest home runs ever seen here. The ball had traveled so far that it had gone over the willows in the nearby park.
Well, for his first match with us, Saturday evening, Lionel Messi didn’t do the same. The Argentinian neither placed a 50-meter laser into the top corner, nor thwarted seven opponents before counting on a bicycle initiated by his own pass.
In fact, he was exonerated. No goals, no assists. A first for him this season. Except that it often came close, especially in the last quarter of an hour, so that this anthology part fulfilled its promises.
The atmosphere at Saputo stadium was festive. Electric. Like that of New Year’s Eve. The entire Quebec football family was dressed to the nines. Here, Joey Saputo and his father Lino. At the bell, Valerio Gazzola. There, Gabriel Gervais, Mauro Biello, as well as just about every local legend in Impact history. Even Olivier Renard, who left in turmoil this week, was back home.
In the stands, it was full to the brim. Full room. Messi was warmly welcomed. A little too much, moreover, for the taste of CF Montreal coach, Laurent Courtois.
I understand why people were cheering for Messi. But as a head coach, hearing my stadium go crazy for the other guy while my club is losing, it’s tough.
Laurent Courtois, head coach of CF Montreal
These encouragements were inevitable. Lionel Messi, it’s a very beautiful and very rare visit. He had never played a match here before. As soon as he arrived in the metropolis on Friday evening, he received a triumphant welcome. Dozens of people gathered outside the portico of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, where he was staying, to greet him. Same scene late Saturday afternoon, this time along Sherbrooke Street East, between Saputo stadium and Maisonneuve Park. Hundreds of people crowded the sidewalks and the median in the hope of catching a glimpse of him through a window of his team’s bus.
In the stadium, his admirers arrived up to two hours early in order to be in the front row for his warm-up. The children especially wore his pink Inter Miami jersey. Young adults, his Argentina sweater. People my age, that of FC Barcelona. Afterwards, it wasn’t a pink tide either. Nothing compares to the Canadiens’ games in Florida during the holiday season, when the arena is blue-white-red. Saturday evening, Saputo stadium remained blue-white-black.
And his match in all this?
Even without running, Messi was at the heart of several spectacular actions. In the second minute, he served a nice pass in the slot to Julian Gressel, whose shot was blocked by Joel Waterman. Fifteen minutes later, he won a free kick right in the center of the field, a few feet from the penalty area. In his favorite area. The CFM has lined up in front of it a wall as compact as the security barriers surrounding the stadium. Messi aimed for the top of the net. Missed. The small forward enjoyed another good chance shortly after, when Waterman accidentally served caviar to Luis Suárez, who passed the ball to his teammate. The Montreal defender was, however, able to redeem his mistake and counter Messi, before he got to Jonathan Sirois.
The Argentinian was more threatening in the second half. At the 58e minute, he stood out from three Montreal players in the central zone to begin the climb that led to Benjamin Cremaschi’s goal. At 83e minute, Messi narrowly missed the net before an offside was called.
The crowd appreciated it. “MESSI, MESSI, MESSI,” she intoned, with enthusiasm. This is the end of the evening that Laurent Courtois did not particularly like.
At the 87e minute, the winner of the most recent World Cup missed a second well-placed free kick. Then, in the final moments of the match, he danced skillfully between several Montreal players, near the surface, without success.
Lionel Messi may not have scored a goal. But like Babe Ruth 100 years ago, he won hearts and marked the minds of Montreal spectators.