New York: The line-up of sports legends simultaneously on the stage at Fanatics Fest on Friday night was almost absurd. There was Tom Brady, the greatest Super Bowl champion of all time. There was Novak Djokovic, the winner of more men's Grand Slam tennis tournaments than anyone else. There was Kevin Durant, the only four-time Olympic gold medallist in men's basketball history.
And before they left, they all got a selfie with Lionel Messi.
Let that be the latest proof of Messi's power. Even the biggest stars in the sporting world clearly enjoyed the chance to be around the greatest footballer of all time. They'll all be watching on Sunday, along with probably 1.5 billion other people worldwide, when Messi and Argentina face Spain in the World Cup final.
“We will give it our all,” Messi said.
The star-studded news conference was expected to be Messi's last public appearance before Sunday's final in East Rutherford, New Jersey. FIFA decided to use Fanatics Fest, a four-day celebration of sport in New York, featuring autograph signings and celebrity appearances, as the backdrop for its preview news conferences, meaning hundreds of people got the chance to catch a glimpse of Messi in a setting not usually open to the public.
“It goes beyond words what Messi means as a player and what he means for Argentina,” Spain captain Rodri said. “Obviously, for me, he's the greatest of all time.”
The idea for the appearance by Messi and the other players and coaches from Argentina and Spain was simple: Instead of traditional media asking questions, the stars got to do the asking.
Brady asked Messi about the remarkable photograph that has gone viral this week of him bathing a baby boy who grew up to become Spain star Lamine Yamal. “What a crazy picture,” Messi said. Djokovic asked Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni about dealing with pressure, then posed a version of the same question to Messi.
When Messi finished, Djokovic simply said, “Gracias, Leo.” Djokovic then asked Spain coach Luis de la Fuente and captain Rodri about staying calm in big moments, before Brady questioned Messi about the now-famous photograph with Yamal, and Rodri about what he would say to his teammates before Sunday's final. Durant then asked Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez what it would mean to win back-to-back World Cups.
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The Argentina and Spain teams, to their credit, appeared to enjoy the event. The World Cup final is a spectacle, and so was the preview.
“It's one more game,” Scaloni said. “We cannot really think about the fact that it's a World Cup final.”
It has not been the easiest road for Argentina to reach another final, even though the defending champions (7-0-0) are the only unbeaten team left in the tournament. Spain (6-0-1) drew their opening match against Cape Verde.
Argentina had to come from 1-0 down in the second half to beat England in the semi-finals, recovered from a 2-0 second-half deficit against Egypt in the Round of 16, and were taken to extra time by both Cape Verde (in the Round of 32) and Switzerland (in the quarter-finals).
“I've said many times: We never stop fighting,” Messi said.
With that, the defending champions booked their place in New York. When Messi walked onto the stage on Friday, many of those packed inside the theatre did not applaud, they were too busy holding up their phones to capture the moment.
Messi knew exactly what they wanted. He smiled and waved. The crowd roared.
When the event wrapped up, everyone, the players, the coaches, actor and comedian Kevin Hart, rapper and producer Travis Scott, England great Rio Ferdinand, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin and others, gathered for a selfie with the fans in the background.
“Sunday is going to be a great show,” Scaloni said.
It seemed Messi may have taken a quick look at the case holding the World Cup trophy before leaving. Either way, he hardly needs a reminder of what is at stake. No team has won back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, and Messi now has the chance to add one more achievement to his already extraordinary career.
“We've got a group of players and a group of coaches that are working incredibly hard every single day to try to bring happiness to my country,” Martinez said. “We're going to give absolutely our best, with Leo and with the team that we have, to bring the World Cup back to my country and celebrate with our people.”
