Lionel Messi gives the 10 a perfect 10 of an evening at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium

The 10 was of course for Lionel Messi, not Chipper Jones.

“This is the game of my life,” said Laura Reilly, originally from Argentina but now living in east Cobb with her husband Richard and two daughters, each wearing one of the classic blue-striped tops and white. , purchased by one of his daughters, Olivia, while visiting family in Argentina last summer. The Reilly women also painted the easily recognizable stripes on their faces as they stood in the shade of a tree outside the stadium.

Although they could have attended any Atlanta United game or any of the other games the city has hosted, Wednesday’s is the only soccer game Riley has ever attended. She came because she said it might be her last chance to see Messi – “I love Messi” – and many other personalities she adores in the Argentina team. She and her daughters named many, rattling off their last names almost as if it were a song only they knew.

“Argentina is different,” Olivia said.

Richard joked that Laura could use Skype or WhatsApp for some of her family members in Argentina during the match to show them who she was watching.

The crowd of 10 did not gather exclusively at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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At each stop of a MARTA train on its route from the airport station to Vine City, the departure point for the stadium, more Messi fans carrying 10 people boarded. There were at least 15 in one car, including a father-son duo who traveled from Orange County for a 24-hour trip just to see Messi play live. There were also three Canadian fans wearing red shirts. These didn’t have a 10 on the back.

Dennis Palacios, an Atlanta United season ticket holder since 2017, mixed two of his passions by wearing a Messi Argentina jersey he bought after winning the 2022 World Cup and a gigantic gold chain highlighted by an emblem of Atlanta United.

Palacios, who lives in Lilburn, bought his Copa America tickets right behind the team benches as presales began because he wanted to see Messi in person for the first time.

“I try everything,” he said.

Palacios came to the Atlanta United-Inter Miami game last year but Messi did not travel with his MLS teammates.

“It’s very exciting,” Palacios said. “The opening game in Atlanta, which is my hometown, I consider my hometown, it’s just exciting.”

Credit: Miguel Martínez

Credit: Miguel Martínez

For the record, other 10s were worn by people walking around the stadium before the match: Carlos Teves, another Argentinian legend, was substituted, as was Frenchman Kylian Mbappe and, of course, Diego Maradona, the only another Argentine player to have rivaled Messi for affection and respect.

The stadium opened at 5 p.m. When the alleged Argentine buses were shown on the 58-foot-tall halo sign around 6 p.m., cheers went up. Once the bus parked and Messi was shown walking around the back of the stadium at 6:30 p.m., you would have thought he had just scored a goal from the volume of the cheers. It happened again a few minutes later, this time to cheers of “Mes-si, Mes-si”. And the stadium wasn’t even half full yet.

Two in-house entertainers led the crowd in the stadium, now three-quarters full and on its way to more than 70,000, to resume chanting “Mes-si, Mes-si” at 7 p.m. as people impatiently waited for Argentina takes over. the field for warm-ups.

Canada entered the field for warm-ups at 7:15 p.m. They were booed. With vivacity.

Argentina entered the field at 7:24 p.m. She was acclaimed. Warmly.

Messi was introduced as part of the starting 11 at 7:25 p.m. on the Halo board. Big, big screams.

Messi led Argentina onto the field to finally play at 7:54 p.m. with two kids on either side of him smiling like they were holding Santa’s right and left hands…massive noises.

Then the game was played.

Messi’s first shot in the 10th minute drifted a few centimeters to the left. The sound of anticipation rose from the crowd in the few seconds it took him to catch a through ball before striking the ball with his magical left foot. His second flew very far in the 45th minute.

Argentina’s Julian Alvarez scored in the 49th minute to give Argentina a 1-0 lead. There were more cheers, proving that not everyone was there just for Messi, who played a pass that Alexis Mac Allister reached just before Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau and pushed right towards Alvarez . If this was an MLS match, Messi would have had an assist.

Credit: Jason Getz / [email protected]

Credit: Jason Getz / [email protected]

Messi’s next opportunity to create magic came in the 65th minute when he had only Crépeau to beat following a long punt from Emiliano Martinez. Messi’s first shot was saved but he managed to collect the rebound. He and Crépeau faced off, just a few meters from each other, 12 meters from the goal. Messi faked one direction before taking another. Crépeau was fooled. But Messi’s shot was blocked by an onrushing Canadian defender. Messi started to try to reach the loose ball but stopped, apparently running out of energy after the long sprint to reach the ball.

Messi was again played and was again thwarted by Crépeau, who forced him to fire a shot wide left in the 79th minute in front of an announced attendance of 70,564, the 10th highest for a football match in the history of Atlanta.

Messi tried again in the 82nd minute, intercepting a pass in Canada’s defensive third. The deflection fell to Lautaro Martinez, whose shot went wide.

Messi had an assist in the 88th minute when he played on Martinez, who beat Crépeau from close range, to give Argentina a 2-0 lead. The 10 thousand fans from across the city, state, country and world erupted because they finally got what they came for: a Messi souvenir.

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