Mohamed Tijani was walking through a bazaar in downtown Buenos Aires with a mate in his hands and a smile on his face. The Benin defender, 29, had taken advantage of a few free hours to look around the city before his side’s match against Argentina, and he was accompanied by the African national team’s doctor when he was approached by the cameras of the Argentine channel C5N.
Tijani showed off the souvenir he had bought for his son — a mate in Albiceleste colours — and explained that he was taking it home from Argentina. Then came the question that was always going to be asked of an international defender hours away from facing Lionel Messi: what will he do when the No. 10 is in front of him? His answer was as disarming as it was unexpected. “There’s no need to mark Messi. We’re going to enjoy this match. There’s no special plan to defend against Messi. We just have to enjoy it, that’s all,” he said, laughing.
Tijani was not talking about a man-marking assignment or any formula designed to reduce Messi’s influence. Quite the opposite. At his side, Benin’s doctor described Messi as “the God of football”, and the defender quickly joined in. “I’m going to look at him and say to him: ‘Messi, you are God’,” he said. He also called Messi “the best in the world” and recalled that he had followed Argentina’s matches during the World Cup. His hopes for the evening go beyond the pitch: Tijani said he wants a souvenir from the captain himself, his shirt. “I’d be happy if he gives me the jersey. I’m going to ask him,” he explained, before making his request directly: “Messi, I love you very much. Can you give me your jersey?”
The match itself is set for Tuesday, October 6 at 20:00 at the Monumental stadium, and the AFA had announced it as the captain’s last game with the Albiceleste on Argentine soil, making it Messi’s farewell in front of the national team’s home crowd. While Benin’s players spend the build-up between strolls and souvenirs, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni is putting the finishing touches on the team that will accompany Messi on the night. His idea is to bring together a large number of the footballers who shared the Albiceleste’s most successful years with the captain.
Rodrigo De Paul and Nicolás Otamendi feature among the main new additions. De Paul was called up exclusively for this match, while Otamendi returns to accompany Messi on a special night for the generation that won the Qatar World Cup, and the occasion could also mark the centre back’s farewell to the national team. The possible starting eleven is Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez; Agustín Giay, Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister; Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez. Giay would be the only member of that possible line-up who was not part of the championship-winning squad.
For Benin, the game represents enormous exposure. For Tijani, it carries a personal dimension as well: he already has the mate he wanted to bring back for his son, and a request prepared for Messi. First, though, he will have to face him on the pitch — unless his own plan holds, in which case the defender does not intend to make things too complicated for himself. “There’s no need to mark Messi. We’re going to enjoy this match.”