NEW YORK (AP) — It was almost ridiculous to see sports legends lined up on stage at Fanatics Fest at the same time Friday night. There was Tom Brady, the greatest Super Bowl champion of all time. There was Novak Djokovic, who won more men’s Grand Slam tennis tournaments than anyone else. There was Kevin Durant, the only four-time Olympic gold medalist in men’s basketball history.
And before leaving, everyone took a selfie with Lionel Messi.
Let’s just say this is the latest proof of Messi’s power. Even the sport’s biggest stars clearly relish the chance to be around the greatest soccer player of all time. All of them, along with perhaps 1.5 billion people around the world, will be watching Messi and Argentina play Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday.
Messi said, “I will do my best.”
The star-studded press conference was expected to be Messi’s last public appearance before Sunday’s final in East Rutherford, New Jersey. FIFA’s decision to use Fanatics Fest, a four-day sports extravaganza in New York packed with autograph signings and celebrity appearances, as the backdrop for the preview press conference meant hundreds of people had the chance to catch a glimpse of Messi in an environment normally closed to the public.
“Messi as a player and what he means to Argentina is beyond words,” Spain captain Rodri said. “Obviously, to me, he’s the greatest of all time.”
The idea of featuring Messi and other players and coaches from Argentina and Spain was simple. Instead of traditional media asking questions, star players are now asking questions.
Brady researched Messi great photos This week, a photo of Messi giving Spanish star Lamine Yamal a bath to a cute grown boy went viral – “What a crazy photo,” Messi said. Djokovic asked Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni about dealing with pressure and posed the same question to Messi.
And when Messi finished, Djokovic simply said, “Gracias, Leo.” Djokovic then asked Spain coach Luis de la Fuente and captain Rodri about staying calm in important moments, before Brady asked Messi about the infamous photo with Yamal and Rodri what he plans to say to his teammates before Sunday’s final. Durant then came out and asked Argentina goaltender Emiliano Martinez what it meant to him to win back-to-back World Cups.
To their credit, the Argentinian and Spanish sides seemed to enjoy the show. The World Cup final is a spectacle, and so was the preview event.
“We only have one game left,” Scaloni said. “I can’t think too much about the fact that this is a World Cup final.”
It wasn’t an easy road back to the finals for Argentina, but the defending champions (7-0-0) were the only undefeated team remaining in the tournament without a draw. Spain (6-0-1) drew its opening match against Cape Verde.
Argentina had to come back from a 1-0 deficit in the second half to beat England in the semi-finals, and had to come back from a 2-0 deficit in the second half to beat Egypt in the round of 16, forcing extra time against both Cape Verde (round of 32) and Switzerland (quarterfinals).
“As I have said many times, we will not stop fighting,” Messi said.
The defending champion now has a ticket to New York. And when Messi took to that stage on Friday, many in the theater’s packed audience did not applaud — instead they were holding their cellphones to take pictures of the moment.
Messi knew what they wanted. He smiled and waved. they roared.
After the event, players, coaches, actor and comedian Kevin Hart, rapper and producer Travis Scott, England great Rio Ferdinand and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin all gathered to take selfies with fans in the background.
“Sunday is going to be a great show,” Scaloni said.
It was thought that Messi might have taken a quick look at the case containing the trophy before departing. Not that we need a reminder of what’s at stake anyway. No team has won back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, and Messi now has the chance to add another achievement to his already overstuffed resume.
“We have a group of players and coaches who work incredibly hard every day to bring happiness to their home country,” Martinez said. “Together with Leo and with our team, we will do everything in our power to bring the World Cup back home and celebrate it with our people.”
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
