Messi fever grips Pune as India prepares for football icon’s arrival

Pendse said Indian youngsters today know all there is to know about European football. They follow transfers, statistics and match highlights as soon as they drop. “School children love to talk about this. People are passionate about club football. Many fan groups even organise match screenings. Football activities are on the rise in India,” he said. He added that the city has seen major moments in recent years, from the Legends El Clasico in Mumbai that brought in nearly sixty-five thousand spectators to the Premier League India competitions and visits by Liverpool and Manchester United players.

For some families, the excitement is personal. “It is a big thing. Some players from my club will be going. Even my daughter is going and they are all very excited,” said Anil Deshpande from Deccan XI Club. He described Messi’s stature in simple terms. “He is to football what Sachin is to cricket. He is god. Watching him in person will be a great thing.”

Among younger fans, the emotion is mixed with hope. Arya Fatak, an engineering student, said the visit feels special because she wants to know what advice Messi would give Indian players. “I would have loved to go, but it is great to know this is happening. Still, I feel this is not enough. We need more such collaborations. The football community in India should take more initiatives,” he said.

Ananya Pendse, another enthusiast, said the fan frenzy is everywhere. “Everybody has gone crazy. He has such a strong fan following. I am a Ronaldo (Cristiano) fan myself but I think people should respect both of them. And who knows, this might even increase the chances of Ronaldo coming to India,” she said with a laugh.

Coaches in the city are looking at the moment from another angle. Swanand Purushottam Samak, a thirty-seven-year-old coach and owner of SS Football Academy, said the excitement is natural but temporary. “It will last only as long as he is here. After that, things will go back to the way they were,” he said. He believes internal issues such as power struggles and weak accountability in Indian football slow the growth of the sport in the country. As a coach, he said, he focuses on giving players the right environment and fairness. On the comparison between Messi and Ronaldo, he said, “Messi is god gifted. He is a natural, as if he was born for football. Ronaldo had to work harder.”

Yet Swanand remains hopeful. He said Indian football has the potential to grow if its strengths are used in the right way.

For many working professionals who balance jobs with football fandom, the visit holds cultural meaning. Shubham Mehta, a thirty-one-year-old Manchester United fan and Head of Strategy at EMotorad, said Messi’s World Cup win remains his most vivid football memory. “It was a very difficult and monumental thing to achieve,” he said. He believes social media has allowed Indian fans to follow football as closely as global audiences. Even though India is a cricket nation, he said, the visibility of global stars encourages more professional engagement with the sport. “Every sport takes its time to reach a certain stage. In India, tennis and badminton needed one or two people to reach that level of mastery. But football needs a team of eleven or fifteen such individuals. We have had individual brilliance in Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri but that has not yet become a formidable team. We are on that journey and I am confident we will be there sooner,” he said.