Nothing like this has ever happened in the history of any club in the world. And you don’t have to go through every library, newspaper archive, or video to corroborate it. A fan boos, attacks and mocks the two best players in the world. With first and last names: the parishioners of the Parque de los Príncipes and their absurd story with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé.
Messi has had enough. He doesn’t express it directly in words but in gestures: when he hears waste he makes the worst, irritating face, as if the character in Hernán Casciari’s story “Messi is a dog” someone would dare to take away the yellow dishwashing sponge. When they give him some applause, he doesn’t even return a greeting anymore. He goes to the locker room on the 10th with the 30 shirt on. The crack, after the game has just ended, becomes an operator who works by regulation. He doesn’t smile.
The same is starting to happen with Mbappé. The crack and referent of the French national team also stands out when something goes wrong. Favorite is not so favorite anymore. And less so when Florentino Pérez’s wishes begin to be heard or rumored: to take him to Real Madrid.
And it’s not that Donatello – as the Brazilians told him as soon as he arrived at PSG – he is playing badly. He is the top scorer in Ligue 1 with 19 goals in 24 games (22 appearances).
The team is leader of the 22/23 season from the first round. He never went down even for a day from there. Earlier in the season, they won the French Super Cup with a 4-0 win against Nantes. But there is one detail that has already become a stigma: the Champions League which is denied every year. This time the executioner was Bayern Munich and too soon, in the round of 16.
Another of those targeted is the coach. They say he fails in all the decisive moments (not only the elimination in the Champions League but also the 2-1 defeat against Olympique de Marseille, in the round of 16 of the French Cup. They question his lack of leadership, that he has not been able to manage the stellar squad as the one that matters and that his changes in decisive moments are wrong. All these observations, of course, are questionable.
Reviewing history could be useful to those who boo, to those who complain, to those who laugh. Only one French team has won the Champions League in all that history born in the 55/56 season. The exception was Olympique de Marseille in 1993. Other: From its foundation in 1970 until 2013, it had won only two league titles and only the now defunct Cup Winners’ Cup in 1996 and the Intertoto in 2001 at continental level..
It is true that the millions invested by Qatar Investments are – for almost everyone – reason enough to win every day. And he has succeeded locally: since 2013 he has added 28 titles, a record cycle for a tour born in 1894. But something is missing beyond the Champions League: a fan. That it is there, that it is present, that it makes itself felt in complex moments, that it embraces its cracks, that it encourages them to do what they do best: play.
The press and communication play their game
The media took Rosario’s joke as a fixed point. As if they hadn’t noticed that at the age of 35, after having won everything in the national team (Copa América, Finalissima and World Cup), he is experiencing – beyond the ups and downs of his team – a colossal season (for example, in Ligue 1: 14 goals and 14 assists in 23 games). “Messi, deified in Argentina, returns to PSG”was the title of the cartoon signed by Soulcié, one of the caricaturists of L’Equipe. Remember: Rosario’s star was chosen as the best player of the 2022 World Cup and won the FIFA The Best award.
But they see something else in Paris. The pierced Lion – due to some alleged piercings – said “oops, another mess“. Right, Messi, leader in assists all season.
Another peculiarity is giving low scores even in matches where he deserves applause and boos. He also started touching Mbappé in the last matches of the team from the French capital.
Furthermore, the scorer from the last World Cup had a dispute with the club over the institutional video as a launch for next season. “I have just seen the club’s season ticket renewal campaign for the 2023/24 season. At no time was I informed of the content of the discussion with my interlocutor. It sounded like when I did a background interview during a club marketing session. I do not agree with this video posted,” Mbappé complained. The campaign was based almost exclusively on him. he reacted: “This is not Kylian Saint Germain.”
In the case of Messi, a certain bitterness or anger can be interpreted because he was the main architect of the consecration of Argentina in Qatar 2022, with France in his shadow. But with Mbappé? What is going on?
“Mbappé doesn’t run very fast, does he?” Indicate a fan from the stands in the dialogues. On the pitch, the Frenchman can be seen running behind his rivals, presumably from Nice. “Yes, it’s to show that not everything has to be focused on him. He’s a great strategist.”replies another supporter. A little French humor doesn’t bite…
A mirror to look into
Postal workers from the French comedy ‘Welcome to the Land of Madness’ (“Welcome to Ch’tis”its original title in French) experiences football as a shared space of relief. Lens fans, shout out to Felix Bollaert everything the working week takes away from him. And the meekness of the weekend dissolves in the packed stands. They wear all the inevitable colors: yellow and red.
The result of the match seems to be an annex with little relevance to the event. They are there because they are looking for something else: to be part of a moment for everyone. They scream, they jump, they hug, they get angry, they smile, a goal leaves them hoarse. The scene takes place in a film, but also in every weekend where French football is presented.
The Lens is a striking case. The first information seems very absurd: the Bollaert, inaugurated in 1932, has a capacity of 41,809 spectators in a district inhabited by just under 40,000 people. However, the grandstands are usually full. It’s not magic: people come from nearby towns to see Racing Club de Lens (its full name).
Despite knowing the ostracism of Ligue 2 in not so distant years, he knew of the glory of the consecration: in the 1997-98 season he was champion of France. That means, he won his only Ligue 1 title the same year the French team won their first World Cup. Stephane Ziani, Tony Vairelles and Montenegrin Anto Drobnjak stood out in that memorable team. Of course, all of them, while not universal stars, have not ceased to hear applause and support.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.